Just a few years ago, the “virtual” classroom was a relatively new term, with relatively new usage. Today, however, like all technology, this idea is now out of date – due to the advent of a newer technology.

Live Classroom, from Wimba, is a “web-based learning environment that enables students and faculty in online courses to participate in highly interactive online sessions”, reports Linda L. Briggs, from campustechnology.com. No longer do students obtain their course material online, leaving its completion to their own devices, but the online experience has now been personalized by providing “interactive slides online…complete with slides, voice, white board capabilities, polling, chatting, application sharing, and soon, live video as well.”

Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been using Live Classroom since 2002. The reason for its use is not because it is a distance education school, but it recognizes it has “a large commuter and adult student population.” Phil O’Hara, Assistant Director for Academic Computing Services, recognizes “students need flexibility in order to fit studies around work and other commitments.”

O’Hara is a huge supporter of Live Classroom for what it offers Dalhousie students and professor, the ability to “globally connect” and for its ease of use – “within an hour, people are ready to roll.”

From a user-friendly standpoint, O’Hara makes a strong case. Unlike other products, O’Hara says this program “requires only a small client installed on the user’s system. Any student or professor can then access Live Classroom through that client.”

Like all technology, advances are always in progress, Live Classroom included. Version 5 has just been released and will “offer some key benefits,” says O’Hara, including two-way video, multi-way and follow-the-speaker video, expanded phone conferencing capabilities, enhanced breakout rooms and new emoticons.

A recent article in Nova Scotia News Now (online – www.novanewsnow.com) highlighted some valuable tips for parents to help prepare their children for college or university.
A few key points to remember to help your child make the transition into this new phase of life include:

• Start early – talk about it when your child is in their early high school years. Especially if the courses they select in high school may have an impact on what college/university of area of study they pursue.
• Be open to various paths of study – and keep these doors open as a result – teens change their minds like everyone else and they may feel differently about a program or school towards the end of their high school career
• Remember that “finding [their] path is a process” – even upon entering college or university, students will continue to change their course of study (students often change majors in their first or second years of university)
• Consider many factors when selecting your school. Points to remember include:

• Location
• Admission requirements
• Programs offered
• Tuition fees
• Are there on-campus residences available?
• What extra-curricular activities are offered?
• Does the school offer scholarships or bursaries; what are the guidelines?
• Plan a visit to the schools you have narrowed down on your list

• Come prepared with any questions

For more information on programs or schools, or to compare schools or program availability, visit UC411.com.

A recent article in Business Edge has noted the trend in University real estate – housing for the general public however, not its students.

In an attempt to raise money “for academic programs and enhance [university] communities”, Canadian universities are partnering with private companies to develop and build on-campus condos for public consumption.

The article states the terms for building are “in most, if not all, cases, developers [will] build and sell high-rise, mid-rise and townhouse projects on university land under prepaid 99-year leases through strata corporations.”

The reasons for this influx in building? UBC’s planning director, Joe Stott, claims they want to create a community, not a “commuter campus”. The general view, however, is to ‘recover [schools’] student, faculty and staff housing-construction costs.”

Universities across Canada are jumping on the construction bandwagon – from UBC all the way to the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto. Some additional reasons for creating more on-campus housing include housing shortages in certain towns/urban centres to cutting down on transportation costs (and therefore gas emissions).

Non-students who purchase an on-campus condo can live carelessly like a student again, without the stress of exams, as many will also have access to “such benefits as recreational facilities, day care, car-share programs, and other amenities usually enjoyed by students, faculty and staff.”

The results of the Canadian Undergraduate Survey Consortium was released recently and addresses issues many students feel upon entering university in addition to those many students/parents face at the start of this new journey. Interesting points to note concerning the sex ratio, housing and funding include:

• There are more female first year students than men,
• 50% of students live with their parents while attending university, while the other 50% live on campus or housing near campus,
• Many students find university more challenging than high school and confirm their grades reflect this

Most common source of income for students for tuition and living costs:

1. Parents (69%)
2. Savings/Grants/Bursaries/Scholarships
3. Loans (7%)*

However, 1 in 5 students stated they found it difficult to handle their workload in order to maintain the loan or bursary Why did they choose to go to university and what do they hope to achieve career wise? * Almost two thirds said they chose university because they felt it would help with future career aspirations * The reasons for choosing their school include:

1. Specific career-related programs
2. Wanted to live close to home
3. The Quality of academic programs

When asked about the quality of their education and their relationships with professors, students said they were satisfied with the quality of teaching, their professors were accessible outside of class, class discussion was encouraged and they felt they were treated “as individuals,

With the increase in IT jobs available in the Canadian job market yet a decline of IT graduates, CGI Group’s president Michael Roach says Canada needs to invest in our own technology universities, according to a recent article in IT Business.

