Governments invest in higher education hoping to see short-term economic benefits in the form of job creation, knowledge mobilization, and increasingly, the launch of entrepreneurial new start-up businesses. In this week’s episode, Ken Steele provides a quick overview of college and university research commercialization, from the first research parks to the latest business incubators and accelerators.
In many ways, academic culture is antithetical to entrepreneurship. Scholars and scientists are often perfectionists, conducting exhaustive research, consulting their peers for input and consensus, and avoiding career-limiting risks. Academic culture is centred around credibility, caution, and certainty. Successful entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are often shameless self-promoters, confident or even arrogant, first to market regardless of quality control, and frequently keeping trade secrets from their competitors.
Many question whether modern schools are the right environment in which to nurture entrepreneurs or innovators.
Typically, higher ed researchers transfer intellectual property to the private sector for commercialization. Last year, UBC licensed a potential treatment for drug-resistant prostate cancer to Roche Pharmaceuticals for more than $120 million.
Corporations have been partnering with research universities since the 1950s, in research parks like the Stanford Research Park, established in 1951. By the 1970s, it was home to some leading high-tech research facilities, like Xerox PARC, and it is often credited with being the spark that created Silicon Valley. Google itself was a spinoff of the research of 2 Stanford grad students, and Stanford still holds some lucrative Google patents today.
The largest university research park today is the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, collocated to serve Duke University, UNC, and NC State. 50,000 employees and 10,000 contractors work at RTP for major corporations including IBM, Cisco, and GlaxoSmithKline.
But today, R&D is no longer the exclusive domain of major multinationals. A student or two with a good idea can take their business global in mere months, as Mark Zuckerberg did in 2004 when he launched Facebook from a Harvard dorm room. That’s probably what inspired the University of Waterloo to establish a “dormcubator,” the Velocity Residence, and 5 other branches of the incubator program including the Velocity Garage, the Foundry, Velocity Science, and more.
uWaterloo Velocity video: https://youtu.be/vEbKt6Ho9z0
As North American employment is increasingly shifting towards startups and freelancing, business incubators have been multiplying. In the US alone, there are more than a thousand. California’s Y Combinator has funded more than 1,000 companies now worth $65 billion, and admission to their program is more competitive than Harvard or Yale.
UBI Global, headquartered in Sweden, looked at more than 1,200 university accelerators and incubators to arrive at its ranking of the top incubators of 2015. First place went to England’s SetSquared Partnership, a collaboration between the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey. With 6 sites at the 5 research-intensive universities, SetSquared has helped more than a thousand companies raise over £1 billion, and create 9,000 jobs. The #2 incubator in the world is the Innovation Incubation Center at Chaoyang University of Technology in Taiwan.
The top university incubator in North America, #3 in the world, is the DMZ at Ryerson University. The DMZ has launched more than 180 companies, creating more than 1,000 jobs, and attracting $70 million in seed funding. Politicians and the business community praise the DMZ for creating better quality jobs, and harnessing the innovative capacity of the nation. Ryerson has launched other incubation zones, including the Fashion Zone, Design Fabrication Zone, ZoneStartups India, the Transmedia Zone, the Legal Innovation Zone, and the Social Ventures Zone.
Ryerson DMZ video: https://youtu.be/IGncBRPg1TI
As we mentioned previously, colleges and universities are emphasizing experiential learning opportunities, and incubators are just one high-profile approach. Some academics question whether higher education should really be in the business of incubating businesses, but as more and more students graduate into a freelance and innovation economy, business incubators make sense as an extension of campus career services and research commercialization. If we want to prepare our students for successful futures and meaningful citizenship, they are going to require an entrepreneurial mindset.
Increasingly careerist students, at colleges and universities alike, are attracted to work-integrated learning opportunities. This week, Ken continues his series on innovations in teaching and learning with a closer look at Experiential Learning.
Colleges like Sault College have been promoting hands-on learning opportunities for years, like their Field Camp for outdoor recreation students. https://youtu.be/gCfa_LFTRHQ
Calgary’s SAIT Polytechnic emphasizes the value of real-world, career-focused education in their “Get Real” commercials. https://youtu.be/9cOUKB6nfic
Algonquin College nicely shows how a daycare, flight deck, kichen, and construction site are all “my classroom.” https://youtu.be/AXnbZhIoU64
Universities Canada reports than more than 50% of undergrad students at Canadian universities now get some form of experiential learning opportunity – although this could be as simple as a few labs, or as intense as a co-op work term or study abroad experience.
The so-called “Maker movement” is taking hold on hundreds of campuses across North America. At the University of Southern California, the Iovine & Young Academy (named for the two Beats Electronics co-founders) offers space for problem-based learning, 3D printing, rapid prototyping and more. Even smaller institutions, like BC’s Douglas College, have opened MakerSpaces, sometimes in prominent public locations.
New YouTube CreatorSpaces are opening around the world, recently at Ryerson University. Workshops are open to creators with at least 1,000 channel subscribers. (We could really use your help getting to 1,000 – have you subscribed to this channel yet?)
It’s telling that a recent survey of graduating college and university students found that the 3 most important “academic activities,” in their opinion, were internships, co-ops, and work experiences.
Colleges have been experimenting with creating on-campus work opportunities like the student-managed farm at Lakeland College in Vermilion Alberta, the oldest and largest in the world. Or the campus hotel and conference centre at Olds College. Or the “Learning Enterprises” established at Niagara College, which give hundreds of students work experience and often generate a million-dollar surplus for the college to boot! At St Lawrence College, the on-campus ad agency “Spark” gives marketing students experience, and also creates videos, video games, and other digital resources for college instructors.
But we may just be streaming kids into career-directed education too young. Since 1935, Raisbeck Aviation High School, just outside Seattle, has focused students on careers in aviation from grade 9 onward. NAIT and the Edmonton School Boards have announced a new “Collegiate for Science, Technology & Trades” high school to open adjacent to the NAIT campus. Calgary’s West Island College, an independent high school, offers several “Institute” programs focused on careers in Business, Health, and Engineering.
It’s no wonder, either, that as students place more and more emphasis on work experiences, many are opting to take a “gap year” off from school to pursue employment instead. Uncollege.org is capitalizing on this movement, offering students a self-directed gap year complete with travel, mentors, and internship for just $16,000. It’s like university, but without the classes or the grades.
Finally, just #ICYMI, we highlight a “Strive” video from Nova Scotia Community College that focuses on one student’s experiential learning journey in the Therapeutic Recreation program. https://youtu.be/ilcPb8CzuzE
Next time, we’ll take a look at one specific form of experiential learning that seems to be in ascendance: campus incubators and accelerators. To get exclusive early access to upcoming episodes, subscribe to our free email newsletter at www.Eduvation.ca/subscribe
Passive learning methods like lectures, readings and demonstrations remain the mainstay in higher ed, but research tells us that active learning approaches can have much more lasting impact on student learning outcomes.
From small group discussions and project-based learning to experiential field schools and peer teaching, in this episode Ken sums up some compelling evidence from UBC, Queen's, and Guelph that seem to demonstrate that students learn significantly more from deliberate practice and enquiry-based learning than from lecture. Students who collaboratively observe a video of a tutoring session - not a lecture - learn better. Those who made mistakes and were then corrected learned 60% more than those who were guided straight to the correct answer. There are lasting benefits to enquiry-based learning seminars, particularly for "B" students.
Queen's has opened Ellis Hall, a new facility featuring active learning classrooms. https://youtu.be/bJDCgeaK44E
80% of Generation Z prefer to study with friends, and 40% will do so on Skype if not in person. That social orientation of students may be driving the creation of learning commons and social space on campuses from St Mary's U to the U of Calgary.
