UBC News Digest

The UBC News Digest is a weekly summary of news stories about UBC people, research, learning, community, and internationalization initiatives. News Digest past issues are also available on-line.

Aug. 21, 2003

• New online admissions tool earns EDUCAUSE award
• Engineering researchers receive provincial fellowships
• UBC Distance and Education Technology (DE&T) to move
• Canadians study abroad without leaving home
• UBC rowers win this summer
• UBC Physics Students score high at the 2003 Undergraduate Examination
  

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New online admissions tool earns EDUCAUSE award

Associate Registrar Audrey Lindsay and e-Business executive director Richard Spencer will be traveling to Anaheim, California, on November 6 to pick up the 2003 EDUCAUSE award for UBC’s on-line student self-evaluation and self-admission program.

With the new system, high school students can evaluate themselves to see if they meet admissions requirements for their degree program and admit themselves directly on the Web. The system was developed by a nine-person team that set out to dramatically improve speed and quality of service to prospective students, increase early offers of admission to outstanding students, and reduce processing work.

EDUCAUSE has a membership of 1,900 colleges and universities and more than 180 corporations and aims to incorporate information technologies into the higher education mission. For further info visit: www.educause.edu/awards.

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Engineering researchers receive provincial fellowships

The Advanced Systems Institute of BC has awarded UBC’s Martin Davy (Mechanical Engineering) and Derek Yip-Hoi (NSERC-Pratt Witney Industrial Research Program) provincial research fellowships worth $120,000 each over 3 years.

Davy, PhD, will be researching fuel cell technology, and Yip-Hoi, PhD, will be researching computer-aided design methods and their application to virtual high performance machining.

ASI is a non-profit foundation that aims to build a globally competitive technology sector in B.C. by administering funding programs and building research-industry partnerships. To learn more about provincial research fellowship awards, visit www.asi.bc.ca.

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UBC Distance and Education Technology (DE&T) to move

Following an extensive review, UBC’s Distance Education and Technology (DE&T) will move from an ancillary reporting to the Associate VP Continuing Studies, to a unit more closely linked to the faculties. The move is being made to help DE&T better serve UBC’s learning technology goals.

During the transition, DE&T will report to the associate Vice president Neil Guppy, Academic Programs, who will work with director Tony Bates, AVP Continuing Studies Jane Hutton and the deans to develop recommendations for the new structure by the end of the year.

Student enrolment in distance courses has been growing over the past decade and now exceeds 5,500. The alignment will help fulfill the vision for a faculty-based, centrally supported distance education model that integrates distance education activities with regular credit and mixed-mode courses in faculties across campus. It will also help leverage rapidly growing use of learning technologies at UBC – there are currently close to 30,000 unique WebCT accounts for on-campus students.

For more information, contact nguppy@oldadm.ubc.ca.

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Canadians study abroad without leaving home

The Internet is changing the feasibility of international exchange and study abroad programs for Canadian universities and colleges, says a UBC researcher. And students are getting new opportunities for learning from international peers.

“International education and intercultural encounters for students are valued more and more, but it’s expensive,” said Dr. Leah Macfadyen, a researcher at UBC’s Centre for Managing and Planning Learning Environments (MAPLE). “Technology is making it possible for students to have new intercultural opportunities and to broaden this experience.”

Read more… http://www.estrategy.ubc.ca/news/update0308/030813-exchange.html

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UBC rowers win this summer

UBC student athletes have been enjoying recent success. Ben Rutledge and Kyle Hamilton beat USA in the 8+ at the Royal Henley in June. They also won at the Lucerne World Cup in July and will help represent Canada at the upcoming world championships in Milan, Italy, in September.

Rob Weitemeyer won the gold in the 8+ at the world “under 23” championships in Belgrade on July 28, while Geoff Hodgson has been racing at the Pan Am Games in the men’s 8+ and will race in the 2+ at the upcoming world championships.

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UBC PHYSICS STUDENTS SCORE HIGH AT THE 2003 UNDERGRADUATE EXAMINATION

UBC undergrad physics students scored three of the top four spots in the 2003 Undergraduate Examination run by the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP). UBC traditionally places well in this national contest, but this year's CAP results were exceptional, says Prof. Brian Turrell, acting head of UBC's Physics and Astronomy Department.

Max Metlitski, fourth year Honors, placed first, Daragh Rooney, fourth year Majors, placed third, and Guillaume Chabot-Couture, an exchange student from Laval University who was also a Canada team member for the International Physics Olympiad in 2000, took fourth place.

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