As Harvard and MIT are known in the US as the crème de la crème of “tech” schools, what does Canada have to compare? Roach adds because Canada does not have any post-secondary institutions on a similar academic level, students today do not have the same access as our southern counterparts.

In addition, Roach believes “parents should be willing to pay higher tuition for their children to help address an emergency in IT labour shortage…the demand for IT professionals is at a 25 year high.” The government also needs to invest more money in education and inform students early-on of the benefits an IT career can present. Referred to as a “knowledge economy”, Roach believes there will be many career opportunities in the future for not just IT graduates but business and arts graduates as well as the industry continues to grow.

In regards to education in Canada, his reasoning behind producing better institutions, even if it means higher tuition costs, is because “availability and access to education…does not necessarily ensure the best education.” Canada must compete with international schools to provide the best education and produce the best graduates. Roach adds although “little is broken in our educational system, one can as easily argue that nothing is optimized either, and as a result we’re losing ground globally.”

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada released a report with the results predicting the changes to the labour market in the future and how this will affect educational institutions in Canada, according to a recent article in the Western News, the University of Western Ontario’s campus newspaper. The report, entitled Trends in Higher Education, concludes “the labour market will require more and more skilled knowledge workers, with young people turning to university education for the talents requited to fill those demanding jobs.” The Association’s president, Claire Morris, claims the “study shows that participation rates are a much more significant driver of enrolment increases than changes in the population.” Morris also realizes this growth “depends heavily on [Canada’s] ability to supply and finance the required human and physical resources.” Morris does note this growth will not be felt across Canada but only in certain regions and cities. It will depend on the existing size and capacity of a school and if they can meet the growing needs of its existing community.

A recent article at Macleans.ca, Macleans Magazine’s online source, highlighted the growing needs of university-bound students. The same study provided by the AUCC shows that since 2000, university enrollment has grown by 31% and that there does not appear to be a change to this trend in the near future, even with the speculative decrease in population of 18-21 year olds in 2012. The AUCC claims this trend will “put pressure on universities and governments to maintain quality education while accommodating the large number of students.” The report also notes other contributing factors such as urbanization, immigration of international students, parental influence, socio-economic status, labour market demand, demand for graduation education and financial returns.

Macleans interviewed authors James Côté and Anton Allahar regarding the changes discussed in their book Ivory Tower Blues about the enrollment and attitudes of students at Canadian universities. Côté and Allahar believe the “ever-higher participation rates [at Canadian universities] are leading to ‘degree inflation’, where even low-level jobs are seen to demand university credentials.” In addition, given the results they observed of Statistics Canada data in the 1990s, they saw that “Canada graduated twice as many university students as there were jobs created requiring a university degree.” Their argument focuses on the danger of this whereby Canada “may be over-educating and mis-educating a large number of Canadians by encouraging everyone to go to university.”

It appears the Green virus has moved its way into the classroom. A recent article in the Globe and Mail stated a number of high school students are now applying to environmental programs across Canada with hopes of really being able to make a “long-term difference” after graduation.

Environmental programs include science and engineering and those in sustainability, resource management, environmental policy and green tourism. Applications “have jumped dramatically for the 2007-2008 term, even doubling at some schools.”

Students are excited about their role in something worth while and the endless possibilities available where they can make a difference. Parents, on the other hand, are a bit concerned about their children’s future as far as jobs are concerned. Is this a fad or will there be enough jobs after graduation to sustain this influx?

Canadian universities offering environmental related programs include the Universities of Guelph, British Columbia and New Brunswick, Ottawa University, Dalhousie, McMaster, Brock and Queen’s.

Is post-secondary education in Canada developing similarities to our neighbours down south? The United States is known for wooing top athletes across the country with financial and other perks for them to come and play on varsity teams at US universities. Ontario universities have traditionally shied away from this, only rewarding individuals financially for academic excellence.

But the times might be changing. It appears some Ontario schools are now jumping on the tailgate party bandwagon by enticing top Canadian athletes with athletic scholarships, according to a recent article in The Record.

The difference, however, from our southern counterparts lies in the fact that Canadian students must be applying to university with a minimum 80% average. Currently, athletic scholarships are only available to returning students in Ontario – second year or higher – and they must maintain a minimum 70% average over the course of their studies.