Small adjustments to the lecture theatre can improve student engagement. George Brown College's new learning studios allow classes to shift from lecture to group discussions and back. Iowa State U has installed seats that swivel 240 degrees in double-wide rows that allow for group work. Oregon State U opened the new Learning Innovation Center last fall, including 2 "in the round" lecture halls that hold 600 students, all within 15 feet of the instructor. Active learning classrooms date back at least 20 years, to the SCALE-UP classrooms at North Carolina State U. Students sit in clusters of 9, and students learn better 88% of the time (particularly female students). The model has been emulated at hundreds of campuses.
UBC's Sauder School of Business recently opened a Flexible Learning Lab. https://youtu.be/LA4Sqb4jrlw
Next week: Experiential Learning. Subscribe now so you don't miss an episode! www.eduvation.ca/subscribe
Just #ICYMI, check out Red River College's new commercial, featuring plenty of active learning: https://youtu.be/giUez0f-N2g
For the hi-res version of this episode, see https://youtu.be/LhlkZuC8Kzc
For more than a thousand years, students have been gathering in lecture halls to listen to the "sage on the stage." But shorter attention spans, new technologies, and empirical testing of learning outcomes have led us to question the tried and true historical "transmission" model of education. In this episode, Ken Steele gives a brief lecture on "the Death of Lecture."
Check out how familiar a 14th-century lecture hall at the Universite di Bologne looks.
Former Quest University president David Helfand explains how the human brain is wired for two-way communication - and the lecture is the opposite of that. https://youtu.be/-J8PcPC7l5U
fMRI studies have demonstrated the impact of curiosity on the brain's ability to soak up new information.
Gen Y and Z have significantly decreased attention spans. They don't have the patience for a 60-minute lecture, and the Columbia University TEDx organizers worry that they don't have the focus for a 16-minute TED talk either. https://youtu.be/wRwPoR707UI
Hundreds of studies have demonstrated that students in lecture classes are 1.5x as likely to fail the course. The lecture is actually "toxic" to student learning, but large first-year lectures subsidize upper-year seminars and graduate studies.
In the past century, most of the innovation in undergraduate teaching and learning has amounted to little more than scaling an outmoded industrial model of education, designed to graduate students into the industrial economy of the 1930s. We need to re-engineering our approach for the 21st century.
Instructors often underuse the active learning methodologies, to rely on passive methods like lecture and demonstrations. Next time, we'll take a closer look at active learning in the classroom.
#ICYMI, Trinity Western University has a dynamic new commercial - and out of 90 seconds, just 1.5 show students in a lecture hall. Seems like a wise idea! https://youtu.be/INPUwp2Fz3k
For exclusive early access to upcoming episodes, subscribe to the Eduvation newsletter! www.eduvation.ca/subscribe
For the hi-res version of this episode, see https://youtu.be/yW_3asg92zM
Ken Steele distills dozens of interviews on the floor of North America's largest higher ed trade show, the Ontario Universities' Fair. This week we look specifically at what new programs are attracting student attention. With more than 100,000 prospective students and parents flooding the OUF, it’s a massive market test.
Unique Signature Programs:
Including Carleton’s Bachelor of Global & International Studies; Lakehead’s Outdoor Recreation, Mining, Forestry and Environmental Studies programs; Laurentian’s Forensic Science, Sports Administration, and Human Kinetics programs, and new Masters in Indigenous Relations; Trent’s Child & Youth Studies and Communications programs at their Durham campus; and the Fine & Performing Arts programs in Brock’s brand new facilities.
Professional Programs:
Including Science, Engineering, and Commerce at Guelph; Business and new Bilingual Engineering degrees at Laurentian; and UOIT’s new Mechatronics Engineering program.
Health, Medicine & Social Work:
Including Biomedical and Nursing programs at Laurentian; a new Biomedical Sciences program at Trent; and a new Health Sciences program and downtown facilities for Social Work studetns at Windsor.
New Law Programs:
The first new law school in Ontario in 43 years opened at Lakehead 3 years ago, with a focus on natural resources, sole practitioner law, and aboriginal law. Windsor’s dual Juris Doctorate program with the University of Detroit Mercy allows graduates to practice law in both Canada and the US. Laurier just signed a 2+3+1 agreement with the UK’s University of Sussex Law School, which allows students to enroll at Laurier and wind up with a Laurier BA, a British LLB, and be prepared to pass the Ontario Bar Exam as well.
Video Game Design:
UOIT has a Game Development & Entrepreneurship program, which has been very popular and has quite competitive admissions. Brock has a new interdisciplinary program in Video Game Design, offered jointly with Niagara College.
University/College Collaborations:
For more than a decade, the University of Guelph-Humber has been a success story for large-scale collaboration, but at the program level many Ontario universities and colleges have collaborations. Lakehead is partnering with Georgian College in Orillia to offer an Electrical Engineering program, and have others in development. Trent has a strong relationship with Durham College and UOIT, and with Fleming College, which has an environmental science focus as well. Laurentian is exploring several new pathways with College Boréal and Cambrian College in Sudbury.
Ken closes with excerpts from a fun video by USC Viterbi, the NAE, and Funny or Die, which explores what it would look like if the E! Network covered Engineers like celebrities: https://youtu.be/P-OBJNkCanY
Remember to subscribe free to the Eduvation Loop email to get exclusive early access to upcoming episodes, and now also Ken’s “Eduvation at a Glance” visual summary of exciting developments in higher ed. www.eduvation.ca/subscribe
In this special 25-minute episode, Ken distills the highlights of recent North American college and university pranks and hoaxes for April Fool’s Day (and his producer, John, plays pranks on in post-production.)
There are 10 popular targets for higher ed April Fools hoaxes:
Ken also offers 5 tips for would-be pranksters:
Here are some of the videos featured in this episode:
Calvin College security - https://youtu.be/XGOWClLLrXw
Biola University math prof - https://youtu.be/blOrY-nEGaE
BBC spaghetti harvest - https://youtu.be/tVo_wkxH9dU
Pittsburg State name - https://youtu.be/medsLfL7rec
Luther College “fighting gnomes” - https://youtu.be/O7p8uIfsGl8
Missouri State’s “Scrapper Squirrel” - https://youtu.be/epMg7r9KAnY
University of Findlay monorail - https://youtu.be/Mrk9zm4lJDQ
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Feline Recruitment Studies - https://youtu.be/EUJewvx6Szw
Colgate University School of Dentistry - https://youtu.be/psO-hLMJUGc
University of Michigan School of Public Health - Hipstera - https://youtu.be/O8T2-FVYPMA
Brigham Young University Hotel Harold - https://youtu.be/57dSOhALb-c
And our absolute favourites:
Berklee College of Music adds the membranophone - https://youtu.be/Rx17-Axqtt4
Simon Fraser University “Healthy Campus Initiative” - https://youtu.be/sMWCw9G8Txg
Simon Fraser University “Satellite Campus” - https://youtu.be/ZjF7pmcAm-c
Simon Fraser University “Campus Traffic Management” - https://youtu.be/U0UqHM6qOFg
Remember to subscribe to our free email newsletter now for exclusive early access to upcoming episodes!
http://eduvation.ca/subscribe/
This week, Ken completes his 3-part review of higher ed branding in 2015 with a look at “New Names & Nicknames,” from DMZ to uVic! (Part 1 was “Cautionary Tales & Cautious Rebrandings” https://youtu.be/m2LF3rGiMLc . Part 2 was “Bold New Brands of 2015” https://youtu.be/pxmRfUfzZ5o .)
Without a doubt, institutions are loathe to lose decades of brand equity and recognition by changing their names. Generally it occurs only when the institution’s mandate has changed significantly, such as when a college gains university status, or an institute becomes a polytechnic. (Most recently it was SIAST becoming Saskatchewan Polytechnic.)
