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Martin Hicks – Humanities matter here and down by the river

Recently, at the annual conference of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges, Gwyn Morgan, retired CEO of energy giant EnCana, gave the opening keynote address, where he extolled the contributions colleges make to the economy and to the career success of many Canadians. He was right to do so.  Canada has a strong and successful […]

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Eileen M. Herteis – A league of their own: four undergraduate universities form strategic alliance

Guest blogger: Eileen M. Herteis, Mount Allison University In April, 2013, four of Canada’s top mainly undergraduate universities: Acadia, Bishop’s, Mount Allison and St. Francis Xavier, announced the formation of the U4 League. A strategic alliance to promote high quality undergraduate education, this announcement was exciting, if somewhat intriguing, news on the four campuses as […]

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Terry Gitersos – Terry Gitersos has a job (and they really did keep his resume on file)

The good people at HECQO have asked me to pen an epilogue to the missives I wrote last spring that chronicled my trials and tribulations as a recently graduated PhD in the job market.  I will make a long story short: I have finally found a job, and am in my fourth month of working […]

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Harvey P. Weingarten – Removing the confusion from the skills gap discussion

I have been reading and hearing a lot about the “skills gap” in Canada, particularly the suggestion of significant shortages of people with the skill set to fulfill the jobs available in today’s labour markets.  This discussion is often accompanied by commentary about the misalignment between what students learn in postsecondary programs and the requirements […]

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Harvey P. Weingarten – Learning outcomes: Lessons learned and the next big thing

After two years of work on a series of projects to investigate the feasibility and value of a learning outcomes perspective in higher education, we have learned some important lessons about this game-changing approach. First, the most promising aspect is the identification and measurement of general learning and cognitive skills such as critical thinking, problem […]

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On Our Radar – The Dog Ate My Homework

On Our Radar features HEQCO staff and guest bloggers offering their unique perspectives on trends, new ideas, and hot-button issues in higher education. The opinions are those of the authors. I would describe myself as a good student, one who always completes assignments on time and  asks far too many questions (much to the dismay […]

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On Our Radar – Open data movement: Canada know thyself

On Our Radar features HEQCO staff and guest bloggers offering their unique perspectives on trends, new ideas, and hot-button issues in higher education. The opinions are those of the authors. Anyone remotely involved in higher education is well aware of Massive Open Online Courses, otherwise known as MOOCs, which offer free education in the public […]

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On Our Radar – Glass ceiling more visible, but it’s still glass

On Our Radar features HEQCO staff and guest bloggers offering their unique perspectives on trends, new ideas, and hot-button issues in higher education. The opinions are those of the authors. With March bringing us both International Women’s Day and National Engineering month, the temptation to reflect on the state of women in engineering is practically […]

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David Trick – Robarts’ Plan for Higher Education Goes Golden

Fifty years ago tomorrow, on March 21, 1963, Premier John Robarts announced the plan that shaped Ontario’s higher education system as we now know it. His statement was delivered as part of routine proceedings in the Legislature, book-ended by statements about LCBO outlets and the Ontario Food Council.  He spoke for about an hour.  One […]