September 27, 2023

Nipissing University, the University of Regina, and the University of Victoria have released strategic plans that include a critical focus on Indigenization and truth and reconciliation. Nipissing has launched its strategic plan, entitled “Pathways: Our Commitments to Water, Land, and People for the Next Seven Generations at Nipissing University,” which outlines six commitments in areas such as truth and reconciliation, sustainability, and innovative growth and the pathways for achieving these goals. URegina launched its Indigenous Engagement Strategic Plan “Tapwewin kwayaskwastâsowin, Truth and Putting Things Right,” which outlines a course forward to truth and reconciliation for the university. The University of Victoria recently announced “XÊ·kÊ·É™nəŋ istÉ™l | W̱ȻENEṈISTEL | Helping to move each other forward: UVic’s Indigenous Plan.” The plan outlines the university’s responsibilities to its Indigenous stakeholders, including students and local Nations, and holds the institution accountable for them.

Lambton College has launched a new website that is designed to meet prospective student needs and enhance the user experience. The website has a streamlined navigational design, more interactive items, statistics on topics such as employment opportunities and salary expectations, and optimized access to information about things like residence and financial aid. “As prospective students start to gather information about their post-secondary options, we hope they’re not only able to research various future career possibilities, but are also inspired to picture themselves as Lambton College students,” said Lambton Manager, Website Migration & Project Management Sarah Fraley.

With some institutions now asking job candidates to submit EDI statements, CAUT Executive Director David Robinson reflects on whether this practice violates academic freedom. Robinson explains that the answer is: Sometimes. When an institution asks for a statement that would demonstrate a prospective faculty member’s awareness and approach to eliminating barriers to equity-deserving groups’ academic success, Robinson argues that that is “entirely appropriate and relevant to the job.” However, Robinson writes that statements that must demonstrate alignment with an institution’s particular perspective on and strategy with EDI may violate academic freedom, as there are different and competing viewpoints on the topic.

In a move to modernize the K-12 education system, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced plans to eliminate public exams from high schools by 2025. In an interview with , NL Education Minister Krysta Lynn Howell explained that this decision will have practical implications for postsecondary institutions, as ensuring students are better prepared for a changing work landscape will require all levels of education to re-examine their evaluation methods. “The landscape is shifting around us when it comes to education and how students learn,” said Howell. “Universities have to be a part of that conversation as well.”

Indian students who are interested in or currently studying in Canada are concerned about the impacts that the diplomatic tensions between Canada and India could have on their postsecondary education. Sources report that students are afraid about a possible backlash and shared their concerns that Canada may stop issuing Indians student visas or that they may experience visa delays. Several Canadian postsecondary institutions have also responded to the tensions: The University of Prince Edward Island reassured students that the university is a safe place and expressed its commitment to the health and wellbeing of Indian students, while both Niagara College and Thompson Rivers University said that they are monitoring the situation and providing resources to those in need of support.

Northwestern Polytechnic has opened its doors to nearly 200 K-12 students from St Thomas More (STM) Catholic School while the school goes through renovations and cleaning. During their stay, the students will learn more about the campus experience, amenities, and overall postsecondary experience. “As we host the school on the NWP campus, students can benefit from access to our contemporary learning spaces, and we get to plant a seed early about NWP being a great place for an employment focused education with fantastic community connections,” said NWP President Dr Vanessa Sheane.

Professors from McGill University’s Faculty of Education have formed a faculty union–the Assocation of McGill Professors of Education (AMPE)–and are seeking certification from the Tribunal administratif du travail. The Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d’université (FQPPU) have expressed their “full and enthusiastic support” for the professors as they continue with the certification process. AMPE, if approved, would be the second faculty union in McGill’s history, following theAssociation of McGill Professors of Law , which achieved certification in 2022.

The University of Saskatchewan’s rural health centre has received a $1.5M gift to expand its programming and services and support the development of a mobile unit for rural health and wellness. The centre, which was renamed the Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health earlier this summer, works toward enhancing the health and wellbeing of agricultural and rural populations. USask also recently received $500K from alumnus Dr Karim Nasser, a lifelong tennis fan, to repair and sustain the campus’s tennis courts.

Durham College’s Whitby campus briefly went into lockdown this week after a student was stabbed. Durham Regional Police indicated that the student was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Durham has since lifted the lockdown and confirmed that there is no further risk to the campus community. “The safety and well-being of our campus community is of utmost importance,” read a statement from the college. “Our thoughts are with the injured student and those impacted by this troubling incident.”

Replication efforts are sorely needed in the social sciences, argue Abel Brodeur (University of Ottawa), Anna Dreber (Stokholm School of Economics), Fernando Hoces de la Guardia (Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences), and Edward Miguel (UC Berkeley) in an article. The authors explain that replicating the results of select research papers can validate the findings and/or identify any possible errors that should be corrected. To expand replication efforts, the writers propose taking steps such as forming meaningful partnerships to scale up replication activities, using a mediator to protect the academics acting as replicators, and assigning personal and professional value to replication. The authors conclude that funders and journals must also “play their part” and prioritize the replication of research.