As many of you know, 6 A&S students are in Hong Kong at the Kadoorie Animal Sanctuary with Dr. Sal Renshaw (as part of a class volunteer placement).
In order to track their progress, here’s the link to the blog:
http://kfbghongkong.nipissingu.ca
Category Archives: curriculum
New anthropology degree at Nipissing University
Press Release. 13 November 2013.
Move over Margaret Mead. Step aside Claude Levi-Strauss. The next generation of anthropologists who change the way humans see themselves and their cultures could be walking the halls of Nipissing University next year, with the launch of a new Anthropology degree program.
Students interested in this new four-year major can apply this fall. They will be exposed to different ideas of human experience and cultures, and will discover how human beings in their diversity are all engaged in a project of making meaning in the world. Students will learn skills integral to individual success and the success of our global society.
Nipissing has offered anthropology courses for decades. The new major in anthropology program builds on the university’s existing expertise and provides students with more options in their degree of choice.
“Anthropology is a vital field of study, as students learn about the diversity of humankind’s cultures and traditions. As our world becomes increasingly globalized, the understanding of diverse peoples and inter-related cultures and societies becomes even more pressing,” said Dr. Ann-Barbara Graff, dean of the faculty of arts and science. “I think the program will prove to be popular with students. They will enjoy all the advantages that our small class sizes and first-rate faculty have to offer, as well as hands-on fieldwork experiences to enrich understanding.”
“Anthropology has a long tradition in the Canadian North. Nipissing’s location and the demographic composition of the region makes anthropology particularly relevant here,” said Dr. Carly Dokis, assistant professor of sociology and one of the professors who helped create the anthropology program curriculum. “Our program is rooted in the idea of community, and provides a framework through which to view the complex issues facing the modern world.”
“The new degree in Anthropology enhances the offerings that Nipissing provides to its students,” said Dr. Harley d’Entremont, vice-president of academic and research. “We are confident it will prove to be a popular program that will aid enrolment growth in the coming years while serving the needs of our communities by graduating leading thinkers for the knowledge economy.”
Differentiation, Heather Mallick’s Column from Friday 20 September 2013
Differentiation remains a topic of conversation in the sector. While it is true that differentiation by some definitions already exists–by admission average, by region, by the emphasis placed on teaching and research, by size and resources–it is also the case that all students in Ontario can be assured of the quality of their programs. Not all universities offer the same programs, but what is offered is comparable big school to small by virtue of the IQAP process.
If we follow the presumed path that will leave us with three tiers in Ontario (U of T; U15; the rest), I’m not sure what problem has been solved, esp. if the tiers are entrenched such that universities can’t be re-seeded. Are we opposed to competition (have we given up on capitalism and evolution)?
If the conversation is about the delivery of undergraduate education, then students need to receive sufficient preparation for second degrees (professional schools, graduate schools, college programs, apprenticeships), so we are potentially undertaking a process that we return us to the current state.
I have many questions, one is, Where are the U15 graduates going, esp if they want to pursue a life in academia? Ontario has in some way subsidized their education. Presumably the best academicians blend current research with teaching. If ‘the rest’ is defined as teaching only, then there will be no faculty–graduates will pursue careers in the US or in other provinces. Why is that better? Or is that the endgame?
In Heather Mallick’s column, she highlights some of the concerns that are fuelling the discussion: the cost of education delivered in “traditional” ways; the presumed savings of MOOCs; the difficulty of transferring between institutions (colleges and universities); the unpreparedness of students (entering university and, in some cases, upon graduation). While I agree that these are the recurring themes, most of these themes will not be addressed by differentiation.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/09/20/ontario_universities_are_being_reined_in_mallick.html#
Interview about Academic Dishonesty on CBC’s The Current
If you missed it, I recommend that you listen to an interview with Dean Julia Christensen Hughes, College of Business at Guelph on academic dishonesty which aired on 16 September 2013.
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2013/09/16/student-cheating-and-technology/
HEQCO | Differentiation: Toward a more coherent and sustainable university system
The following is from HEQCO:
A new report from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) finds that the province’s 20 universities could be organized into at least three distinct clusters based on a set of variables that other jurisdictions have used to differentiate their university systems, setting the stage for a more coherent, diversified and sustainable system. But for this differentiation framework to be effective, the roles, rights and responsibilities of universities in each of the clusters needs to be identified and the government would need to align those decisions to funding.
“These conversations and decisions are meaningful, worthwhile and effective only if they are tied to funding formulas, which represents the most powerful levers available to government to effect change,” says HEQCO. “As individual institutions consider how these decisions intersect with their plans and aspirations, these debates are typically controversial, but they are critical if the benefits of a more differentiated Ontario university system are to be derived and enjoyed by students, the public and the province.”
