Profs worry quality of university in Ontario falling
Students at Ontario’s universities are getting short-changed when it comes to their education as their schools struggle with larger class sizes, outdated facilities and less full-time hiring, according...
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Queen’s President: quality has been “compromised”
A leaked letter written by Queen’s University’s principal reveals a man who is worried about the school’s slipping reputation, its upcoming labour strife and ongoing financial struggles — which he...
View ArticleOutcomes don’t matter
We hear a lot of noise about “outcomes” at universities these days. Much of it is well meaning, but little is helpful. Government types like to make these kinds of noises because they want to be seen...
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A two-tier system?
Photo by Cole Garside From the 21st Maclean’s University Rankings—on newsstands now. It’s the third week of her university career and Maya Helferty, a first-year sociology (soon to be philosophy) major...
View ArticleWhy profs don’t need more teacher training
Over in the UK, there’s more talk about university professors needing formal teacher training. One hears similar proposals more and more lately in this country, too. But in the end, it is, like so many...
View ArticleOntario city wants new university
The City of Barrie approved a preliminary motion Monday to ask Ontario’s government for the province’s next university campus, reports the Barrie Examiner. City council will also commit $14-million...
View ArticleLukács and University of Manitoba reach deal
The University of Manitoba says that the ongoing fight with Professor Gabor Lukács has been settled. Although specifics will remain confidential, Lukács will no longer work for the University. The...
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A psychology professor’s protest
Photo by Helga Weber on Flickr A professor at Sacramento State University in California walked out of his first-year psychology class Thursday because his students didn’t bring any snacks, reports the...
View ArticleIs this the worst professor ever?
Three students at George Washington University allege that their professor skipped two-thirds of their three-semester evidence-based medicine course and then awarded the whole class As, reports WJLA....
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Fake Queen’s University advertisement plays up sterotypes
Most universities get stereotyped—most unfairly. Guelph is thought of as the cow college, even though agricultural students comprise only a tiny fraction of the student body. The University of Victoria...
View ArticleMcGill Principal defends herself
McGill Principal Heather Munroe-Blum told the Montreal Gazette yesterday that she is “sorry” to students who were hurt by pepper spray when riot police showed up at the administration building on Nov....
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Why Alberta’s education system is better
Snowy Edmonton, Alta. by Stella Blu on Flickr Alberta is as a maverick when it comes to higher education. The province prepares students for post-secondary better than its neighbors, has some of the...
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In defense of courses with crazy titles
Is Harry Potter a bird course? Photo illustration by Casey David on Flickr Last week, both crusty old curmudgeons and left-wing crusaders received an early holiday gift from Baylor University in Texas:...
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Canadian university considers radical change
Algoma University photo by Ontario MTCU Back in first year, I remember realizing that the hardest part of university isn’t the lab reports, the chemistry midterms, or the 1000-word essays. It’s when...
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Minister’s surprising vision for higher ed
Minister Murray, by Shaun Merritt on Flickr. Ontarians are busy debating where the province’s three new post-secondary campuses should be, with mayors from Barrie to Niagara Falls holding out their...
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How students rate their experiences at 62 Canadian schools
Click on the charts below to see results from the 2011 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), a study that university administrators pore over each year to find out how their students are...
View ArticleThe Canadian University Survey Consortium’s 2011 results
The annual CUSC survey measures student satisfaction. In 2011, a questionnaire was issued to a random sample of approximately 1,000 undergraduates at each of 25 participating schools. In total, more...
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You might not get your top choice this fall
Photo courtesy of thepanamerican on Flickr The trend at universities over the past decade has been to pack in as many students as possible. But this year, a few schools are planning to reverse the...
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Where did the prof go?
Allison Torbiak by Marianne Helm When Allison Torbiak sat down in her first-year psychology class at the University of Manitoba two Septembers ago, she was surprised to hear the woman at the front of...
View ArticleAlberta to investigate suspiciously high marks
The Alberta government says it will investigate after the Calgary Herald found wide gaps between final grades awarded by certain high schools and their students’ pitiful exam performances. The...
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Canada: third best for universities
Photo by Ian Barrett for Maclean’s Researchers have created what they say is the first ranking of countries from best to worst at providing higher education. The report is from Universitas 21, a...
View ArticleQuality is declining, says professors’ group
In a survey completed by 2,300 Ontario faculty members this spring, 43 per cent of professors agreed that the quality of undergraduate education has declined over the past five years. Only 28 per cent...
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Less professor time doesn’t hurt: study
Photo by Ed Yourdon on Flickr A study that Inside Higher Education writer Steve Kolowich calls the largest and possibly most rigorous to date suggests “blended” or “hybrid” learning is at least as...
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Wente’s university prescription is misguided
University of Guelph students (Andrew Tolson) A lot is being written about universities these days and much of it paints a rather troubling picture. Some of the more popular arguments were put forward...
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Ontario’s auditor general wrong on teaching
Prof. Gary McCarron's Communications class at Simon Fraser U. (Simon Hayter) A recent report from the Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter has got people talking about student teaching evaluations...
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What’s the point of school if there’s no space to study?
Studying in the Bullring Pub at the University of Guelph (Jessica Darmanin) Three out of five. That’s how many of my younger brother’s second-year arts courses at the University of Guelph are online...
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High grades for Canadian schools in subject rankings
University of Toronto (Jessica Darmanin) The QS World University Subject Rankings 2013 are out now. The London-based company’s report offers a rare peek at how our school’s history, engineering and law...
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Canadian universities leap up QS World Rankings list
Simon Fraser, the most improved (Simon Hayter) The University of Toronto has pulled ahead of McGill University and the University of British Columbia in the 2013-14 QS World University Rankings, one of...
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