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The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities is set to implement big changes to Ontario’s post-secondary education sector over the next six months. TCU minister Brad Duguid said he expects greater differentiation between institutions, more e-learning opportunities and easier credit transfers.

Duguid met with student and faculty groups over the summer to discuss reforms proposed by the ministry. The ministry has now entered the decision-making stage.

“My sense is that there is recognition among all student groups and faculty groups that, if we just go on the way we are now, given the fiscal environment, it’s not sustainable,” Duguid said.

The province is expected to make announcements addressing three key issues in the next six months.

Online education

The province has proposed an Ontario Online Initiative that would take a consortium or “centre of excellence” approach to providing more e-learning opportunities.

“I expect this fall we will be moving forward with a strategy that will help make Ontario a leader in this area,” Duguid said.

In February 2012, a leaked policy paper from the ministry, suggesting that students should be able to take three of five courses online, drew criticism from several student and faculty groups. Groups responded by raising concerns over reduced quality of education through e-learning.

“It seems now that the government has backed away from a degree-granting institution. Students pushed back on that very strongly,” said Alastair Woods, CFS-Ontario chairperson.

“Online education should only be pursued as a means to provide more access to distance education, not as a cost-saving measure,” said Rylan Kinnon, director of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Association (OUSA). “We feel the government understands that and is making progress.”

Kinnon said OUSA has recommended extended hours for online student support and online credit transfers.

“Having credit transfer is a central aspect of it–students need to know that their [online] course will apply to their program in their home institution,” Kinnon said.

Differentiation

Duguid said the province will continue to push for greater differentiation between Ontario’s colleges and universities “to stay competitive in the global economy.”

“We can no longer afford to have a system that is organically developing based on whatever preferences the institutions may have. We can’t have duplication in the system,” he said.

With greater differentiation, institutions are encouraged to grow preferentially in areas they already excel in, so that each institution can be assessed by specific performance indicators.

OCUFA, which represents 17,000 university faculty and librarians, released its response to the Ministry’s discussion guide, raising concerns over rhetoric and some proposed reforms.

“We don’t really know what ‘differentiation’ means,” said Kate Lawson, OCUFA president. “If it means students in any part of the province can access high quality aspects of education they want, we can support that. But we’re concerned that the government might look at it as a cost-saving mechanism.”

“From OCUFA’s point of view, universities in Ontario are underfunded and need reliable baseline funding,” Lawson said.

OCUFA has stated that it will not support using institutional performance against the goals outlined in the SMAs [strategic mandate agreements] to determine allocations of public funding.

“We believe such a system [imposes] a punitive hierarchy of “winners” and “losers,” OCUFA stated.

Credit transfer

While Duguid did not confirm or deny that the consortium established between seven universities last year will be expanded, he said a more fluid system is one of his priorities.

“I see no reason why, in the coming years, courses can’t be fully transferable across Ontario institutions,” Duguid said.

Kinnon said OUSA supports the ministry’s push for more course-mapping (institutions trying to match each other’s popular courses) as well as putting standards in place for appeals, residence requirements, and minimum grade requirements.

OUSA has also cautioned that rural and northern institutions should have a breadth of offerings since distance is a greater factor for those students.

“Up until now the ministry and the sector have done a lot of good work on college-to-university credit transfer. Now we need to focus on university-to-university transfer,” Kinnon said.

This article was also published on the Canadian University Press's newswire. 

A quick recap of Welcome Week events. Videography by Emily Scott, co-edited with Ben Barrett-Forrest.

Those looking to catch a basketball or volleyball game in Burridge Gymnasium this year could be in for a shock as they try to walk through the doors.

For the past three years, McMaster students who wore maroon and presented their student card were given free admittance to basketball or volleyball games. The no-cost event was part of the Athletics and Recreation department’s Colour Your Passion campaign.

But as the department puts down the crayons and launches The McMaster Way initiative, the free admittance is falling to the wayside and students will now be charged $5. Parrish Offer, manager of Athletic and Recreation’s marketing, says that this fee is about much more than trying to bolster revenue figures.

“The thought process behind this is that we had devalued our tickets. For our students, the value of our tickets was zero and it didn’t feel like we were putting on a valuable show,” said Offer.

The athletic director, Jeff Giles, associate director, Mark Alfano, and Offer collectively made the decision over the summer. The free admittance did not drastically impact attendance figures, as the three years saw virtually no increase, according to the athletic department.