For years we’ve also seen a pretty widespread trend toward dropping adjectives like “regional” and “community” from college names, and minimizing or eliminating the use of the word “college” itself.
Last spring, Saskatchewan’s Southeast Regional College launched a bright new brand identity without the word “Regional.”
The AUCC rechristened itself “Universities Canada” last year, launching a “dynamic” new visual identity using a diamond rather than a square, to symbolize convergence, such as at a crossroads, a town square, or a university quad. https://youtu.be/cYeXSlzYIsw
Last year we also saw Fanshawe College announce the Don Smith School of Building Technology, UBC name the Peter A. Allard School of Law, and Wilfrid Laurier University rename the Laziridis School of Business & Economics.
Higher ed more often shortens names than changing them completely, such as when Ryerson University’s Digital Media Zone adopted the official name “DMZ” last spring.
Ryerson University itself launched a refreshed visual identity last summer, featuring fresh new colours, a slightly modernized typeface, and a bit of “out of the box” symbolism. The positioning strategy emphasizes 5 key differentiators from other Toronto institutions, and we look at two quick brand videos to see it in action. In keeping with our “nicknames” topic, Ryerson also revealed two abbreviated logos for use in informal situations, and social media.
Q&A with Sheldon Levy: https://youtu.be/i3Y7Ln2slyc
Mind & Action: https://youtu.be/INllQ597-1U
Last February, the University of Victoria finally embraced the nickname, “uVic,” by which they have been affectionately known for years. The dynamic new brand includes refreshed colours, a new wordmark, and new graphic elements including a wavy “connective thread” and some playful birds, martlets, drawn from the coat of arms. https://youtu.be/gsARvoBJCoU
One of the challenges to adopting a shorter name for marketing purposes is opposition from internal and external stakeholders. I think perhaps uVic learned from the example set by Western University back in 2012. Critics thought the name geographically inaccurate, although frankly there are dozens of “Northwesterns” and “Southwesterns” in the eastern US. The new identity solved many technical issues, and introduced an elegant system of sub-brands that is the nicest I have seen anywhere.
So we’ve seen colleges and universities use several strategies to pave the way for a new name or brand. UCFV adopted an acronym, Malaspina a memorable icon, CBU stripped away all semblance of a logo, and uVic made it clear that the old logo will continue in widespread use.
The real work of rebranding an academic community isn’t creative work at all; the most challenging aspects are consultation, research, consensus building, and easing the campus into a new identity. Too many top-tier ad agencies have underestimated this challenge, or badly mishandled it. It’s the aspect of higher ed brand strategy that I think is most exciting, and it’s the reason I developed my proprietary Brand Chemistry™ model. www.BrandChemistry.ca
And this week’s #ICYMI: a new recruitment theme from Dalhousie University, “Find what drives you.” Nicely addresses concerns about an intellectually-challenging student experience. https://youtu.be/2ysWuPN62og
Coming up next time: a surprise episode! Watch for it later in March, or subscribe to our free email newsletter now for exclusive early access. http://eduvation.ca/subscribe/
Last week, Ken shared some classic cautionary tales of higher ed brand misfires, and we looked at some particularly cautious new brands from Canadian colleges and universities, perhaps in response. (Last week: https://youtu.be/m2LF3rGiMLc ) This week, we look at the flipside: provocative brands and campaigns that deliberately court controversy.
Aggressive Competition:
We start with some examples of pretty aggressive “poaching” campaigns for student recruitment in other institutions’ backyards:
York University led the way with their “question every angle” campaign, and notably a subway station domination strategy at the doorstep of the University of Toronto.
Memorial University of Newfoundland has bought up bus shelters along routes to major undergraduate university campuses across Canada, to promote their Grad Studies “on the edge.”
The University of Saskatchewan has advertised on Calgary transit, dissing Edmonton as a study destination.
And St Mary’s University has bought billboards across the street from Cape Breton University, encouraging students to go to Halifax for the right education.
Going Negative:
Even more controversial campaigns in recent years have mocked major competitors:
Lakehead University took on Yale and then-president George Bush in their 2006 recruitment campaign, “Yale Shmale.”
Algoma University mocked the fictional “Colossal U” in their 2008 recruitment campaign. But spending your marketing budget establishing name recognition for an imaginary competitor seems too clever by half.
Sex Sells:
Much simpler are the higher ed campaigns that appeal directly to the teenage libido:
Education New Zealand urged Asian students to “Get further away from your parents” in a short-lived 2007 campaign with pretty racy ads.
Algoma University’s 2009 campaign, “Plan your escape,” likewise encouraged Toronto students to get 681 kms away from their parents.
Ohio’s Oberlin College got explicit with their 2011 microsite, “WhyTheF*ckShouldIChooseOberlin.com”, and got 1.5 million pageviews in their first few months as a reward.
In 2015, though, the Université de Moncton outclassed them all with a sexy ad that garnered $300,000 in media headlines, and moreover boosted out-of-province student enrolment by 66%!
https://youtu.be/hSwSIALZZqE
Just Plain Bold:
But a brand campaign can be bold without being controversial, or explicit. In 2015, Calgary’s Bow Valley College launched a great new slogan, “Success Rises,” and a social justice fundraiser to boot, “1,000 Women Rising.” It’s memorable, emotional, and nicely done. https://youtu.be/bjAwQsfykC0 https://youtu.be/qLFYfxUDJcw
But of course, good ideas attract imitators quickly, and BVC’s “Rise” was picked up less than a year later by the massive University of Phoenix, which has just launched its new brand platform, “We Rise.” https://youtu.be/N98RB1LK12o
A Bold Athletic Brand:
Finally in this episode, Ken shares a gritty, powerful new brand and campaign for Stingers Athletics at Montreal’s Concordia University. You don’t want to miss it, just #ICYMI!
https://youtu.be/n_vQv05ZpZs
Next week, we’ll wrap up our review of 2015 with a look back at some new names and nicknames in Canadian higher ed branding.
Brand Consulting:
Don’t forget that Ken Steele is available to conduct higher ed brand audits, competitive audits, and campus Brand Chemistry™ workshops and presentations. Check out www.BrandChemistry.ca for more information.
NOTE: For the first time we are uploading at standard podcast definition instead of 720p. Let us know if this is a major impediment. 1080p is available on our YouTube channel as always.
For the next few episodes, Ken Steele returns to the Brand Chemistry™ Lab to analyze recent trends in higher ed brand identities and marketing campaigns. This week, we look at some notable brand mis-steps that have become cautionary tales for campus marketers, and the inevitable result: some very cautious, gradual rebrandings that don’t risk passionate opposition from traditional-minded stakeholders like students, faculty, and alumni.
Particularly for smaller, remote institutions experiencing the early effects of declining demographics, it’s critical to develop the visibility a strong brand can support. In recent years, many higher ed institutions have hired top-notch ad agencies to develop their visual identities and marketing campaigns, but there are definite risks to that approach. Branding an academic community is significantly more political a process than branding a consumer product like beer or fast food. Presidents don’t have the authority of corporate CEOs, faculty aren’t as compliant as typical employees, and students are a complete wild card. Not only does the process demand patience and plenty of consultation, but it also demands a marketer’s “A” game; a campus full of brilliant critical thinkers will quickly find any fault possible.
Cautionary Tales:
In Fredericton New Brunswick, St Thomas University’s student union discovered what happens when a design for your orientation week program is actually plagiarized from a broadway musical.
The University of Dayton, in Ohio, launched a new brand for its Flyers athletics, which was promptly criticized by students for appearing to promote venereal disease instead.
The University of California system attempted to launch a new, modern icon to unite the ten campuses in the UC system. But stakeholders objected to the ugly graphic, which suggested nothing so much as a flushing toilet.
