In recent years, the topic of "brain drain" has gained considerable attention, both in public and intellectual spheres. Despite the media frenzy, few data sets and related studies exist to examine the nature and extent to which brain drain occurs. The purpose of this study is to extend the scope of the way we think about "brain drain," both…

Austria has gone through two cycles of university reforms since the 1960s. The first aimed to open the universities to social and labour market demand and to make their structures more democratic and flexible. The second reform cycle dealt with glitches in the overly close relationship between universities and state bureaucracy. Bureaucrats still…

Results of a Canada-wide and a Quebec based study of students with a variety of disabilities in Canadian postsecondary education are presented. Study 1 involved 156 professionals. They represent 80% of the population of professionals who provide on-campus disability support services. Results indicate that (1) 8% of postsecondary institutions…

The present study examines the effect of participation of first-year university students in a full-year peer mentoring program as well as individual differences in motivation in relation to outcome measures of retention and achievement. A sample of 983 first year students completed the Academic Motivation Inventory (Tremblay, 1998) and agreed to…

In higher education, competing demands for accountability and innovation in the face of globalization, technology, and budget cuts cause us to consider how best to prepare learners who will learn for a lifetime. We contend that a shift in our understanding of curriculum design to accommodate learner-centeredness will provide the framework for…

Mergers have been a frequent phenomenon in higher education in the last quarter century. The conventional wisdom is that mergers are undertaken mainly for economic reasons, either to expand markets or to reduce costs. About four out of five college or university mergers survive. In the for-profit sector the comparable rate is closer to two out of…

Reviews family leave policies in Canadian universities through March 2002. Analysis of pregnancy, adoption, and partner (paternity) leave policies reveal that most Canadian university policies produce income loss and disruption and are characterized by gender regulation and familialism. The paper proposes that improving faculty family leave…

Questioned Ontario college students and administrators regarding their opinions on standards of practice for postsecondary special needs programs. Respondents indicated strong support for most suggested practices. Fewer administrators, however, supported practices that required enhanced funding, staffing, and resources, and fewer students…

Reviews the literature describing the development and outcomes of tuition-waiver programs for older adults in Canadian universities, reporting the results of the first Canadian national survey of tuition-waiver programs. Despite the widespread availability of tuition-waiver programs in Canada and the United States, such programs have failed to…

Investigated how discourses of racism were categorically produced and performed through power relations, notions of ethnicity, negative images, and stereotypes, qualitatively studying 22 South Asian students in a predominantly white Canadian university. Respondents perceived or reported covert or overt racism or marginalization based on their race…

Provides an institutional case study of St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, a church-related college, regarding how post-World War II social trends reconfigured Canadian universities and substantially altered the undergraduate experience. Found that rising enrollments, physical plant expansion, faculty laicization, the campaign for…

Examined factors influencing instructors' selection of course readings and students' reading patterns. Found that instructors were informed by pedagogical objectives, such as challenging students, exposing them to diverse sources, and reinforcing central course themes, as well as non-pedagogical factors such as reducing expense and author gender.…

This qualitative investigation identified a condition of frenetic change experienced by two colleges in British Columbia, Canada, accompanying their change from community colleges to university colleges. Explored how economic globalization influenced the formation and functioning of these institutions. (EV)

Sought to determine first-year physics students' approaches to learning, the intellectual demands of their exams (using Bloom's taxonomy), and correlations between the approach to learning, assessment demands, and student performance. Found that most students approached physics with the intention of memorizing formulae rather than understanding…

Asserts that economic well-being rests on a thriving civil society. Discusses lines of inquiry in the human sciences necessary to building a civil society in Canada: (1) enabling individuals to better understand themselves, their values, and their roles as citizens; (2) defining Canadian identity and role as global citizen; and (3) informing the…