Post-secondary education has consistently been linked to the promise of a better life. Graduating from post-secondary study has been identified as the single most important factor affecting intergenerational mobility. Yet, several factors at play today show how this function of post-secondary education is in crisis in Canada. Shrinking government funding is behind higher university tuition fees. Government […] … learn more→
Low funding for universities puts students at risk for cycles of poverty, especially in the wake of COVID-19
Beginning the #phd – start writing at the start
Writing, and its alter ego, reading, are the backbone of academic work. The practices that make scholarship what it is. In the PhD there are multiple places and purposes for writing. We often focus on the final text, the thesis, the writing that communicates what we claim to know, that explains the research we […] … learn more→
US fraternities must be required to disavow their racist roots
At one time, the biggest problems associated with college fraternities were raucous house parties, puerile pranks or grim hazing ceremonies. This year, far more controversial issues have confronted these staples of US campuses – and of light-hearted Hollywood comedies from Animal House to Old School and Neighbors. And these issues have challenged the popular notion […] … learn more→
The best student experience possible right now is online
I recently attended a departmental meeting where our head of school declared our single most important objective to be the “student experience”. I agree wholeheartedly. But are universities brave enough to have a completely honest discussion about how their staff can deliver the best experience while this pandemic continues? Moreover, are institutions willing to entertain […] … learn more→
How a university can embed Indigenous knowledge into the curriculum and why it matters
We seek the wisdom of Aboriginal leaders with their deep knowledge of Country as we explore how to be a university with place at the centre of its thinking. – Acknowledgement of Country, University of Tasmania Strategic Plan, 2019-2024 The University of Tasmania is Indigenising its curriculum. Other universities, in Australia and overseas, are also taking this […] … learn more→
How to find the ideal private tutor near you!
Are you a student, a parent, or a guardian seeking the utmost professional tutoring services near you? Do you need extra assistance to realize your full potential with your studies? Getting a private tutor might be worth considering. However, you ought to tread relatively lightly should you want the best for you. Here’s how to […] … learn more→
Abusive male interviewers undermine universities’ gender equality efforts
Having worked in higher education for nearly 20 years, I’ve been through many interviews. While most – regardless of the outcome – have been positive experiences, a few have not. And, during an interview last week, it finally dawned on me what they all have in common: an older, male academic who seems to go […] … learn more→
Education needs scientific evidence, now more than ever
The professional comparison between medicine and teaching is frequent, since both are professions that share some traits in common. The most prominent of them all is that they are neither theoretical disciplines nor applied science. They are practical, clinical in medicine and educational in teaching, which aim to respond to a human need that always arises individually and in […] … learn more→
UK plans on student visas fail to empower entrepreneurialism
Well-educated immigrant entrepreneurs often play a crucial role in dynamic economies. In a famous 2006 study, The New Argonauts: Regional Advantage in a Global Economy, AnnaLee Saxenian of the University of California, Berkeleystudied the impact of highly skilled immigrants in Silicon Valley. Chinese and Indian scientists and engineers were running nearly a third of the […] … learn more→
The 10 keys to surviving in school ‘online’
The pandemic that hits us has interrupted the normal functioning of schools and has caused more than 900 million students to have been affected by the closure of classrooms from March until now, when the return to classes is gradual but irregular. A long period of time in which the centers, suddenly closed, and their […] … learn more→