Project description
Previous HEQCO reports, especially a report from an expert panel that assessed the strategic mandate agreement submissions of Ontario universities, laid out the arguments for and benefits of a more differentiated Ontario postsecondary system. The government has indicated that it wishes to pursue a policy of greater institutional differentiation. This report examines the diversity of Ontario’s universities (a college analysis is forthcoming) on variables that other jurisdictions have used to differentiate the universities within their systems. For this study, the report considers data on enrolment, number of PhDs awarded, percentage of doctoral degrees awarded, sponsored research income, faculty publications, research citations and H-index scores, which factor in both the number of research publications by faculty member and frequency of citation.
Findings
The data suggest that the University of Toronto could be considered to be in a cluster of its own, competitive with some of the world’s most highly ranked universities. At the upper end of research intensity are the other five Ontario universities in the so-called U-15, representing Canada’s most research-intensive universities: McMaster, Western, Ottawa, Waterloo and Queen’s, as well as the University of Guelph.
Within a cluster of mainly undergraduate universities in the Ontario system are Algoma, Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU), Nipissing, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Laurier, Trent, Brock, Lakehead and Laurentian. These institutions are less involved in graduate education, especially at the PhD level and attract a lower level of research income. Two of the institutions – UOIT and OCADU — have highly defined mandates. In such cases, other jurisdictions sometimes include a category of “special purpose universities” in their differentiation frameworks.
The report notes that four universities – York, Carleton, Windsor and Ryerson – fall between the more research intensive and mainly undergraduate clusters.
Although used in other jurisdictions, there are two other common dimensions of differentiation that are absent in the Ontario system. No Ontario university presents itself as primarily undergraduate liberal arts nor as an online or “open” university. Virtually all of Ontario’s universities characterize themselves, and aspire to be, research intensive. And although there has been discussion about online institutions for some years, none promote internet-based instruction to the degree and breadth of acknowledged online institutions. “While Ontario universities differ in size, research profile and participation in graduate studies,” according to the report, “all of them, regardless of the details of their current state and makeup, appear to aspire to the same goal: specifically, to grow discovery research programs and expand graduate studies.”
Policy considerations
With the implementation of a differentiation framework, universities use their own resources more purposefully and students have clear choices about which institutions best serve their personal and professional goals. “This is how the quality of the overall system is uplifted and it is what the best differentiation frameworks enable. The role of data is to provide the hard facts about the current activities of Ontario’s universities to inform the development of a sensible differentiation framework,” says HEQCO.
The authors note that the proposed differentiation scheme poses questions for government. Among them, should the four universities that do not readily align with the “more research intensive” and “mainly undergraduate” clusters be placed in a separate category? Should PhD seats be preferentially allocated to the more research intensive universities and to what degree? Should government attempt to minimize PhD programs in mainly undergraduate universities? How should the funding of master’s programs, especially professional and course-based master’s programs, be allocated across the clusters?
While a differentiation framework defines differences among institutions, it does not signal differing merit, value or worth, say the authors. And rather than concentrating on what a university should not do, a useful framework enables institutions to do even more of what they do best.
Authors of The Diversity of Ontario’s Universities: A Data Set to Inform the Differentiation Discussion are Harvey P. Weingarten, Martin Hicks, Linda Jonker and Shuping Liu, Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.
For more information visit: http://www.heqco.ca/en-CA/Research/Research%20Publications/Pages/Summary.aspx?link=108
Ainsley Matthews
Events and Publications Coordinator | Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario – Informing the future of higher education | 1 Yonge Street, Suite 2402, Toronto, ON M5E 1E5 | T: 416-212-5248 M: 416-799-2760
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The Heart of the Matter?
The American Academy of Arts and Science recently released a report called The Heart of the Matter which speaks to the vital role of the Humanities and Social Sciences in the fostering of an engaged, active, and productive citizenry. Inevitably, this will spark renewed discussion of the social value of the humanities. Under threat on university campuses, the Humanities and Social Sciences have a number of defenders. I’ve appended three links which might fuel discussion on this important issue:
- Anthony Grafton and James Grossman, “The Humanities in Dubious Battle” (July 1, 2013)
- Andrew Motion, “The Bonfire of the Humanities,” Romanes Lecture (Oxford, June 2011).
- Crisis in the Humanities: Problems and Possible Solutions (Chair, Jack Stevenson) Panelists: Nick Mount, Joe O’Connell, Germaine Warkentin, Janet Paterson. (University of Toronto, January 2011).