And the University of Waterloo undertook an extensive strategic rebranding process in 2008, only to be sideswiped at the last moment when the proposed logo was leaked online.
Cautious Rebrandings:
In part because of these prominent brand debacles, many college and university rebrandings in recent years have been extraordinarily cautious and traditional.
Brandon University, in Manitoba, launched a new visual identity based on their traditional coat of arms in late 2014. Although it dropped the Greek motto, and streamlined the crest to focus on the shield, it retained the colour scheme and didn’t stir up opposition. The new look, sans serif typeface, and bold chevron create a much more contemporary and professional identity, without alienating traditionalists.
The Université du Québec en Outaouais redesigned its visual identity last year. Although the new UQO acronym is a starting departure in colour and typeface from the previous logo, both were pretty cold and corporate, and the change is unlikely to generate much passion one way or the other. The new marketing campaign, “Être plus près, aller plus loin” (be closer, go further) is a pretty common tagline for a regional institution speaking to local students.
The University of Ottawa launched a new brand identity in late 2014 that also followed a university marketing convention, in urging students to “Defy the Conventional.” But the new campaign, featuring bright neon colours and cartoon-like illustrations, is a notably creative variation on the theme. https://youtu.be/fhEcDhTDt3I
Finally, a different sort of caution is evident in the gradual “unbranding” of Cape Breton University. In late 2014, CBU announced a new brand that used only a “temporary wordmark” set in the most boring typeface possible, and the single bold word “Happen.” The brand concept looks intriguing, although the creative executions haven’t really appeared yet. In fact, CBU deliberately went a full year without a logo, perhaps to help minimize opposition from those who might have been fierce defenders of the previous visual identity. The new logo for CBU is expected imminently, but this “slow-motion” rebranding process is yet another way to cope with passionate stakeholders attached to the status quo.
Next week, we’ll look at some examples of intentionally provocative brands and campaigns, deliberately courting controversy. It happens more often than you might think, and the results can be striking.
Just #ICYMI, check out Mount St Vincent University’s new recruitment campaign, featuring 15-second ads using thousands of dominos as a metaphor for the student’s path. https://youtu.be/yQ0oVRMXcBo
Ken Steele is available to consult on institutional brand strategy, deliver presentations or facilitate workshops about institutional differentiation and recruitment marketing. For more information http://eduvation.ca/brand/
For early access to upcoming episodes, subscribe to Ken’s free email newsletter at http://eduvation.ca/subscribe/
Last week, Ken Steele looked back at some major PR headaches sparked by students and faculty, from white student unions to a blogging board member. https://youtu.be/qn0ylCsR9Jw
But some of the biggest media relations migraines of all start at the top, with board chairs and presidents.
It’s a considerable risk for a multi-million-dollar organization to rest its reputation squarely on the shoulders of a single individual. Last year Subway’s spokesperson, Jared, went to prison on child sex charges. And the president of a small Christian college in South Carolina resigned in disgrace over his sexual indiscretions.
At Western University, president Amit Chakma’s double pay made headlines in 2015, but he had done nothing wrong in accepting a contract with administrative leave. The bigger issue was that the board committee normally responsible for negotiating such contracts was bypassed, and the board chair, Chirag Shah, seemed responsible. A task force made 22 recommendations for governance reform at Western, and Shah stepped off the board at the end of his term last November.
The year’s biggest PR headache, though, was the abrupt resignation of UBC president Arvind Gupta, only a year into his term. The board hired a passionate reformer with a bold agenda. Gupta didn’t have the usual university administration experience, but instead had founded Mitacs, a fairly small nonprofit. From the beginning, Gupta made it clear he wanted to make UBC more relevant to the needs of society, and he knew that driving change would make some people uneasy.
The board itself started growing uneasy, with the departure of senior executives like provost David Farrar, and rumblings of poor morale across the institution. There were controversial, perhaps political, appointments made to the president’s office. Board chair John Montalbano wrote strongly-worded emails to Gupta, urging him to “refrain from thinking controversial thoughts out loud,” and expressing concern about his “willful disregard for the board’s authority.” With the leaking of these emails, in January 2016, Gupta went public with his side of the story, expressing regret that he didn’t push back harder against the board, and instead chose to resign.
The abrupt departure of a president, after significant executive changes and barely concealed friction with the board chair, would have been bad enough for the media relations people tasked with managing the situation. But then, business professor Jennifer Berdahl wrote a blog suggesting that Gupta lost a “masculinity contest.”
The blog itself might have gone unnoticed amid a storm of speculation, if not that board chair Montalbano took exception. He felt “hurt” that accusations of racism and sexism were being hurled by a professor he knew personally. And so, one fateful day, he called her to discuss the blog directly. Montalbano claimed he was extraordinarily careful, throughout the call, to confirm that Berdahl felt comfortable discussing the blog, and that she did not feel her academic freedom was being threatened or compromised.
But a few days later, Berdahl either changed her mind or found her voice, and a new blog railed against Montalbano’s attempt to intimidate her and suppress her right to academic free speech. She went to the media, and claimed he threatened to discuss the “trouble she was causing” with her dean. Ultimately a fact-finding investigation agreed with Berdahl, and Montalbano stepped down from the UBC board in August.
Global News interview with Arvind Gupta: http://globalnews.ca/news/2484938/watch-one-on-one-with-former-ubc-president-arvind-gupta/
Global News interview with John Montalbano:
http://globalnews.ca/video/2173090/extended-ubc-board-chair-john-montalbano
CBC interview with Jennifer Berdahl:
http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2673915157
Some of the biggest dysfunctions on college and university campuses occur when outsiders attempt to push an agenda without truly appreciating the subtleties of academic politics. It’s vitally important to recognize that universities aren’t so much hierarchies, as loose democracies.
Even after someone is fired, the media migraine can continue. Last year, former president Ralph Weeks sued Medicine Hat College for wrongful dismissal in 2013, and Ilene Busch-Vishniac sued the University of Saskatchewan too.
Scandals and controversies can explode in the media like a reputational bomb. There’s no point attempting to bury an inconvenient truth on campus, because it will always surface, and when it comes to light the damage will be even worse. It’s always preferable to identify potentially explosive issues early, be proactive in treating them, and transparent in reporting them to the campus community. Best to find the bomb and defuse it, than have it go off unexpectedly and take everyone by surprise.
BTW, Ken Steele is available to facilitate workshops or present at conferences and on campuses about PR headaches and how to manage media relations in a crisis. More information at http://eduvation.ca/pr-headaches-how-to-treat-them/
#ICYMI, this week we feature an excerpt from UNB Fredericton’s “dog’s eye view of campus” featuring Lucy. https://youtu.be/aaxJwxOKrQk
For exclusive preview access, a week early, to future episodes of "Ten with Ken", be sure to subscribe to Eduvation's "in the loop" email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
This week, Ken Steele looks back at some of the biggest PR headaches afflicting Canadian colleges and universities in the past year, looking for common causes and some lessons we can learn about crisis communications.
Academia may well be the most challenging environment in which to manage messaging, with opinionated faculty, unrestrained students, and concerned parents, alumni, and taxpayers in the community.
Without a doubt, many PR headaches are caused by the students, intentionally or not. In previous episodes we’ve looked at sexist behavior in social media and during orientation, but Dalhousie’s School of Dentistry struggled with the biggest PR headache of 2015, when 13 male students posted sexist, misogynistic remarks to a supposedly private Facebook group. Protests, suspensions, a task force – in all, it cost the school about $650,000. And the underlying culture of sexism should have been addressed years earlier.
