From the world of post-secondary education!
The Council of Alberta University Students have released their submission for Alberta's 2010 budget consultation process. While not the boldest recommendations that have ever come from CAUS (speaking as one of its former Chairpersons), it appears that the new reality for post-secondary education is to avoid becoming the target of massive budget cuts rather than advocating for bold increases (which is more or less a pretty savvy maneuver in a province that is running a record $6.9 billion deficit)
On Thursday, it is expected to be announced that after a long process, Mount Royal College will become a University. "MRU" will be Alberta's fifth University and the first established since Athabasca University was created in 1970. Alberta's other universites include the University of Alberta (est. 1908), University of Calgary (est. 1966), and University of Lethbridge (est. 1967). There have been some exciting changes happening within Alberta's post-secondary education system since Doug Horner became Minister of Advanced Education & Technology in 2007, but I am still unconvinced whether Alberta needs a fifth University-level institution.
On a final post-secondary education note, I'm glad that I am not the only person to point out how ridiculous it is to suggest that Mount Royal's transition to a University is a conspiracy to influence the September 14 by-election in Calgary-Glenmore, as Calgary-Varsity Liberal MLA Harry Chase suggested this morning. Please keep the coffee room conspiracy theories away from the media releases.
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ReplyDeleteDave, you are bang on with your comment about Chase. The Mount Royal website has a release dated May 27 outlining Bill 4 containing the change of name and status. Harry and the Liberal researchers must have been absent when the Bill passed, no doubt helping Mr. Chase practice his next choral presentation to the legislature.
ReplyDeleteAs a MRC Grad myself, I am pleased with this announcment. This has been in the works forever. I heard that they were going to announce it in conjuntion with MRC upcoming anniversary.
ReplyDeleteThis makes my UofA degree one step closer to toilet paper just by association.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, they are criticizing the timing, not the decision.
ReplyDeleteA major post-secondary announcement days before the school year starts and a new batch of students begins there! crass politicking bastardos!
ReplyDeleteUmmmm
ReplyDeleteThey were gonna announce both the MacEwan University upgrade and the MRC upgrade on the 15th of Sept. They move one of them up to Thursday, right in the middle of a byelection when their candidate just floated the idea of reintroducing healthcare premiums and you DONT think it was becuase of the by-election.
Ummmmmm, yeah right.
I think you just kinda damaged any reputation you may have had for even having a passing understanding of partisan politics.
Good comment anonymous! Maybe you can use that info and teach the Liberals how to write a press release!
ReplyDeleteRegardless of when this announcement happens, its a good idea. In my view, both MRC and GMCC would benefit a great deal by changing their names, but the system will only benefit if the Ministry has the strength to strictly enforce Roles and Mandates.
ReplyDeleteMRC does not need or deserve to be a university. This is credential inflation at its worst. Nothing against having a second university in Calgary, but MRC is not currently equipped in terms of faculty, programs or funding. Its academic [sic] orientation reflects the deep anti-intellectual bias of the Conservatives, particularly their interest in "training" over education. Even the universities are pandering to this bias. It's sad.
ReplyDeleteNicely abetted by the ever incompetent and often just silly Alberta Liberals -- well, Mr. Chase anyway.
Teaching the Liberals how to write press releases? Writing them is one thing - and they're often pretty bad. When to write them is a bigger problem.
ReplyDeleteDaveberta, there are plenty of partisan "conspiracies" to keep all the opposition parties busy writing news releases. This isn't even conspiratorial; adjusting the timing of announcements to maximize partisan advantage happens all the time and is basic to every government. Isn't this sort of gamesmanship part of what you profess to hate so much about partisan politics, and why you're always on your moral high horse about being above all that...and why you plead with Ignatieff not to pull the plug on Harper? Or do you agree that the timing may have been adjusted (the "conspiracy" real) and are just outraged at Chase for pointing it out?
You may not have a "sticky-up hair cut" but....
I hope that giving Mount Royal College and Grant MacEwan the university designation won't encourage them to put even less focus on their diploma programs. These programs are still important, but in recent years the colleges have been putting a greater focus on pushing their degree programs, and putting less of an emphasis on their diploma programs. I've encountered a few students over the last year or so who didn't even know that MacEwan offered diploma programs.
ReplyDeleteI do find it odd that whereas in the Maritimes there are very fine universities scattered about in small towns (Sackville, NB; Wolfville and Antigonish, NS are examples), out here in the west they are confined to the big cities. Why can't we have more universities, more widely accessible (geographically speaking), and community colleges too?
ReplyDeletejerrymacgp, read Braid in the Calgary Herald this morning - he addresses that issue and does so pretty well
ReplyDeleteDaveberta, I'm interested in your perspective on the ALP's new ED - any chance of a post?
What does the Council of Alberta University Students say about the continuing trend of aboriginal and disabled students being vastly under-represented in PSE? Doug Horner has done absolutely nothing to address this fact.
ReplyDelete