January 22, 2014

Page 1

‘Pack parts ways with Lundgren Pg. 11

The Omega Thompson Rivers University’s Independent Student Newspaper

Volume 23, Issue 16 January 22, 2014

Ω

News

Editorial & Opinion

Life & Community

Arts & Entertainment

Sports

Pages 1, 2

Pages 3, 9

Page 5

Pages 6, 7

Page 11

First draft of TRU priorities released Jessica Klymchuk Ω News Editor After a semester of consultations, TRU’s first draft of its new priorities has been released. Over the last four months, seven town hall meetings and two surveys have influenced the 35-person strategic priorities committee in the drafting of five priorities that will guide the university’s goals over the next five years: (1) Building student success through experiential learning opportunities, flexible delivery models for programs and supporting success in transitions between high school and university and work and university. (2) Building intercultural understanding through the indigenization and internationalization of campuses and recognition of uniqueness of Canadian society through Canada-based teaching. (3) Building research capacity by prioritizing activities that develop a capacity to conduct scholarly research through program innovation, expertise of faculty and partnerships with industry. (4) Building entrepreneurial capacity by prioritizing entrepreneurial collaboration that mutually benefits the university and the community through innovative practices, industry partnerships and career development

opportunities for students, faculty and staff. (5) Building sustainability financially, economically, culturally, creatively and environmentally. Town hall meetings at TRU on Jan. 16 and at NorKam Secondary on Jan. 17 invited participants to review and discuss the priorities and then brainstorm how they could be implemented and what would constitute success. “It isn’t prescriptive,” TRU president Alan Shaver said. “We aren’t telling people here is a priority here’s how you are going to do it. We are saying here are the priorities we think will make a difference to a lot of different things at TRU. Get together and come up with an idea so we can go with this.” Shaver said he sees these priorities leading TRU to be Canada’s first modern university, one that doesn’t have to be everything to everyone but is strategic about what it offers. “I think it’s a more directed and focused approach,” he said of the draft. “I think the 2007 priorities did a good job of developing what I’d call big picture and many of those things are just as relevant today as they were back then. Some we think needed to be changed.”

See PRIORITIES Pg.

2

President Alan Shaver presents the current state of the five-year priorities plan to around 75 faculty and students in attendance Jan. 16. ( Jessica Klymchuk/ The Omega)

TRU’s International Building looms large over the centre of campus. (Sean Brady/ The Omega)

Federal government hopes to double international students Jane Lytvynenko CUP Ottawa Bureau Chief OTTAWA (CUP) — The number of international students in Canadian post-secondary classrooms could double over the next eight years. On Jan. 15, the Conservatives announced a strategy to double the amount of researchers and students coming from abroad. The program centers around $5 million per year in funding primarily going toward branding and marketing. The funding was approved as a part of the Economic Action Plan last year. Minister of International Trade Ed Fast announced the program at Ryerson University. Fast said in a press release that in addition to the marketing money, “the strategy will provide $13 million over two years to the Globalink program of Mitacs, a national not-forprofit organization that fosters innovation through research and training programs.” The initiative will focus on six key regions: Brazil, China, India, Mexico, North Africa and the Middle East and Vietnam. While critics say an increase in international students is a positive overall goal, they add there needs to be more details

on the program. Alex Usher, president of Higher Education Strategy Associates, says the newly announced strategy needs to be better thought out to be successful. “There are lots of reasons why you might want to increase the number of international students but lets be explicit about what they are and work backwards from there,” Usher said, adding there is no clear purpose for doubling international students. Usher said the document presented by Fast should not be called a strategy. He wondered whether provinces and educational institutions were consulted when putting together the plan. “The only goal I can see is double the number of incoming students,” he said. “I don’t know why that number was picked and if you don’t know why the number was picked you’ll have a hard time justifying it.” Dan Harris, the NDP postsecondary education critic, said the idea of doubling international students in Canada is not a bad one. “They [international students] make an important part of the student body in Canada and help provide resources to universities through tuition fees,” Harris said.

He added the government needs to ensure the resources and support are there for the new international students, many of whom face a culture shock when coming to Canada. Gary Slater, associate vice-president international at the University of Ottawa, said new students often have a language barrier and have to deal with different methods of teaching from what they’re used to. Harris echoed Slater’s concern with resources for international students, saying, “We have to make sure they succeed and we have no problems arise from a larger student body.” He added that universities will need additional funds to provide adequate programming for the new students, something that’s not currently outlined in the strategy. Slater said that because education is a provincial matter, the federal government can only hope the numbers double as projected. The rest of the work falls on the provinces, some of which have a hard time recruiting international students.

See U.S. Pg.

2


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
January 22, 2014 by The Omega - Issuu