Simpsons makes fun of grad students

hat tip to Joey Coleman.

Childcare Bill supported by GSS

The GSS Sent this letter in support of Bill C303, the Access to Childcare act.

April 30, 2007

Dear members of the House of Commons HUMA Standing Committee,

I am writing on behalf of the University of Victoria Graduate Students’ Society (GSS) to encourage you to support Bill C-303.

Access to affordable childcare has a major impact on the ability of many of our members to succeed in pursing post-graduate studies. In 2006, there were 2423 graduate students at UVic, and of these 1426 were women. The median age of full time graduate students is 30 yrs, but for part time students, who are often students juggling parenting, jobs and their studies, the median age is 37.

While UVic has excellent childcare facilities, the wait for childcare, both at UVic and at other childcare centres in Victoria, can be several years. There are simply not enough spaces available. Many students complete an entire degree without being able to access UVic childcare services. Even parents who can afford the most expensive facilities are sometimes unable to find care. Bill C303 addresses the need to create new childcare spaces.

Lack of spaces drives prices up and for families living on a low income this means it is even more difficult to find safe, quality childcare. According to Campaign 2000, BC holds the shameful distinction of having the highest rate of child poverty in Canada (23.5%). For parents who are raising children in poverty, post secondary education is one route to increasing family income. For many students, the cost of childcare is a major barrier to attending college or university. In 2005, the average monthly cost of childcare in BC ranged from $705 for infants to $419 for after school care, and according to Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index, childcare costs in BC rose 5.6% from 2005 to 2007. Bill C303 supports the creation of public, affordable childcare.

Finally, Bill C303 safeguards federal funding for childcare. This is especially important to citizens of BC, where shortly after a federal childcare funding announcement the provincial government cut funds for infrastructure and creating new childcare spaces in BC.

For these reasons, we encourage you to support Bill C-303.

Sincerely,
Patrick Reed
Chair, University of Victoria Graduate Students’ Society

Travel Grants amounts increased

The Faculty of Graduate Studies is pleased to announce that travel grant funding has been increased as of April 1, 2007.

 

As part of our commitment to support the research activities of our graduate students, we have adjusted the following categories:

 

Travel Grant category:	Previous funding amount:	New amount:
1	$150	$300
2	$200	$400
3	$400	$600

 

Students who have already been approved for travel grant funding for the current fiscal year (travel occurring after April 1, 2007) will receive the additional funding in the particular category to which they have applied. No new application is required in order to receive the increased amounts. Those students who have already been approved for travel grants should submit receipts to the Faculty of Graduate Studies that equal or exceed the new amount in their particular category.

 

Please distribute this announcement to all of your graduate students.  Attached are revised travel grant regulations, as well as a new travel grant application form. Please use these forms from now on. They can also be found on our web site at

http://web.uvic.ca/gradstudies/fund/documents/TravelGrantAPPLICATION-new.pdf

 

If you have any questions, please contact Anitra Winje, Travel Grant Facilitator, at 472-5209 or fgssec1@uvic.ca.

BC Govt releases Campus 20/20

This document is a discussion of the BC government's vision for post secondary education in BC.

Report recommendations for graduate studies and research include:

"40. Limit granting of doctoral degrees to the four provincial universities.

41. Building on the recent commitment to create 2,500 new graduate student
spaces by 2010, develop a plan to implement the BC Access and Excellence
Strategy target of the highest per capita enrolment of graduate students in
Canada by 2015.

42. Allocate the new graduate student spaces to UBC, UVic and SFU in proportions
similar to the existing distribution of research funding and graduate student
enrolment.

43. Establish an expanded program of graduate student financial aid to ensure no
qualified applicant for graduate studies is denied access on the basis of financial
circumstances.

44. Increase and thereafter maintain direct investment in research and innovation in
public post-secondary institutions sufficient to ensure BC is in the three highest
spending provinces by 2010.

45. Implement a “Georgia Strait” research cluster initiative by ensuring that at least
95 per cent of all provincial research funding is awarded to UBC, SFU and UVic.

46. Establish a continuing commercialization strategy to ensure that the province
and post-secondary institutions are maximizing opportunities to benefit from
commercially realizable research discoveries.

47. Task the Higher Education Board to develop and report on performance
measures with respect to results from provincial funding for research."

UVIC library: grad student input

A big thanks to all the graduate students who participated in giving the library feedback. Your ideas have been included in the library's internal review. Have a look at this summary of graduate student input!

Copyright infringement case at U of T leads to how-to guide

Another interesting post on Macleans.ca

A number of high-profile copyright infringement cases – including one at the University of Toronto – have inspired a campaign to educate graduate students about their rights when it comes to protecting ideas and work from possible theft.

The Carleton Graduate Students' Association is spearheading an initiative to educate the university's 3,300 grad students on how to safeguard their intellectual property while ensuring they're being properly recognized for their work.

The initiative will include workshops and a handbook outlining what would constitute an infraction of students' intellectual property rights, said association president Oren Howlett.

Examples include a student not receiving authorship on written work, or having a professor take credit for their work.

Full story here

UofT to dump tobacco investments

Found online at macleans.ca. Interesting given the move to consider smoking ban at UVIC.

The University of Toronto is the latest university to alter its investment portfolio, citing ethical concerns. With yesterday’s announcement to divest millions in tobacco stocks, U of T became the first educational institution in Canada to boycott the tobacco industry.

A student activist who successfully campaigned to have U of T sell off its tobacco investments says other Canadian schools should follow suit and end the "unethical practice."

"We hope that other institutions will get a clear message that investing in tobacco companies is an unethical practice and it's something that should not be done," Tyler Ward, president of Education Bringing Youth Tobacco Truths (E-BUTT).

Many universities have taken similar steps for ethical reasons. Recently, Queen’s University divested its holdings in two Chinese oil companies because of their involvement in Darfur.

Read the full story here