Cape Breton University

CBU Report Calls for Action to Support Immigration

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Source: CBImmigrationPilot.ca via Academica

Cape Breton University has released a new report that addresses issues around immigration to Cape Breton. The report recommends taking action to improve permanent settlement and to enhance community support for immigration. It identifies a need to focus on potential immigrants and international students as potentially key contributors to Cape Breton’s work force, particularly given that many local business are dealing with labour shortages and succession issues. The report recommends that steps be taken to convince Cape Breton communities of the benefits of immigration and to make changes at the federal level to provide more support for settlement in rural Nova Scotia.

CBU Students, Faculty, and Administration Campaign for Zero Tuition

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Source: Chronicle-Herald via Academica

Cape Breton University’s student union, faculty association, and administration have banded together to campaign for free university tuition. In a recent post on Academica’s Rethinking Higher Ed Forum, CBU President David Wheeler called on provincial and federal politicians to take action against rising tuition fees and student debt levels, proposing that “the most elegant solution… would be the removal of student tuition altogether, funded by a system of progressive taxation at the federal level, and backed by needs-based living expense grants at the provincial level.” Now Wheeler, CBU’s faculty association, and CBU’s student union have created a website urging other universities to join the cause. The site also includes an open letter to federal politicians asking them to initiate a national debate on free tuition. “It is a federal election year, and we do believe that this topic merits attention by our federal leaders,” said Wheeler.