CBC’s “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” parody commercial – https://youtu.be/RtffrcWeMf0
Last year the University of Toronto had to ramp up campus security in the wake of a series of online threats posted by an anonymous user named “Kill Feminists.” The University of Ottawa coped with the fallout of the alleged sex assault by male hockey players, and a $6 million class action lawsuit. Several universities tore down posters for “White Students Unions.” 2 Montréal CÉGEPs had to cope with more than a dozen students leaving Canada to join Jihad.
But of course, students aren’t the only creative, intelligent and outspoken people on your campus. Last year we saw plenty of PR headaches caused by faculty members, too.
In the UK there was Nobel-prize-winning biochemist Tim Hunt, and his ill-advised attempt at humour about the distraction of women scientists in the lab. (His botched apology made things far worse, and cost him his job.) In Ontario it was St Lawrence College business professor Rick Coupland, who was fired for violent homophobic comments last summer.
At Carleton University, biology professor Root Gorelick has caused a stir with his blog, commenting on his experiences as a member of the university board of governors. He sees himself as elected by faculty, with an obligation to his constituents, but the rest of the board and the administration are concerned about the ways in which his blogs do not always agree with the official minutes. He is accused of attacking the personal integrity of fellow board members. Carleton has put in place a new code of conduct for board members, making it clear that governors must not criticize decisions once they have been made. Several campus groups are concerned that Gorelick may be removed for his refusal to sign this “gag order.”
It seems pretty clear that when students or faculty behave badly, the institution needs to condemn their actions swiftly and unambiguously, suspend the perpetrators, start a thorough investigation, and possibly a restorative justice process. The institution may have to address the problem, through enhanced campus security, harassment policies, or codes of conduct. Sometimes swift action will lead to accusations of overreaction, such as at Ottawa and Dalhousie, where potentially innocent students are considered guilty by association. But these responses seemed to be the most popular approach in 2015.
Next time we’ll look at some of the most serious higher ed headaches of all. And as the metaphor might suggest, they often start at the top, with presidents and board chairs.
Meanwhile you might like to check out our review of the biggest higher ed headaches of 2014 - https://youtu.be/TJaZsXv68s4
Ken Steele is available to facilitate workshops or present at conferences and on campuses about PR headaches and how to manage media relations in a crisis. More information at http://eduvation.ca/pr-headaches-how-to-treat-them/
#ICYMI, check out ASAP Science’s a capella parody of Taylor Swift’s hit song, which they called “Science Style” - https://youtu.be/sWwd5vks9n8
For exclusive preview access, a week early, to future episodes of "Ten with Ken", be sure to subscribe to Eduvation's "in the loop" email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
This week, Ken Steele completes his countdown of the ten biggest trends impacting North American higher education in 2015, with the top 4: from political correctness and personal safety to major demographic shifts.
If you missed part 1, check it out first: https://youtu.be/bziLQbNEXcI
Trigger Warning: The topics of trigger warnings and sexual assault may be disturbing to some viewers. Discretion is advised.
4) Indigenous Content:
Even before the recommendations of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, institutions began announcing new mandatory indigenous content in their curricula. Students at the University of Winnipeg proposed mandatory courses in indigenous history or culture. Lakehead University announced that it would introduce indigenous perspectives into courses across all faculties. UBC’s Sauder School of Business and the UBC Okanagan School of Nursing both announced that they would be integrating Aboriginal content. The new president at the University of Saskatchewan declared that he would make indigenization his top priority. And the Law Faculties at UBC and Lakehead had both established mandatory courses in Aboriginal Law and intercultural training.
3) Zero Tolerance:
Last year we saw significant mainstream attention being paid to microaggressions on campus, and ongoing debate about trigger warnings for the curriculum. Faculty, most of whom are Baby Boomers or Gen Xers, are alarmed by the rising tide of political correctness and its potential to undermine academic freedom and free speech on campus. Generation Y students, on the other hand, take free speech for granted, but in a social media era have learned to retaliate against even the subtlest prejudice with a firestorm of outrage. Last year, several top comedians declared that they would no longer perform on campuses because students just couldn’t take a joke. A controversial prof at Laurentian asked his students to sign a waiver acknowledging coarse language in his lectures. Universities introduced microaggression training in their faculty orientations, collective agreements, and more. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms ranked Canadian universities and gave 15 universities and 26 student unions grades of “F”.
2) Sex Assault Protocols:
Although long-term trends in the incidences of sex assault on campus are debated, we saw an immense public spotlight focused on the issue last year. First there was the fallout of a discredited campus rape story published (and then retracted) by Rolling Stone magazine. The release of The Hunting Ground, a full-length documentary about Ivy League schools covering up rape to protect their brands. A Columbia student carrying a mattress with her everywhere on campus, including to her graduation. Task force recommendations at the University of Ottawa, in the wake of a sex assault that resulted in the suspension of its men’s hockey team. Rape allegations at Royal Military College. And then there was the CBC’s ranking of colleges and universities based on sex assaults reported in the previous 5 years. Across the country, presidents announced task forces and new policies and protocols, student unions and mental health services launched awareness campaigns and bystander intervention programs. There are even smartphone apps designed to secure affirmative sexual consent in the heat of the moment.
Full official trailer for The Hunting Ground: https://youtu.be/GBNHGi36nlM
Full ad for Alberta’s #IBelieveYou: https://youtu.be/VruBjg_dc2Q
1) Peak Campus:
Most significant of all, last year there was just no denying that enrolment was plateauing or declining at many campuses across North America. In the US, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported that college enrolment declined in 2015 for the third straight year, particularly at 2-year community colleges and for-profit institutions. The University of Phoenix had lost half of its students between 2010 and 2015, a whopping 250,000! The Council of Ontario Universities reported declines of about 5% in applicants province-wide over 2 years – and more remote institutions like the University of Windsor or Lakehead saw drops of up to 19%. The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission reported a 1% decline in enrolment after 4 consecutive years of growth, and smaller campuses in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were particularly hard hit.
Check out Ken’s white paper, Peak Campus, for more detail:
http://eduvation.ca/2013/09/peak-campus/
Next time we’ll round up the top higher ed headaches of 2015. For exclusive preview access, a week early, to future episodes of "Ten with Ken", be sure to subscribe to Eduvation's "in the loop" email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
2015 was a rough year, from terrorist attacks in France and extreme weather in Texas and California, to the Volkswagen emissions scandal and the surprising rise of Donald Trump. But we also saw the launch of the Apple Watch, the Lexus hoverboard, and Nike self-lacing shoes. And there was a profound leftward shift in Canadian politics, from Rachel Notley’s NDP in Alberta to Dwight Ball’s Liberals in Newfoundland, and of course the second prime minister Trudeau. But there was also no shortage of developments directly affecting higher education. Some we have covered in previous episodes of this podcast, and others will deserve more attention soon. Here are Ken’s picks for the top ten.
From pay equity settlements and campaigns to encourage female enrolment in Engineering, to sexism in social media, and in nominations for the Science and Engineering Hall of Fame, gender can’t be ignored when we look back at 2015. Dedicated episode on Gender Equity
Electronic textbooks are being explored, particularly at Olds and Algonquin colleges, but last year we saw real momentum building for open texts – free, online, peer-reviewed textbooks. California, BC, and Manitoba have committed funding to so-called “Textbook Zero” programs, which can reduce student attrition by 10%. And the US Congress is again considering the Affordable College Textbook Act, to encourage the development and adoption of open text alternatives. Dedicated episode on e-Texts and Open Texts
Last year the “new faculty majority,” untenured part-time sessional instructors, joined fast-food workers on the picket line in the US to fight for a $15 minimum wage. While the situation in Canada is somewhat better, striking sessionals at York University still made national headlines. Dedicated episode on Adjunct & Contingent Faculty
Consumer drones hit the mainstream last year, about 4.3 million of them worldwide. They’re being used to patrol college entrance exams in China, and have entered the curriculum for programs in journalism, video, agriculture and firefighting, among others. But drones really took over last year in PSE marketing departments, with everybody featuring aerial footage in their videos.