But as tuition costs rise and students are more reluctant to drop dollars, the $5 ticket has the potential to be the tipping point for someone who is undecided on whether to attend a game or not. However, the head of marketing does not see it that way.

“There’s a perception out there that students are poor – that they don’t have money. I don’t think that’s necessarily true, I think they are on budgets and they will spend for good value,” said Offer.

The opportunity to free admittance has not completely disappeared, however. The department launched the McMaster Marauders Mobile App towards the end of August, which rewards students for checking in at places either on campus or the surrounding area.

Every check-in is worth one Maroon Point, and it takes ten Maroon Points to receive free entry to a basketball or volleyball game for free.

While the opportunity for free entry is a good alternative, the impact on attendance numbers will be an interesting story to follow. The casual Marauder fan is getting the short end of the stick here, with the die-hard being rewarded for their dedication.

The change has the potential to chase away fans from the brand, but the department has addressed this by adding more vendor rewards in their app than just athletics.
“The app has TwelvEighty, the Campus Store, the Phoenix, who are all on campus and you can get points. Then you can go off campus to places like the Snooty Fox and Pita Pit to earn rewards there,” said Offer.

Currently, football has a $5 cost for students and the fee has not deterred students from going to games. The athletic department says it is optimistic that on-court success mixed with stronger brand affinity from students will bolster attendance figures in the coming years.

Click through for some photos of Faculty Fusion, MacConnector, and the Tommy Trash concert. Photos c/o Sarah Janes.

With coffee competitors around the corner, UM wants to remain a student hotspot

The Student Centre is bustling again and the Union Market is starting the year off with a fresh face. The student-run store is in the process of adding a third cash register and a new layout for easier coffee service. The store has already added a large grab ‘n’ go fridge along with gluten-free options. A grand reopening will take place in October, once renovations are complete.

The Union Market, owned and operated by the MSU, will soon have to compete with a new Starbucks moving into the Student Centre at the end of October.

“When the Starbucks went up on Main Street, we felt a bit of pressure,” said Matthew Bergen, Union Market manager.

Bergen said the Union Market will continue to bank on the student atmosphere that has kept regulars coming in over the years. He also wants to reach out to first years who may not know about the store because it doesn’t accept student meal cards.

“When you’re in first year, you’re just walking through the Student Centre - you’re in that bubble,” he said.

Bergen started working at the Union Market as a student two and a half years ago.

“I was paying my own way through school, so I needed a job. I really liked the environment here and how it was student-oriented. Everyone was on the same level,” he said. Bergen liked the student vibe so much that he applied to be manager twice.

When he started his term this past May, Bergen made it his mission to renovate the store. Since the Union Market first opened with the Student Centre in 2002, the store hasn’t had much more done than a few paint jobs.

Over ten years, the Union Market has seen its sales and traffic grow along with the student population. Now, with thousands of people passing through the Student Centre each day, the store is trying to catch up with its increased foot traffic. The Union Market currently sells between 2500-3000 cups of coffee a week.

While all full-time undergraduate students pay $122 toward operating costs of MSU services, the Union Market is one of the only MSU businesses that makes enough profit to help financially support other services.

Bergen said the Union Market is in a unique position as both a business and a part of a non-profit student organization.

“Our goal isn’t to widen our margins as much as we can or to mark up the prices,” Bergen said. “The Union Market is the only place on campus where you can get a coffee, yogurt, and fruit for under five bucks.”

We're halfway through Welcome Week! Here's the run-down so far, as told by Mac students.

http://storify.com/TheSilhouette/welcome-week-2013

 

Would I rather be unemployed, or work for free? That’s a question many of us face at some point during our time at university and after we graduate.

Internship season is well underway and those of us who aren’t already employed are probably looking for positions that will open doors. Job-hunting beats watching another rerun of that show we hate (in theory). But the reality is that a lot of internships for students don’t pay very much, if at all. In industries like arts, culture, and journalism, the number of qualified applicants far surpasses supply of internships (even unpaid ones). I’ve come across many enticing job postings that pay about minimum wage, are unpaid internships, or are labeled as “volunteer/internship” (it’s confusing because I don’t think of the two as the same, and yet I see the terms conflated or used together more often).

Scrolling through job ads, the question comes up again: Sit around for X months or make an effort to gain “valuable experience,” even if that means you’re not earning an income?

