January 2012 New Saskatchewan Legislation Permits Private Universities Saskatchewan is the latest province to extend degree-granting status to public colleges as well as allow the recognition of private universities. Student Surveys a Poor Measure of Teaching Competence Our post-secondary education system is moving to ever greater reliance on student opinion surveys to judge, reward and punish instructors. We need to address the growing impact of student opinions on our working lives through bargaining, public education on campus. Indigenous Knowledge Can Enrich Our Campuses As CAUT president I have the pleasure of attending various conferences, workshops and fora designed to explore issues important to post-secondary education and the academics who give it life. NSERC’s Discovery Grant Program: Disquieting Changes & Why They Matter to Canadian Science NSERC’s Discovery Grant Program has constituted the back-bone of academic science research in Canada for decades, providing the main component of graduate student support, supplemented by teaching assistantships and scholarships. The Fall of the Faculty Benjamin Ginsberg’s book is a well-articulated scholarly polemic against the increase in the scope and influence of administrators and bureaucrats within the academy. Over Ten Million Served The issue of academic service remains a topic of debate in academic circles. This book leaves the overwhelming impression that most American universities and colleges treat service as “invisible” labour. New Contract for Med School The Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the union representing full-time faculty and professional librarians and professional staff at the school voted to ratify a tentative agreement after nine months of negotiations. NSCAD’s Fate Remains Precarious following Release of Consultant’s Report Recent ratification of short-term collective agreements at NSCAD University coupled with a $2.4 million provincial bailout of the school’s deficit have brought only temporary stability to the venerable but cash-strapped Nova Scotia institution. CAUT Launches Inquiry at Queen’s over Course Cancellation, Reassignment CAUT has established an ad hoc investigatory committee to examine Queen’s University’s treatment of history professor Michael Mason, whose class was cancelled and subsequently reassigned to another faculty member after he was accused of racism for quotes he included in his lectures. New Assistant Executive Director for CAUT CAUT has hired Nsé Ufot as an assistant executive director. The appointment takes effect next month. She succeeds Michael Piva, who retired from CAUT after five years in October 2011. Nova Scotia Universities Face Back-to-Back Budget Cuts Nova Scotia marches to its own tune as the only province in the country to decrease base funding for post-secondary education in recent years.