Exams never end
(Title of famous play by Italian playwright Eduardo De Filippo. To my knowledge, it was not inspired by his own PhD defence) Dear fellow Committee Members, as the appointed Chair…
Education
This drama with the Catholic school system reminds me of a Mel Brooks moment
I'm sorry, I just can't help it sometimes.It's probably not the most famous or best-remembered scene from Blazing Saddles (and in truth, it's got a lot of competition), but in…
All this Catholic-school business reminds me of a Mel Brooks moment
I'm sorry, I just can't help it sometimes.It's probably not the most famous or best-remembered scene from Blazing Saddles (and in truth, it's got a lot of competition), but in…
Ontario Student Debt
Last week, the CCPA released a paper by David Macdonald and Erika Shaker entitled Under Pressure: The Impact of Rising Tuition Fees on Ontario Families. The paper does a good…
Funding for Federal Granting Councils
The Canadian Association of University Teachers represents 66,000 university and college teachers, academic librarians, researchers and staff at more than 120 universities and colleges in Canada. Their 2012 brief to…
Quebec Tuition Fees
In light of plans by the Charest government to increase tuition fees in Quebec by 75 percent over the next five years, Eric Martin and Simon Tremblay-Pepin have written a…
Copyright on Campus
A recent article by George Monbiot in The Guardian takes a critical look at academic publishers, apparently with a focus on the United Kingdom. The article makes the following points:…
New Rule: Only People With PhDs May Give Opinions.
This appears to be the premise of an unduly dismissive commenter. For your enjoyment, here is what he/she had to say: Hi Ron, I hope you will forgive me for…
Liberals built this!
www.liberalsbuiltthis.ca Had a great time this weekend taking part in the province wide Ontario Young Liberal blitz showing the great investments that the Ontario Liberal Party has made in families…
Is There a Student Debt Bubble?
A recent article in The Atlantic looks at student debt in the United States and suggests there may be a student debt bubble. Written by the authors of the recent…
Tuition Has Increased 41% Since 1998
A recent cbc.ca article reports on plans by Quebec student groups to protest planned tuition hikes by the Charest government. Over a five-year period, Quebec’s Liberal government plans to increase…
Hudak to help students: Can we trust him?
Yesterday, PC Leader Tim Hudak announced that he would provide more funding for Ontario students, by diverting funds away from the Ontario Trillium Scholarship program.The Ontario Trillium Scholarship program was…
The Double Whammy of Defunding Universities
As I’ve blogged about here, federal funding for post-secondary education (PSE) in Canada is decreasing. Between 1985-1986 and 2007-2008, annual federal cash transfers to Ontario for PSE (in constant 2007…
The Racialised Impact of Tuition Fees
Mainstream policy wonks often claim that tuition fees and rising levels of student debt in Canada are relatively inconsequential. They argue that though the costs of higher education for students…
Mount Allison University Video Project Featured in Academica’s Top Ten
This morning the video project I've been working on this summer was featured on Academica's Top Ten list. If you're not familiar with the list here's a little snippet from…
2011 Academic Ranking of World Universities
The 2011 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) was released on Monday. Because it’s compiled by Shanghai Jiaotong University, it’s commonly known as “the Shanghai ranking.” As I recently blogged…
The Hidden Impact of Rising PSE Costs for Students
Over the past several decades in Canada, tuition rates and student debt levels have both increased substantially. Yet, I am not aware of much research seeking to assess either how…
Concordia’s “Culture of Contempt”
In June of this year, a report was released on governance at Concordia University. The 39-page report was written by the External Governance Review Committee, a three-person committee chaired by…
I need some help from the Ottawa Twitter and Facebook communities…
… in trying to track down some scumbags who defiled Pleasant Park School (OCDSB: JK -> 6… yeah, little kids) with some truly disgusting graffiti at some point over the…
Smarter Ways to Have School Boards Update Parents
Earlier this month the Vancouver School Board (VSB) released an iPhone app that - helpfully - will use push notifications to inform parents about school holidays, parent interviews, and scheduling…