A study published last year found that as much as 70% of scholarly output in some disciplines is in the hands of just 5 multinational publishing companies, and since publication determines tenure, promotion, research grants and university rankings, these corporations are the de facto “power brokers” of higher ed. They are posting better profit margins than Apple, and institutions from McGill to Harvard are finding they can no longer afford to subscribe to scholarly journals. Last year we saw editors and editorial boards quit in protest over pay-to-play peer review, extortionate subscription rates, and extensive peer review fraud.
Last year there was also a groundswell of protest against generous executive pensions and administrative leave, allowing university presidents in particular to “double-dip” and get paid double their salary, or their salary in addition to pension in retirement. Western University president Amit Chakma took the brunt of the outrage, but other cases included Michael Goldbloom at Bishop’s, Arvind Gupta at UBC, Heather Munroe-Blum at McGill, Tom Traves at Dalhousie, and Sean Riley at StFX. When a scarcity mentality sets in, people start looking for scapegoats, and presidents are tempting targets.
Next time, we’ll finish this countdown with the 4 biggest trends affecting higher ed last year, from political correctness to major demographic shifts. (Subscribeto get access to future episodes a full week in advance!)
Ken Steele completes his survey of recent trends in college and university holiday greeting videos in this week’s 20-minute episode of Ten with Ken. (If you missed Part 1, watch it at https://youtu.be/iImd9p1O3nQ ). This time, we look at highlights from 27 institutional videos from some of our favourite categories: comedy and parody, seasonal goodwill gestures, and campus choirs and musicians.
We’ve had to significantly edit these videos for the podcast, and although we’ve tried to retain their flavour and focus on their best moments, you may want to go watch the full, unedited versions:
MARKETING DEPARTMENT GREETINGS:
Fanshawe College Reputation & Brand Management, 2014 - https://youtu.be/o-DdAhlUbBY
University of Waterloo Communications & Public Affairs, 2014 - https://youtu.be/DuwCR7PGJqg
Western University Creative Services, 2014 - https://youtu.be/WFC-tiKVvBE
HUMOUR & PARODY:
Bow Valley College 2014 - https://youtu.be/dT6s4A8X8GM
University of Waterloo Faculty of the Environment, Kris Kringle Research Institute 2013 - https://youtu.be/jx-tI5rLi3s
UBC Ubyssey, 36 Things to Do 2014 - https://youtu.be/qinukwkwzwk
Sheridan College Bachelor of Animation, 2014 - https://youtu.be/aHhLNCsytRs
SEASONAL GOODWILL GESTURES:
WestJet Christmas Miracle, 2013 - https://youtu.be/zIEIvi2MuEk
University of Waterloo Faculty of the Environment, 2014 - https://youtu.be/ycx6mOHh0uk
Trinity Western University, 2013 - https://youtu.be/3uVk_f4xT7k
McMaster University, The Spirit of Giving 2014 - https://youtu.be/b1C7hU45eC0
Red Deer College, 2014 - https://youtu.be/T51u6kxFmnc
Humber College, Spreading a Little Humber Happiness 2014 - https://youtu.be/PHWrbFwEkZg
Saint Mary’s University (Halifax), Be Thoughtful Be Festive 2014 - https://youtu.be/51He8sxwSTA
University of Victoria, Holiday Wishes 2014 - https://youtu.be/SvcSfPFcGi8
Durham College, Make it Merry 2014 - https://youtu.be/BhcrMrd2-AI
MUSICIANS & CHOIRS:
University of Waterloo Applied Health Sciences, 2013 - https://youtu.be/dRhmITUxEc4
Carleton University VP Research, 2014 - https://youtu.be/7QWWF63VNMY
Upper Canada College, A Jingle Bells School Day, 2013 - https://youtu.be/OSkPQVhJRdg
Huron University College, 12 Days of Christmas, 2013 - https://youtu.be/N81ybB-kqlA
Mohawk College, Holiday eCard 2013 - https://youtu.be/6NV-S_l9DJA
Mohawk College, Behind-the-Scenes 2013 - https://youtu.be/sNx_qr-SxPk
Huron University College, Decorating in the Chapel, 2013 - https://youtu.be/EkUNNrxYjt0
Algonquin College, President’s Holiday Message 2014 - https://youtu.be/Wla_j1g0nSA
Bow Valley College, 2014 - https://youtu.be/-eWLBmdIswI
King’s University College Chamber Choir, 2014 - https://youtu.be/m3QV1J9O1lQ
Capilano University, 2013 - https://youtu.be/DOCAgUMcvrc (also used over our closing credits)
Cambrian College Choir, The Winter’s Night 2014 - https://youtu.be/ca9RX3nLjr0
St Clair College Performing Arts Students, O Holy Night 2014 - https://youtu.be/uHXPvjBCWW4
If you’ve seen a noteworthy campus greeting message this year, check to see if it’s on our 2015 Holiday Greetings playlist at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLodJ8ParJmYULq5f-_JsusgbW1V8BNfSd . If not, please drop me an email at ken@eduvation.ca so we can add it. (We’ll discuss this year’s crop next December.)
For exclusive preview access to future episodes of "Ten with Ken", be sure to subscribe to Eduvation's "in the loop" email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
Best wishes for a peaceful holiday with family and friends, and for a happy and prosperous 2016! We’ll be back in early January with several “Year in Review” episodes of Ten with Ken!
As Canadian campuses wind down toward the winter holidays, Ken Steele surveys recent trends in college and university holiday greeting videos in 2 special extended episodes of Ten with Ken. In this week’s 19-minute episode, Ken shares extremely tightly-edited highlights from 49 institutional videos in 5 categories: animated greeting cards, short story vignettes, personal greetings, Q&A compilations, and multilingual greetings.
