Student Panel

Our student panel has their say

With an election on May 2, we asked our student panel how big a role education policy plays in their decision to cast a ballot for one party, or one candidate, over another. As with previous entries, all videos are archived on our You Tube channel.

Our student panel has their say

Recently, a group of University of Toronto students have been petitioning the university ban the Canadian Forces from recruiting on campus. This is a topic that frequently arises at universities. Some opponents of recruitment object to a particular military deployment, such as in Afghanistan, or object to the military altogether. Because the Forces exchange tuition for service, they may be seen as exploiting low income students.

We asked our student panel for their view.

As with previous weeks, all videos are archived on our You Tube Channel.

Our student panel has their say

Last week an American study concluded that students are not learning very much in university. New York University sociologist Richard Arum and coauthor, Josipa Roska, discovered that when measuring writing skills, the ability to think critically and to engage in complex reasoning, forty-five per cent of students did not show an improvement on skills such as writing and critical thinking. After four years, 36 per cent of students had barely improved.

We asked our student to rate the teaching quality at their school. As with previous weeks, videos will be posted on our front page, and archived on our You Tube channel.

Our student panel weighs in

At the centre of the dispute between math professor Mikhail Kovalyov and the University of Alberta is the question of grading curves. Kovalyov’s course average was lowered by department administrators supposedly because he had awarded too many Bs compared to Cs and Ds, touching off a battle that ultimately resulted in the administration asking him to resign.

The case is unique because Kovalyov actively encouraged his students to appeal their grades. It also highlights the fact that how students are assessed can be controversial.

Achieving target class averages often involves employing a mathematical grading curve to ensure that in each class their are the predetermined number of As, Cs, and Fs awarded. Results can be confusing. If an overwhelming number of students score well on an exam, even those with a mark in the high 80s could see their final grade curved down to a B. Similarly, if a disproportionate number of students score very low, a pass for the exam could be set at 35 per cent.

We asked our student panel whether they thought grading curves are fair. Answers are posted below, as well as on our front page. As with previous weeks, all videos are archived on our You Tube Channel.

Our student panel has their say

Prince Edward Island has put on hold plans to make amendments to the Degree Granting Act that would have permitted private universities to operate in the province. The proposal was denounced by University of Prince Edward Island alumni who submitted a petition in opposition, while UPEI’s outgoing president responded by calling plans in other provinces to add new institutions a “fraud.” Private universities do exist in Canada, though they are predominantly religious institutions, like Canadian Mennonite University, but Canada’s higher education system is overwhelmingly public.

We asked our student panel what they thought the role of private universities in Canada should be. As with previous weeks all videos will be archived on our You Tube channel.

Our student panel gives us their view

Last week student protests in the United Kingdom erupted against a government proposal to lift a long standing cap on tuition. Tuition for many British universities could rise from 3,000 pounds to 9,000 pounds, or approximately $14,000 a year. A handful of students turned violent. Windows were smashed, and fires were started.

Canadians are no strangers to students protesting the price of tuition in the streets, though they rarely, if ever, turn violent, and while Britain may be thousands of miles a way, whether or not tuition levels are affordable is always a question at the top of mind of students.

We asked our student panel what they thought: are tuition levels in Canada too high, too low, or just right? As with last week, all videos will be available through our You Tube channel. Our first featured video comes from Ahmed Alabbas, a third-year graphic communications student at Ryerson University.

All of this week’s panel responses can be scrolled through in the video below.