The reason for the change of heart? Ontario schools are losing students to other Canadian schools and the United States. The new Ontario scholarships will offer freshman students $3,500 annually towards their tuition (this is approximately 76% of their annual tuition costs) and they must maintain a 70% average over their degree to continue to receive the scholarship.

Up until this point many Ontario universities have opposed offering scholarships based on athletic merits – mainly due to the financial constraints. Schools must now assess where they can get the money to pay for these athletes. There had been a vote last year to install athletic scholarships, but many universities said no. They have since realized the necessity in order to continue to attract top athletes, which accounts for their reconsideration. One thing they would not budge on is the academic component for athletic scholarships – they would not compromise a student’s academic performance just because they were a top athlete – unlike other post-secondary institutions. Wilfrid Laurier’s athletic director, Peter Baxter, said for them to “creat[e] a system like the one in the U.S., where athletes are sometimes students in name only, held zero appeal to the Ontario University Athletics conference, which instituted the scholarship rule change.”

17 of Ontario’s 18 universities are now offering athletic scholarships this September. Trent University in Peterborough is the only school not adopting this scholarship.

Summer is often a time of reflection with some space to breathe from the grueling and long hours in the university classroom. Students can rejuvenate and refresh themselves for four months before hitting the books for another intense year.

The university classroom and campus life has changed drastically over the past five years – mostly due to technology advancement. We now have the virtual classroom, lectures available by “podcast” or “i-lectures”, various methods of distance education (online vs. by mail). With a changing environment, one must ask does this bring a changing attitude?

An article in the National Post in April reviewed a book by James Côté and Anton Allahar entitled Ivory Tower Blues: A University System in Crisis. Côté, a professor at the University of Western Ontario, cites his realization of this changing attitude started when he “end[ed] up with a stack of abandoned essays on his desk at the end of every course” after students decided the results of their academic efforts weren’t even worth looking at.

The book looks at the idea behind this attitude, one where “students are more interested in the piece of paper they get at the end of their programs than the intellectual journey along the way, where professors are cowed into watering down courses and bumping up grades, and where universities are run like corporations hawking mass-produced grades which are increasingly in demand but increasingly meaningless.”

This attitude does not help the students, faculty or the institution in the long run, the authors argue. Côté and Allahar claim this view results in a “disengaged student body, disillusioned faculty and a glut of bachelor-degree-holding graduates with unrealistically lofty aspirations in for a shock when they land in a job market fuelled by “credentialism” and plagued by under-employment.” What do they mean by “credentialism” you might ask? It’s the state of our current job market, one where the stakes continue to grow while even the basic jobs requires a high level of education.

Students’ attitudes derive from the high school mentality where even the least amount of effort produces excellent results. They do not understand the concept of having to work for a grade and do not realize their newfound responsibilities regarding their own education and its outcome once they walk in the university doors. No longer will their “teachers” be there to hold their hands – professors are there to help or lend a hand but not hold your hand. This attitude, Côté and Allahar claim, leaves students “indignant, combative and ready to complain when they earn anything less than an A no matter how little they deserve it.”

Perhaps this is part of a bigger cycle or perhaps this is another change students and faculty will have to adjust to. Regardless, it is evident the dynamics and attitudes of education continues to change just like the changing classroom itself.

With summer in full swing and students back to work with the aim of saving for fall tuition and living expenses, the question of financial support might be on one’s mind. A recent article from CCN Matthews highlighted two recent reports published by the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation, who looked at issues regarding student debt and how that might affect one’s ability to complete one’s post-secondary education.

The Foundation’s mission is to “encourage Canadian students to strive for excellence [by] pursu[ing]…post-secondary studies” and they help students achieve this by providing $340 million worth of bursaries and scholarships each year to students across Canada. One question they raised was whether a growing debt in some way has deterred students from continuing their education. Although there are many methods of financial assistance in existence, such as bursaries, scholarships or loans, students still remain conscious of what their debt will be after graduation.

The reports also looked at Tax Credits in Canada and whether this aids in students’ abilities to complete their education. The report concluded that these credits “are improving neither access to Canadian post-secondary education institutions nor the affordability of studies for those most in need of support.” This particularly applies to lower income students who seem to be least able to make use of these credits while completing their studies.

The Foundation hopes their research and results “will inform the discussion to determine whether or not [they] have the right tools in place to help students who need support.”

With the rising tuition costs and enrollment numbers expected in the near future, it is necessary to address these issues now so all students in Canada have the same opportunity of pursuing and fulfilling their academic goals.