A new Queen’s study finds that first-generation immigrant children perform well below average in math and science.
The study, completed by Faculty of Education PhD candidate Shaljan Areepattamannil, examined the academic results of 2,636 13-year-old, first-generation immigrant students from British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.

Cathy Keates isn’t for sale—and that’s what her book Not for Sale! Why we need a new job search mindset is promoting.
Keates, a part-time career counsellor at Queen’s and owner of Kingston consulting business Career Considerations, said she thinks there’s something wrong with today’s job search strategy.

If Team PNF’s presidential candidate Mitch Piper, vice-president (operations) candidate Kasmet Niyongabo and vice-president (university affairs) candidate Davina Finn seem like an unlikely group to be running for AMS executive, it’s because they are. Piper, Niyongabo and Finn are self-admitted AMS outsiders, and each comes from a unique academic and extra-curricular background, Piper said.

Team CHR presidential candidate Safiah Chowdhury, ArtSci ’11, vice-president (operations) candidate Ben Hartley, ArtSci ’10, and vice-president (university affairs) candidate Chris Rudnicki, ArtSci ’11, have some big ideas when it comes to what they would do for Queen’s if they had an unlimited budget.

Tammy Babcock, a security supervisor at Queen’s, is taking leave from work the next few weeks.
But instead of a vacation, she’s leaving Kingston to go to Haiti on Jan. 26 to help with relief efforts.

Students will soon have a revamped QCARD, thanks to the Queen’s University Administrative Systems Replacement (QUASR) project.
The project, which is split into four phases, overhauled the University’s finance administration system in November.

Academic Advising Services is attempting to deal with high student demand by creating a new website, Senior Academic Counsellor Joyce Hunter said.
The website, which is set to open in the fall, will include advice about common issues that students have regarding academics and different sources of information for students, she said.

The Arts and Science Undergraduate Society (ASUS) Equity Commissioner resigned at the Dec. 3 ASUS Assembly.
The Equity Commissioner position was voted into effect on Feb. 5. It was created to fulfill some of the aims of ASUS’s Leading Action on Diversity plan which calls for an advisory position to oversee education on diversity issues within Arts and Science.

News in brief

Before students begin their housing search, they should take the time to research options and not rush to sign a lease, Manager of Community Housing Elaine Bevens Caird said. Caird said she sees the biggest housing rush after students return from the holidays.

His new office may be neat and tidy, but Tom Harris’s job responsibilities aren’t. Last Monday, Harris began his five-year term as the University’s new vice-principal (advancement), inheriting an office that will increasingly be relied on to bring Queen’s revenue in the face of severe budget cuts.

One month after the Queen’s Centre’s Dec. 1 opening, there’s another new kid at the corner of Division and Union streets. The new School of Kinesiology, which opened on Monday, will host an open house from noon to 4 p.m. today.

A report released last week by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) says Canada lacks a coherent vision for post-secondary education standards.
Up to Par: The Challenge of Demonstrating Quality in Canadian Post-secondary Education says as enrollment in college and university becomes more commonplace, post-secondary institutions are increasingly under strain, which is further exacerbated by the economic downturn.

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