Formation Continue du Supérieur

By Matthew Gil. Although many open-enrollment courses face high dropout rates, UT professors hope memory-management software that checks retention rates and interacts with students will make a new online class more engaging for interested students.
Massive open online courses, commonly known as MOOCs, are free online courses accessible to the public. The UT System offers MOOCs through edX, a nonprofit distributor of interactive online courses. In 2012, the UT System Board of Regents approved a $10 million investment in edX, and the System’s first four MOOCs cost upward of $150,000 each. More...

By Gilles G. Patry. The response to the government’s announcement that it would aim to double the number of international students in Canada emphasizes the quantity: a goal of nearly half-a-million students from abroad on our post-secondary campuses by 2022. The higher tuition fees they pay, and the money they spend when they get here, creates jobs and fuels the economy. But to make the most of this policy goal, we need to consider not just how many, but what calibre of foreign students we are aiming for. Indeed, here is a chance to attract a tremendous influx of the world’s brightest, most energetic minds and all the advantages to the country that accompany their talent. More...

By Steve Rennie. Government House Leader Peter Van Loan is using the return of Parliament to boast about the Conservatives' economic track record — but OECD figures cast a small doubt over his claim that Canada tops the G7 in job creation.
"We have the strongest job-creation record in the G7, with the creation of over one million net new jobs since the recession," he said Monday.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty also mentioned the million-job figure during the first question period since MPs returned from their winter break.
"Our government is focused on the creation of jobs," he said. "In fact, over one million net new jobs have been created in Canada since July 2009, since the end of the recession."
The million-jobs figure is one the Harper government often mentions when talking up its economic prowess. Same with the claim about leading the G7 in creating jobs. More...

By Susana Mas. New immigration system set to launch in 2015 is being compared to 'a dating site'. The federal government is looking to match skilled immigrants with unfilled jobs, in what it's calling a new "fast and flexible system of economic immigration" it intends to have in place in January 2015.
Under this new system, which the government has compared to "a dating site," Ottawa would act as chief matchmaker between immigrants who want to move to Canada for work and Canadian employers looking to fill job vacancies.
"We're looking for an economic match," said Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander in an interview with CBC News. More...

Education is the bedrock for a country’s growth. China has been investing big in its leading schools. Although it still lacks institutions that are able to compete at the very top globally, China comfortably dominates its emerging market peer group. Chinese universities were the standout performers of the inaugural ranking of tertiary institutions in developing economies published by Times Higher Education magazine.
Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education rankings, explains how Chinese universities have come this far, what it will take for them to break through into the leading pack and how they are struggling to overcome a block in creativity. More...

By Julia Wong. Several Maritime universities have the dubious distinction of being the fastest growing “sugar baby” schools in Canada.
A ranking was released Monday by seekingarrangement.com, a dating website that connects university students, all female, with “sugar daddies”, men who have money who help pay for the student’s tuition.
The ranking lists Dalhousie University as the 11th fastest growing “sugar baby” university. Eighty-two students joined in the last year, bringing the total number of Dalhousie students registered on the website to 140. The University of New Brunswick ranks 19th on the list, with 49 new students this year, and St. Thomas University sits at 20 with 48 new students joining. More...

By Sara Custer. Tribal Group, the UK-based education support services giant, has significantly expanded its North American operations by opening offices in Boston, USA and Vancouver, Canada this month in order to usher in services from two companies within the group’s portfolio:  Benchmark+ and i-graduate. More...

Pour être recruté, les jeunes considèrent que l'informatique est la compétence clef, révèle un sondage OpinionWay réalisé pour Microsoft. Ils estiment également qu'il serait bon d'encore mieux former les futures générations aux outils numériques.
L'informatique, c'est désormais automatique ! Du moins pour les jeunes, selon un sondage OpinionWay réalisé pour Microsoft. Ils sont en effet 91 % à considérer qu'une bonne maîtrise des outils numériques est désormais indispensable dans le monde du travail. Suite...