Alberta-style democracy: Union members must accept contract they rejected In Alberta, it appears you now have more power as the president of a neighbourhood community league than as a duly elected member of a school board! With province-wide municipal elections scheduled to take place in October, that’s something would-be candidates for school trustee might want [...]
Deadline today for Alberta teachers to approve deal between union and province The deadline is approaching for approval of a tentative deal between the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and the province. Education Minister Jeff Johnson says he is confident a provincewide labour agreement between Alberta’s 62 school boards and their teachers can be reached before today’s ratification deadline. [...]
Provincial achievement tests replaced with tests done at the beginning of the year Provincial achievement tests will soon be a thing of the past. The Alberta government announced Thursday that provincial achievement tests will be phased out for students in Grade 3, Grade 6 and Grade 9. The provincial achievement tests will be replaced by a series [...]
Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk should fire the Athabasca University board Athabasca University’s Faculty Association called yesterday for the institution’s president to be replaced by an interim president chosen from among senior staff. On the face of it, this idea makes a lot of sense, since the president in question – Dr. Frits Pannekoek – announced [...]
Online diploma exams intended to create more flexibility for students, says province By the fall of 2017, Alberta students will be able to write their diploma exams online. Alberta Premier Alison Redford and Education Minister Jeff Johnson made the announcement today during a teleconference with student reporters from across the province. “Students have repeatedly told us [...]
Funding aims to increase access to dual credit opportunities for students New funding aims to allow more students to earn both high school and post-secondary credits for the same course. The Alberta government is investing more than $11 million over three years to increase the number of students with access to dual credit opportunities. Current dual credit opportunities [...]
More students will be able to quality for financial aid after income thresholds adjusted The Canadian government announced a new measure that allows more students to quality for financial aid. Starting August 1, the low- and middle-income thresholds will be adjusted for the 2013-2014 school year in an attempt to increase the affordability of post-secondary education [...]
Education Minister putting a ban on collective bargaining by public sector unions As is well known, Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk has sent a letter to the boards of all of Alberta post-secondary institutions instructing them on what their bargaining position and final wage offer must be in negotiations with their faculty associations and staff unions. [...]
Mount Royal University administrators gut theatre department We learn with some dismay that the fresh-faced, newly minted Mount Royal University, elevated a few years ago from its low and pedestrian college status, has decided to take the coward’s way out in addressing budget cuts, cutting and slashing and hacking its performative arts programs, namely music [...]
U of A official warns university budget cuts could cause downsizing of universities An official at the University of Alberta is warning that entire programs, even faculties, could be on the chopping block to make up for multimillion-dollar university budget cuts. Following this year’s provincial budget, the University of Alberta started the process of preparing [...]
