Education and an aging population

(Macleans) - Studies predict fewer teachers needed in Ontario, more "moderatist" profs in the United States. READ MORE HERE [ Source: Macleans.ca, Nick Taylor-Vaisey ]

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A must read about how a fire hydrant almost becaome the VP of the students union >> 559 UBC students say Fire Hydrant should sit on student council.

College forced to reinstate prof who had sex with students

Macleans.ca staff | Lethbridge college is developing a policy on student-teacher relationships after being ordered to reinstate an instructor who admitted to having sex with three of his female students.

Greg Bird, a psychology teacher and general studies program leader, was fired by Lethbridge College in February, 2006, after an internal investigation found him guilty of “inappropriate relationships with students.” Bird fought his dismissal by taking the case to a board made up of an arbitrator and one representative each from the college and its faculty association. After a series of hearings throughout 2007, the board ruled last December that Mr. Bird be reinstated by May 1.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Macleans.ca ]

Federal government collecting student loans from deceased borrowers

Macleans.ca | The federal government is collecting thousands of dollars in student loans from deceased borrowers, according to figures obtained by a student loan advocacy group.

A hundred accounts belonging to dead borrowers have been sent to the Canada Revenue Agency for collection since 2002, according to documents obtained by the Coalition for Student Loan Fairness, under Access to Information legislation. The agency managed to collect $14,645.53 of the borrowed funds over the last six years, the figures show.

The policy of collecting from student borrowers after they are deceased only applies to borrowers who received a loan under the “risk shared” loan system that was in existence between 1995 and 2000, when the government and banks jointly shared the risks of guaranteeing loans.

Ottawa should end the practice, which often results in collection agencies seeking to recoup the funds from grieving parents and family members, says Coalition founder Julian Benedict. “We don’t believe the government should be harassing the parents and families and friends of dead student-loan borrowers for cash,” he said. “We think it shows an indifference and a lack of respect for the dead.”

The government stresses that Since 2000 the government began to directly finance all new student loans, and if a student who has borrowed since 2000 is deceased, the loan will be forgiven.

“This compassionate benefit helps to alleviate the financial burden on families already suffering from loss,” Lesley Harmer, a spokeswoman for Monte Solberg, minister of Human Resources and Social Development Canada, wrote in an e-mail Sunday.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Macleans.ca ]