Thompson Rivers University's marketing department captures the challenges of being politically correct and gaining committee approval, 2014 - https://youtu.be/5S5h_x8vLCQ
ANIMATED CARDS:
Vancouver Community College, 2013 - https://youtu.be/l_xwoG4e4CM
University of Waterloo, CECA, 2014 - https://youtu.be/Bv5DoNH2PK0
St Lawrence College, 2013 - https://youtu.be/0KzxSuDVak8
University of Winnipeg, 2013 - https://youtu.be/yjTKfdn2Pjw
Georgian College, 2014 - https://youtu.be/APdQM1wWKYM
Humber College, 2013 - https://youtu.be/UECuf6MblwI
BCIT, 2014 - https://youtu.be/kiJmwr1Oop4
Centennial College, 2013 - https://youtu.be/jt5Zm_HamLE
Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2013 - https://youtu.be/GHSyo8uygs4
Red Deer College, 2013 - https://youtu.be/uW2gWhbsJs0
Carleton University, 2010 - https://youtu.be/jYJvv9cJ2e4
Ryerson University, 2014 - https://youtu.be/RA3RdWDgWQY
Camosun College, 2013 - https://youtu.be/lcTvWbO3PZg
UBC, Interactive Website, 2014 - https://support.ubc.ca/ecards/holiday-card-2014/
Nipissing University, 2013 - https://youtu.be/WwOM1-CWBNE
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, 2014 - https://youtu.be/aliM2MOwzvs
Royal Roads University, 2013 - https://youtu.be/kUf0A3jx8Jk
George Brown College, 2013 - https://youtu.be/orUM1PPPV2k
Acadia University, 2014 - https://youtu.be/_QWIUq9JsZw
Nova Scotia Community College, 2012 - https://youtu.be/99mCxoykG-Y
Mohawk College, 2014 - https://youtu.be/S9GrSNxdGnk
Niagara College, 2014 - https://youtu.be/sQBxQQfuN1w
Western University, 2014 - https://youtu.be/BHU5GPrqxps
VIGNETTES:
Sheridan College, 2013 - https://youtu.be/GOXFAN4gRRM
Sheridan College, 2014 - https://youtu.be/jU3Rb1ZYkh8
York University Lassonde School of Engineering, 2014 - https://youtu.be/BvcELvQimPc
Western University, 2013 - https://youtu.be/McDzHIkKMco
PERSONAL GREETINGS:
Collège Boréal, 2013 - https://youtu.be/yNw1Po8tPMg
St Lawrence College, 2014 - https://youtu.be/DTbnoNYqKBI
Briercrest College, 2014 - https://youtu.be/KRUHGnms9rM
Mount Royal University, 2014 - https://youtu.be/mYANycbBYUE
Trent University, 2014 - https://youtu.be/xf9HawOXgr4
Simon Fraser University, 2013 - https://youtu.be/OV67RXMCd2o
Thompson Rivers University, 2014 - https://youtu.be/YCuS-bGItfA
University of Waterloo, 2014 - https://youtu.be/Peb_Dpvjqbc
Algonquin College, 2014 - https://youtu.be/Wla_j1g0nSA
Nipissing University, 2014 - https://vimeo.com/113403258
Q&A COMPILATIONS:
Dalhousie University, 2014 - https://youtu.be/Wu_J8Nmn8X8
King’s University College at Western, 2013 - https://youtu.be/G557sfnMxTw
Saint Francis Xavier University Athletics, 2014 - https://youtu.be/v-MLNQOj6uY
University of the Fraser Valley, 2014 - https://youtu.be/v-lR1708CDI
Queen’s University, 2014 - https://youtu.be/1pcIt7vuFFc
MULTILINGUAL GREETINGS:
Vancouver Island University, 2013 - https://youtu.be/s4eRu4R3a3g
Vancouver Island University, 2014 - https://youtu.be/iEjJpctxWoU
Cape Breton University, 2014 (no longer online)
Ryerson University, International Student Life, 2014 - https://youtu.be/3-ulasYNuXU
McGill University, 2013 - https://youtu.be/M8NgbWtezGI
Dalhousie University, 2013 - https://youtu.be/cUvNrgNTJCg
Simon Fraser University, 2014 - https://youtu.be/Ql92s8LaL2Q
Stay tuned next week for part 2, in which we share excerpts from 27 more holiday greeting videos, from categories like comedy and parody, seasonal goodwill gestures, and campus choirs!
If you’ve seen a noteworthy campus greeting message this year, check to see if it’s on our 2015 Holiday Greetings playlist. If not, please drop me an email: ken@eduvation.ca.
For exclusive preview access to future episodes of "Ten with Ken", be sure to subscribe to Eduvation's "in the loop" email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
Ken Steele sums up trends in on-campus housing, as colleges and universities build more and more residences, to appeal to international students, teenagers and their parents. Western University has 5,346 residence rooms, and most built in the past decade feature a semi-private floorplan with private bedroom and study space, shared washrooms, kitchen and living area. Colleges have increasingly been following suit, such as Fanshawe College, whose Merlin House accommodates 428 students in a similar fashion. Amenities arms races in Canada are nothing compared to those at American colleges (consider for example the $7 million leisure pool at Texas Tech University), but nonetheless the bar keeps rising for luxury campus housing. For example, Brescia University College opened a new $30-million residence in 2013 with private rooms, queen-sized beds, individual thermostats, and even room service. The University of Winnipeg opened a residence, McFeetors Hall, that combines 172 student dorms with 25 ground-floor townhomes, half reserved for community housing.
In many provinces, capital debt is discouraged for residence construction, so increasingly institutions are turning to P3s (public-private partnerships) to design, build, and sometimes manage student residences (such as Thompson Rivers University, Ryerson University, and SAIT Polytechnic). If institutions don't build enough residence space, private developers will often swoop in to build apartment towers adjacent to campus. In some cases, student residences are an integral part of the academic mission of the institution, such as the Velocity Residence at the University of Waterloo, a "dormcubator" designed to incubate new student-run businesses (and already a success, considering graduates like Ted Livingston, founder of Kik Interactive, who donated $1 million to establish a seed money fund for future student ventures).
In a previous episode, we argued that there has been a rise in part-time and commuter students on campus, even when they are "invisible" (see the episode at https://youtu.be/e5GGxa2Z7EY ). Some institutions are dedicating dorm space to commuter students, such as Mansfield University in Pennsylvania. UBC Okanagan has created "Collegia" to provide space to study, cook, socialize, or nap for commuter students on campus. Ryerson University has opened a new commuter hostel, with 9 rooms available to students for $35 per night, on a limited basis.
Some residences are considerably less luxurious. In Terrace BC, Northwest Community College opened a 49-bed campus residence using the same ATCO trailers used in remote work camps - not only a cost-effective solution, but an experiential learning opportunity for trades students. Although the campus housing market seems to be bifurcating, students often demonstrate a resentment of inequality -- most recently, Ryerson University students gained international media attention over the #TissueIssue (fancier 2-ply tissue in the administration washrooms on campus). Space in residence may become even tighter yet, judging by the example of modular dorms in Hong Kong, based on the capsule hotels of Japan. Students pay HK$3,500 per month for a 6x4x3' slot, barely larger than a morgue drawer. Most places in Canada will never see such cramped quarters, but if they do appear, it will likely be in downtown Vancouver, where international students may arrive with less and less expectation of personal space.
Finally, just #ICYMI, we share clips from a catchy new music video from the University of Victoria, "Discover Your Edge."
(Oh, and a couple of bloopers follow the closing credits, for those of you who stick it out!)
Ken Steele pulls together the evidence for a growing majority of college and university students who are "invisible" part-time students -- registered full-time, for financial aid or other practical reasons, but in fact working as many as 34 hours a week. Now that the average Canadian's work week has declined to about 33 hours a week, these students are essentially working full-time, while registered as full-time students too. Whether because they need the income to survive financially, or they value work experience above all else, these students are inevitably cutting corners, cutting short their sleep and spending half the time on their studies that most universities claim to require. As more and more institutions use the NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement) to measure student engagement on campus, it is clear that Canada's big urban universities are already at a significant disadvantage, perhaps in part because of broader participation and larger class sizes. Students who spend less time on their studies are, by NSSE's definition, less engaged students.
Finally, just #ICYMI, we share clips from a recent video on Durham College's YouTube channel, about a cat named Odey who decides to enrol at Durham College to improve his life.
Videos excerpted in this podcast have been significantly edited. Check out the full, original videos here:
Centennial College: IMPACT Partner
https://youtu.be/7Vb3lyBUslM
Gates Foundation, Get Schooled: Balancing Life and College
https://youtu.be/ry2Hedfe1jM
Dalhousie Student Union: The Student Poverty Song
https://youtu.be/Cr2LiQGrC7A
Odey the Cat goes to DC
https://youtu.be/u5a75Sn7JPY
For exclusive preview access to future episodes of "Ten with Ken", be sure to subscribe to Eduvation's "in the loop" email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
Ken Steele pulls together the evidence for a growing majority of college and university students who are "invisible" part-time students -- registered full-time, for financial aid or other practical reasons, but in fact working as many as 34 hours a week. Now that the average Canadian's work week has declined to about 33 hours a week, these students are essentially working full-time, while registered as full-time students too. Whether because they need the income to survive financially, or they value work experience above all else, these students are inevitably cutting corners, cutting short their sleep and spending half the time on their studies that most universities claim to require. As more and more institutions use the NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement) to measure student engagement on campus, it is clear that Canada's big urban universities are already at a significant disadvantage, perhaps in part because of broader participation and larger class sizes. Students who spend less time on their studies are, by NSSE's definition, less engaged students.
