Instead of asking how universities might benefit from shifting courses online permanently, we ought to ask how students might suffer from fewer opportunities for lived experience and practice.
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We ought to worry that the pandemic has made it even easier to reduce teaching to disseminating knowledge.
A crossing guard stops traffic as students arrive at École Woodward Hill Elementary School, in Surrey, B.C., Feb. 23, 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Comprehensive early childhood education, mental health support, internet connectivity and post-secondary funding are part of reducing the consequences of poverty so all students may excel.
The probability of successfully planning for the future dramatically increases when university leaders appropriately engage faculty and staff to strategize.
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Strategic planning experts say public universities in developed countries can no longer depend on government funding, and must restructure to reduce costs and increase revenue or face failure.
The shift online demonstrated the convenience of distance learning and has convinced some learners, including workers and unemployed people, to study.
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The forced transition to online university learning will mean teaching practices will be permanently changed.
Indigenous people with experience guiding culturally safe talking circles in an online environment can work with students to nurture safe virtual spaces.
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Student respondents to a survey discussed memories of historical trauma of infectious disease and displacement, financial hardship related to Alberta tuition hikes and mental health concerns.
This past century, universities have proven to be nimble and entrepreneurial even while adroitly portraying themselves as guardians of tradition.
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Universities have successfully adapted during nearly a century of disruption. Will international branch campuses be the next development in navigating COVID-19?
A lone cyclist rides past the University of Toronto campus during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on June 10, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
University students had high rates of mental health issues before the pandemic. The additional stressors of COVID-19 and social isolation will make them even more vulnerable over the winter.
Particularly during an economic crisis, graduating from university should not sentence students to a lifetime of debt.
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Canadians’ publicly funded post-secondary education system has been eroded over time, diminishing the promise it once held to protect people from poverty. We should demand change.
Many factors contributed to students’ need for personalized accommodation and support to achieve academically during rapid transitions online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A study documents how universities’ centres for teaching and learning are responding to helping faculty create quality online courses for all students.
Distinguishing a unique sense of place within a common virtual space of online learning will require significant investment.
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In a world where students can attend any university from their living rooms, universities need a compelling answer to the question: “Why should students come here?”
The key to long-term retention of information is to practise retrieving that information.
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Put down the highlighter. Research about the brain and memory shows that leaving time between study sessions and testing yourself frequently are more efficient ways to learn.
A man on a skateboard and a young woman pass large letters spelling out UBC at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., November 2015.
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Canada should invest robustly in students’ post-secondary education. Data about effects of the pandemic and how students balance classes and work show why we urgently need this investment.
A person bicycles past the University of Toronto campus during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto in June 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Students won’t be allowed to participate in activities at St. Francis Xavier University this fall unless they sign a COVID-19 waiver. That’s forcing them to make a difficult and unfair choice.
Post-secondary institutions reflect Canadian society at large. Addressing racism can help work towards social justice.
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The coronavirus pandemic has revealed inequities throughout society. However, the pandemic also provides the opportunity to change, including in Canadian postsecondary institutions.
Graduates during a drive-through graduation for Faith Lutheran High School at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, May 22, 2020, in Las Vegas.
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High school seniors will miss important anticipated events due to the coronavirus pandemic, but offering resources, alternatives and the confidence that they’re going to be fine is what matters.
Finances, academic performance and a sense of belonging may all be factors in whether or students finish their post-secondary studies.
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Tailored strategies to address students’ finances, academic success and socio-emotional connections with an institution or program can help keep students in school.
The burden should not rest solely on graduate students to map out their careers beyond academia.
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PhD students can’t wait for universities and governments to reconcile the demands for a more educated workforce and a scarcity of academic jobs – they should plan their own careers.
When a student dies by suicide, university communities grapple with the fact that an opportunity for a suffering person to receive help was missed.
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As universities advocate for ‘zero suicide’ frameworks, it is important for university leaders to work at suicide awareness, prevention and response, and to reinforce a culture of compassion.
Work-integrated learning experiences provide people with hands-on opportunities to apply concepts learned in the classroom in the real world.
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For post-secondary students, work-integrated learning experiences offer opportunities to gain that first experience on the resumé while planning a transition from school to work.
Creative, social and family life should not be banished from the knowledge economy.
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Assistant Professor, Educational Technology, Chair in Educational Leadership in the Innovative Pedagogical Practices in Digital Contexts - National Bank, Université Laval