COMMENTARY

The Ultimate Blend: The US and Canada and Higher Education (Starbucks wishes)

March 26, 2010

ROSEANN O'REILLY RUNTE, President, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario

What are the differences between Canada and the U.S.? This is one of the most frequently asked questions addressed to the cross-border educated.  Yet the similarities are perhaps more important and more striking!

It is often said that when the U.S. sneezes, Canada catches cold and that when the arctic winds blow ice across the February skies, Canadian Snowbirds take on the responsibility for improving the economic climate in Florida!

Trends find their ways across the border notwithstanding regulations and other barriers.  When various states began imposing out-of-state fees, Canada’s provinces quickly followed suit.  Education is locally funded and belongs to the taxpayer.  Yet, discouraging student travel and international exchanges certainly weakens the quality of educational experience we offer our students.  If they then cannot travel or have the opportunity to learn by sharing classes with students from abroad, then they miss a vital part of their schooling. READ MORE...

Between 1997/98 and 2001/02, the number of men enrolled in part-time undergraduate studies rose by 8.1%, compared to an increase of 3.7% among women, but the number of female part-time students remained considerably higher than for males. Of 161,500 students enrolled in part-time undergraduate courses in 2001/02, 98,900 - or 61.2% - were women and 62,600 (38.7%) were men.

Source: Canadian Council on Social Development

THE NEWS

Stop attack on English education, petition urges
By Karen Seidman, The Montreal Gazette
Parents of pupils in the Lester B. Pearson School Board are leading the charge in a battle to ensure English-language rights aren't eroded by changes to Bill 104. The Pearson board's Central Parents Committee has launched a petition asking the provincial government not to further restrict access to English schools. Now parents of the English Montreal School Board have joined forces with the Pearson group to help boost interest in the cause. Bill 104, adopted in 2002, was an attempt to stop immigrant and francophone parents from sending their children first to unsubsidized English private schools as a way into Quebec's English public schools.

Board closes one school, keeps another
By Janet Steffenhagen, The Vancouver Sun
One small Langley school will be closed June 30, but another has been spared. The board of education voted Tuesday night to close County Line elementary but to retain Glenwood elementary, at least for now. While the vote was close, four of the seven trustees decided Glenwood's enrolment of 149 students was sufficient to keep the school operating, especially since there were concerns about the ability of a neighbouring school to accommodate the students.

School systems offer educational alternative
By Jaqueline Louie, The Calgary Herald
Science, the arts, sports, languages--these are some of the specialties addressed by the alternative programs offered within the Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholic School District. Whether catering to gifted kids or those with special needs or interests, many "programs of choice" are offered by both school systems. Some schools offer a traditional learning environment; others, such as the CBE's Alternative High School and the Catholic board's Bishop Carroll High School, provide more freedom regarding learning styles. It has been about a decade since the CBE began offering programs of choice in a big way, with a diversity of programs ranging from science and languages to arts-centred learning.

Spurned in Ottawa, Ann Coulter gets big welcome from Calgary
By Elizabeth Church & Dawn Walton, Toronto Globe and Mail
A day after she was chased away from an Ottawa campus by rowdy crowds, the University of Calgary is giving American pundit Ann Coulter a bigger venue to air her extreme brand of right-wing politics, saying part of its role is to “promote the free exchange of ideas.” Ms. Coulter, a skilled political agitator, has hit the jackpot on her three-campus visit to Canada. Her planned appearance earlier this week at the University of Ottawa was cancelled because of security concerns after an estimated 1,500 people showed up at a lecture hall with roughly 400 seats.

Professors slam scholarship for fallen soldiers’ children
The Ottawa Citizen
A group of professors in Saskatchewan is criticizing a scholarship offered to the children of fallen Canadian soldiers, calling it a "glorification of Canadian imperialism in Afghanistan." Sixteen University of Regina professors have drafted an open letter to school president Vianne Timmons. "It's about associating heroism with the military intervention of Afghanistan," said Jeffrey Webber, a political science professor. "We think it's aligning a public university -- without any consultation with its students or staff, or the broader community -- with support for this war."

Tuition hikes certain
By Jeanette Stewart, The StarPhoenix
Post-secondary students across the province will face increased tuition rates next year based on Wednesday's provincial budget. University of Saskatchewan administration must now determine out how much of the $16.3-million increase to the budgets of universities, federated and affiliated colleges will be funnelled to the institution through its operating grant. In what was regarded as a "cautious budget" overall, any increase is good, said Peter MacKinnon, U of S president. "We will seek to keep tuition revenues in check," said MacKinnon. "Certainly there will be tuition increases."

Scottish universities get ‘real term’ funding cut
BBC News
The Scottish Funding Council has revealed that the 20 Scottish institutions will receive £1.12bn. That represents a 1.2% increase on funding, with universities receiving £15.3m more than in 2009-10. The National Union of Students in Scotland and the University College Union said it was a cut in real terms. However, it welcomed the news that courses and departments would not face cuts. Most universities will receive increased amounts of cash, with only two institutions due to get less money.

US campuses chase foreign students
Guy Healy, The Australian
Scores of cash-strapped US state universities are preparing to open their doors to foreign undergraduates, posing a serious challenge for Australian universities, US Studies Centre chief Geoff Garrett has warned. In the wake of the global financial crisis, US state universities were turning to foreign undergraduates for the first time to compensate for funding cuts, Professor Garrett told the HES. "The obvious implication is the market for foreign students will become more competitive because you will have a lot of large and high-prestige universities competing for the students," he said. As well, the cheaper US dollar, plenty of student accommodation and faster visa approval times should give the US an edge.

In Israel, students get a seat at the planning table for higher education
By Matthew Kalman, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Israeli government ministers, education officials, and students announced on Tuesday the creation of a new joint planning and negotiating mechanism designed to end years of turmoil in the country's higher-education system. "We are talking about a revolutionary reform in higher education," said Boaz Toporovsky, chairman of the National Union of Israeli Students. Under the new arrangement, government, university, and student representatives will sit on permanent committees to jointly plan developments in higher education and reach agreement on tuition rates.

by Watson Scott Swail for the Imagine America Foundation (pdf is of exec summary only; publication must be purchased from IAF)