Check out the latest in post-secondary news here in Alberta and across the country.

Tuition

1. The Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) has published a report on international students' tuition, employment, and housing in Alberta, which includes stories from international students themselves. The report includes recommendations such as freezing international tuition, regulating international student fees, and opening up financial assistance programs to international students. Via CAUS.

2. The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) is urging the federal government to improve accessibility of student aid for all. Via the CASA Newsroom.

3. The Alberta Government’s tuition review was promised to be released last fall, but the government has still not set a date for the release of the review. Via The Edmonton Journal.

4. Brock University is fully paying tuition for international students pursuing a PhD, which will fund 1,200 students. The University of Toronto made a similar move last month, announcing that international PhD students would pay domestic tuition. Via The Globe and Mail.

Academics

1. Requiring students to purchase online bundles and access codes is significantly harming student efforts to make educational resources more affordable. Bundles and access codes eliminate students’ ability to re-sell their textbooks, and prevents students from shopping around to find more affordable options Via Campus Technology.

2. Mount Royal University has opened their Office of Academic Indigenization. Their goals are to increase the number of Indigenous students on campus, to ensure their success, and to enable all students to graduate with a deeper understanding of Indigenous Peoples and their history. Via the Mount Royal Newsroom.

3. Universities across Canada are expanding programs for careers in the cannabis industry. Courses include growing and cultivating the crop and business marketing. Via The Globe and Mail.

4. Dalhousie University is seeking racially visible and Indigenous candidates for a senior job. Their Vice-Provost Student Affairs said that the decision to restrict candidacy is to increase representation of currently underrepresented groups in their administration. Via CBC News.

Mental Health

1. CASA is asking the federal government to support campus mental health initatives in a new policy paper. They are proposing financial intervention to help cover the costs for the ever-increasing use of psychological and psychiatric campus facilities. Via the CASA Newsroom.

2. Canadian medical students are urging the Government of Canada to strengthen response to Indigenous mental health and suicide crisis. The Canadian Federation of Medical Students are urging Canada to adopt frameworks put forward by Indigenous communities, to undertake a review of the National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy, and to direct Health Canada and Indigenous Services to re-evaluate federal programs and services. Via the CMFS.

Student Life

1. University students competing in the Olympics are finding creative solutions to make up for missed classes. Via University Affairs.

2. The University of Calgary and their Students’ Union have settled a dispute related to their students’ union building Mac Hall. The resolution, which came out of a 2015 lawsuit the Students’ Union filed against the University, has been celebrated by SU Executives as a win for students. Via the U of C Students’ Union.

3. McGill's Students' Union is developing a sexual violence policy to exist alongside their university's policy. The move comes after sexual misconduct allegations against a candidate in their elections, and to fill a loophole that they say exists in their university's policy. Via CBC News.

4. The University of New Brunswick has opened The 203 Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, a space for LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff to come together as a community. Via the UNB Newsroom.

5. People are mailing sex toys to Students’ Unions across the country, for some reason. No, we haven’t received one (yet). Via CBC News.