Formation Continue du Supérieur

22 juin 2013

Student loans 'plot' against graduates signals a time for major policy change

By Martin McQuillan. Plans to sell off student loans to private investors undermine trust in the whole university process, says Martin McQuillan. The Guardian last week revealed a secret report commissioned by the government from Rothschild bank, looking at ways in which the student loan book could be made attractive to private investors and sold off. The report is still under active consideration at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and, notably, ministers have failed to deny its contents. Read more...

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22 juin 2013

Stick or twist: the postdoctoral dilemma

By Anonymous. One postdoc asks: is the joy of working in a research field you love worth the pressure and uncertainty of an academic career? Stick or twist is the name of this game. Stick with pouring all my energy and attention into publications, grants and job applications in the hope that I can extend my academic career, and eventually find a permanent position. Or give up and make a serious and sustained attempt at redirecting my working life.We all try and hedge our bets of course, but let's be honest – given the scarcity of positions in both academia and the wider job market it is very difficult. To continue conducting and publishing research, especially once cut off from the material and digital resources which come with academic affiliation, is no easy matter and requires a heavy investment of time. Read more...

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22 juin 2013

Two masters for the price of one

By Liz Lightfoot. Collaborations with international universities have created courses with dual degrees and the chance to study abroad. It sounds like the academic version of a supermarket promotion – two or even three masters degrees for the price of one. In fact, it is one of the fastest growing trends in postgraduate education as universities in the UK join with others across the world to provide joint masters courses. Read more...

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22 juin 2013

Report: Teacher training programs not selective enough, do not prepare educators for classroom

The nation’s teacher-training programs do not adequately prepare would-be educators for the classroom, even as they produce almost triple the number of graduates needed, according to a survey of more than 1,000 programs released Tuesday.
The National Council on Teacher Quality review is a scathing assessment of colleges’ education programs and their admission standards, training and value. The report, which drew immediate criticism, was designed to be provocative and urges leaders at teacher-training programs to rethink what skills would-be educators need to be taught to thrive in the classrooms of today and tomorrow. Read more...

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22 juin 2013

Governor General encourages continuation of life-long learning

By Cory Hurley. Post-secondary institutions and communities provide a wonderful combination of the what and how, according to the Governor General.
David Johnston used those terms to describe the symbiotic relationship between university and communities at the CU Expo being hosted in Corner Brook this week.
“Communities know what our needs are, and post-secondary institutions know the methods and possess the experience and expertise to help determine how to go about meeting those needs,” he told the large crowd gathered for the opening address of the international conference underway in western Newfoundland.
Johnston discussed the unique potential of post-secondary institutions and communities to bring about social change through partnerships and co-operation. He said the Canadian-led, international conference is the next step in moulding those networks and partnerships to achieve that potential. Read more...

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22 juin 2013

Higher education ignoring sales

U.S. employment firm CareerBuilder said it had discovered that formal training in sales was disproportionately missing from the world of higher education.
Data from Economic Modeling Specialists, a CareerBuilder company, showed there were 599 colleges and universities in the country offering degrees in geology and only 274 offering degrees in sales.
In an even more pronounced contrast, there are 1,571 schools of higher education offering degrees in psychology, about six times more than there are school offering degrees in sales.
However, there are 15,517,185 sales positions in the United States -- give or take a few. Read more...

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22 juin 2013

The scary reality of China’s debt crisis

By Gwynn Guilford. The headlines today were awash with relief that China’s liquidity crisis has subsided, as the central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), finally came to the aid of banks after a week-long standoff. But it’s hard to look at this chart and see cause for relief:
“Keep in mind 8-9% is right on the edge of the market breaking down,” says Patrick Chovanec, chief strategist at Silvercrest Asset Management. Even as the overnight rate came down, he notes, the 14-day and 1-month rates spiked today. “It’s kind of like how in Beijing…[the pollution has] been off the charts for so long that when it goes back down to ‘hazardous’ we’re like, ‘Oh, it’s great.’”
That’s because the core problem isn’t simply a seize-up in liquidity. Rather, it’s that rolling over the piles of debt amassed over the last few years requires ever-increasing amounts of liqudity, and that’s becoming harder and harder to perpetuate. Read more...

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22 juin 2013

Do Unpaid Internships Lead to Jobs?

By Jordan Weissmann. Not for College Students Unpaid interns of the world! Get up and leave the office. You have nothing to lose. Literally. Nothing. The common defense of the unpaid internship is that, even if the role doesn't exactly pay, it will pay off eventually in the form of a job. Turns out, the data suggests that defense is wrong, at least when it comes to college students.
For three years, the National Association of Colleges and Employers has asked graduating seniors if they've received a job offer and if they've ever had either a paid or unpaid internship. And for three years, it's reached the same conclusion: Unpaid internships don't seem to give college kids much of a leg up when it comes time to look for employment. This year, NACE queried more than 9,200 seniors from February through the end of April. They found that 63.1 percent of students with a paid internship under their belt had received at least one job offer. But only 37 percent of former unpaid interns could say the same -- a negligible 1.8 percentage points more than students who had never interned. Read more...

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22 juin 2013

Economic Diversity Not a Substitute for Racially Diverse Student Body

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By Ronald Roach. With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to determine the legality of race-conscious admissions in higher education, a peer-reviewed study published this month in a leading education research journal contends that, while socioeconomic and racial diversity contribute to a positive racial climate on campus, socioeconomic diversity is not a substitute for racial diversity.
In “Does Socioeconomic Diversity Make a Difference? Examining the Effects of Racial and Socioeconomic Diversity on the Campus Climate for Diversity,” published in the American Educational Research Journal, the authors reject the notion that class-based affirmative action alone will bring about a full range of diversity-related educational benefits to college campuses. Instead, lead author Julie J. Park, an assistant professor of education at the University of Maryland (UMD), says that, on its own, socioeconomic status falls short as a back-door way to diversity. Read more...

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22 juin 2013

More Canadian universities seek U.S. accreditation

By Rosanna Tamburri. The move can help smaller regional universities do quality assessment and attract foreign students. In a bid to bolster their reputations at home and abroad, some universities, mostly from Western Canada, are turning to U.S. accrediting agencies to gain an international seal of approval. Capilano University in Vancouver, B.C. was accredited this year by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (or NWCCU) in Washington State, one of six major regional agencies in the U.S. that evaluates postsecondary educational quality. B.C.’s Thompson Rivers University recently announced that it too would seek accreditation from the NWCCU and plans to submit its application in September. Read more...

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