BU strike symptom of deeper funding issues

by Jim Clark

Many non-academics may be surprised that the Brandon University strike has become the longest university strike in Manitoba history. But for those of us who teach and conduct research in Manitoba’s mainstream universities, it is a symptom, like our mediocre Maclean’s magazine rankings, of deep problems caused by a lack of adequate funding and mistaken use of the limited funds that are available.

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Compressed Courses Shortchange Students

Can students learn as much in a compressed course format? Several lines of reasoning suggest not, says Jim Clark. Many universities, my own included, offer compressed courses, generally to appeal to a broader range of students or to benefit from the brief availability of resource people other than regular faculty. This may involve block scheduling, in which students take successive, intensive courses over short periods during a term. In the extreme, students may receive half- or full-course credit for classes that meet for only one or two weeks. Both pedagogical and political considerations suggest faculty and their professional associations should be skeptical about the legitimacy of such efforts.

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