For some, the answer to that question will be fielded by asking other questions: “Do I need more experience in this industry?” “Will this internship actually provide me with valuable experience?” “Will doing unpaid work pay off later?”

For others, the decision hinges mainly on affordability. A recent article in the Guardian contends that “Unpaid internships and a culture of privilege are ruining journalism”—in other words, unpaid internships open the door to those who can afford to be journalists and discourage those who can’t buy their way in. Students who don’t receive financial support need to pay for groceries, housing and utilities before anything else. Taking on a part-time job while doing an unpaid internship is an option, but it’s tiring and it means you’re not at the same start line as everyone else. Transportation costs add up, too. If it’s a two-hour commute per day, that turns out to be a large chunk of the summer—time that could be spent launching a start-up, taking a course to get ahead, or just taking time off to relax.

It’s not just a moral issue but a legal one as well. Media coverage has been picking up on what kinds of internships are legal and which aren’t. It’s one thing to volunteer for a non-profit organization that you care about—it’s another to replace a paid employee. If you’re doing work you didn’t sign up for or aren’t getting any training out of an unpaid internship, the position may be illegal.

When it comes to job hunting, it can be shortsighted to give ourselves ultimatums that revolve around unpaid work (“Should I take this unpaid internship now or do nothing?”). That mentality makes it easier for us to neglect our other options and disregard our potential as self-starters. When faced with a tempting unpaid internship, we should instead be asking: “Why should I take this? Is it the best fit for me right now, and would I get the same out of it as my employer?” Forget everything you’ve read or heard about ‘entitled millennial’ – an unpaid stint is at best an exchange between intern and employer (labour for training and experience). At worst, it’s an exploitative measure that makes it more okay for other companies to keep posting volunteer positions without looking at funding options.

Even if you barely have any job experience, I’d encourage you to think twice about digging into an unpaid internship. Ask why you need it, if you really do. If you feel like it is a good fit for you, be upfront about your goals and find out if they’re attainable before you go through with it. Learn as much as you can.

 

Hamilton artists Katrina Camilleri and Cheyenne Federiconi have come a long way since high school. The two longtime friends and graduating Mac students have just put the finishing touches on their upcoming art exhibit.

They’ll be showing a joint collection of original artwork at Manta Contemporary Gallery starting April 4. Aptly entitled BOMBS AWAY, their exhibit features pieces that seek to expose the “naked reality" behind political issues. The artists tackle war, violence, pop culture and sex in a way that is alluring yet unsettling.

The duo grew up in Hamilton and took high school art classes together before both enrolling in McMaster’s studio art program.

Coming out of high school as a painter, Federiconi says she now does more sculpture and performance art. Camilleri said she’s also discovered her preferred medium at Mac.

“I’ve found how to channel my personality into my artwork,” said Camilleri.

They said the biggest challenge of putting the show together has been reconciling their individual styles. After confirming their slot at the gallery at the end of February, the two had only a month to drum up original pieces for the themed exhibit.

Camilleri, who usually works in one colour, took on Federiconi’s vibrant colour palette, while Federiconi experimented with themes of war that aren’t usually a focal point of her work.

“We have two opposite styles, so finding one theme was hard,” said Camilleri.

Federiconi said her favourite piece in the show is an assortment of toy weapons, which she purchased and repainted pink.

“I [embellished] them with diamonds, pearls and lace to take objects often associated with violence and terror, and change their interpretation into something cute and non-threatening,” she said.

The artists say they’re excited to be showing at an up and coming gallery in Hamilton’s downtown core that doesn’t typically exhibit student work.

“Culturally, I think we [in Hamilton] embrace art more now,” said Federiconi, who referenced the boom that James Street N. has experienced in recent years with Artcrawl and Supercrawl.

Federiconi says she wants to make a living in Hamilton’s art scene after graduation this April. She’s got four or five exhibits under her belt, some of which she organized, and wants to keep going.

After graduating, Camilleri will be leaving Hamilton to pursue teacher’s college. She has aspirations to teach art at the high school level.

“I think the beauty of [Mac’s] program is that you start out new...and in your graduating year they let you go and apply what you’ve learned,” said Camilleri.

Their exhibit will be in the Manta Contemporary Gallery on King William St. The show runs from April 4 to 30, with an opening reception on April 12.