Finally, just #ICYMI, we share clips from a recent video on Durham College's YouTube channel, about a cat named Odey who decides to enrol at Durham College to improve his life.
Videos excerpted in this podcast have been significantly edited. Check out the full, original videos here:
Centennial College: IMPACT Partner
https://youtu.be/7Vb3lyBUslM
Gates Foundation, Get Schooled: Balancing Life and College
https://youtu.be/ry2Hedfe1jM
Dalhousie Student Union: The Student Poverty Song
https://youtu.be/Cr2LiQGrC7A
Odey the Cat goes to DC
https://youtu.be/u5a75Sn7JPY
For exclusive preview access to future episodes of "Ten with Ken", be sure to subscribe to Eduvation's "in the loop" email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
Ken Steele continues his review of recent winners and sinners in higher ed social media, this time looking at orientation week highs and lows.
It seems as though sometimes O-Week brings out the worst in students, who then seek to document their exploits on Instagram and Snapchat. In Sept 2011, it was students from HEC Montreal donning blackface to imitate Usain Bolt. In Sept 2013, it was Frosh Chants at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, and at the Sauder School of Business at UBC, seeming to advocate the rape of underaged girls. In 2014 it was Engineering Orientation songbooks that surfaced at Concordia University and McMaster. The pattern seems predictable now: outrage, recriminations, apologies, resignations, sensitivity training, counselling for upset students, and a fact-finding investigation. In July 2014, a young entrepreneur started promoting Ottawa Frosh Week Kits with hyper-sexualized videos encouraging "bad decisions with good friends" and excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol. But we did find at least one O-Week social media winner: Wageningen University in the Netherlands, which staged a student event with 1,000 smartphones to capture the entire campus for a "Student Street View".
Subscribers to Ken Steele's free email newsletter, the Eduvation Loop, got access to the complete episode 9 of Ten with Ken more than a week early. For exclusive preview access to future episodes, be sure to subscribe to Eduvation's "in the loop" email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
In this week's 7-minute podcast, Ken Steele summarizes a variety of low-tech and high-tech ways in which universities attempt to bring a virtual campus to the largest PSE trade show in North America, the Ontario Universities' Fair.
At #OUF2015, many universities use large campus photography or ever-larger video displays, capped off with Trent University's "jumbotron" screen. For several years now, Laurentian University has recreated their campus in miniature in their "5D presentation room." This year, Wilfrid Laurier University added a large touchscreen "virtual map" of campus to their exhibit, and UOIT partnered with Oculus Rift to deliver a virtual reality campus tour for the first time. Although virtual maps and VR helmets do give a good sense of the physical buildings on campus, they still need to bring to life the faculty and students who inhabit the campus. St Francis Xavier University had a good idea when they brought a live video wall to the OUF a few years ago, allowing prospective students and parents to interact with faculty and students in real time on the StFX campus.
Subscribers to Ken Steele's free email newsletter, the Eduvation Loop, got access to the complete episode 9 of Ten with Ken more than a week early. For exclusive preview access to future episodes, be sure to subscribe to Eduvation's "in the loop" email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
Ken Steele and the Eduvation team present some recent highlights of the Youtube channels of Canadian colleges and universities. This episode we look at some of our favourite back-to-school videos from September 2015, from a safety video for an extinction-level event, to a pyromaniac’s delight, to a puppy outfitted with a GoPro…
This 4-minute episode includes excerpts from newscasts Humber Today (Humber College), This Week at UBC (UBC), The Caper Buzz (Cape Breton University), The DiscoverUNB Show (UNB), and MoCast (Mohawk College).
We also take a look at back-to-school safety videos, including the University of Calgary’s Emergency App, and Dorm Room Burns at the University of Saskatchewan and Georgian College.
Last but not least, a truly unique campus tour video from Great Plains College in Saskatchewan, shot from a Dog’s Eye View.
Subscribers to Ken Steele’s free email newsletter, the Eduvation Loop, got access to the complete episode 9 of Ten with Ken more than a week early. For exclusive preview access to future episodes, be sure to subscribe to Eduvation’s “in the loop” email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
In this special extended 15-minute episode, Canada's most trusted higher ed monitor and futurist, Ken Steele, returns to North America's largest PSE exhibition, the Ontario Universities' Fair. Attracting about 120,000 prospective students and parents each year, the OUF is the second-largest annual event held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Ken spent two full days onsite, capturing the university exhibits, contests, and viewbooks, and interviewing front-line recruiters, deans, presidents and others about the latest trends and news.
In this episode, we review how the OUF has evolved in its 19-year history, how exhibits and staffing have changed, how the audience has expanded, and how the questions posed by prospective students have shifted toward a focus on experiential learning, mental health supports, and career prospects. We'll also hear why the OUF seems so important to university presidents and staff.
The episode ends with a sneak peek at the other 12 hours of footage, which will be featured in upcoming episodes of Ten with Ken. (And, as usual, stay tuned for a couple of bloopers after the closing credits.)
For exclusive preview access to future episodes of "Ten with Ken", be sure to subscribe to Eduvation's "in the loop" email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
On The Radar: In September 2015, the world's highest-trafficked pornography website, PornHub, announced it was launching a charitable foundation, PornHub Cares, with a $25,000 college scholarship. Eligible students have to submit a 5-minute video explaining how they seek to make others happy. Also this fall, hookup app Tinder released its ranking of American university campuses based on their ratio of "right swipes" - the hottest males seem to attend private Christian colleges and military academies, while the hottest females were at campuses in the deep south.
Social media winners and sinners: Ken shares a few examples of the best and worst in higher ed social media from his keynote at the 2015 PSEWEB conference. Sinners range from Nobel-prize-winning biochemist Tim Hunt and his ill-advised joke about "girls" in the lab (and his botched apology), to Rick Coupland's violently homophobic Facebook post. In response, though, some winners appeared, like the #DistractinglySexy viral campaign, or the NoHomophobes.com campaign at the University of Alberta.
The Big Picture: Like it or not, libraries are moving paper books into underground storage vaults and textbook publishers are rushing to embrace access codes that defeat the most common student efficiencies (photocopying, piracy, sharing, buying used, borrowing from the library, etc). What's promising are the institutions bundling textbooks into student fees, often providing free iPads in the bargain, like the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, College Boreal, Olds College, and more. Some studies have found that 77% of students don't even buy mandatory textbooks - so small wonder that Algonquin College is finding substantial improvements in student learning and success when etexts are provided to 100% of students. Since the government of California committed to creating free, peer-reviewed open-source online versions of the textbooks for the 50 top college courses in 2012, the governments of British Columbia and Manitoba have followed suit. We're likely to see a lot more provinces jump on the bandwagon to score political points on the cheap.
Stay tuned after the credits for a few bloopers, as well!
For exclusive preview access to future episodes of "Ten with Ken", be sure to subscribe to Eduvation's "in the loop" email newsletter, at http://www.eduvation.ca/subscribe/
Canada's most trusted higher ed monitor and futurist, Ken Steele, finally explains the metaphor of Brand Chemistry™ for higher education marketing. He summarizes evidence that students are more sleep deprived than ever, connects the issue to mental health, and outlines some solutions campuses have tried to implement. And, he explores the plight of adjunct and contingent faculty, who can earn more writing essays for cheating students than they make grading those papers for universities.
Canada's most trusted higher ed monitor and futurist, Ken Steele, reviews some new developments from Coursera and EdX, the evolution of visual identities for Canadian religious colleges and affiliates, and some apocalyptic projections for the future of the labour market.