Posts Tagged thompson rivers university

MTMI-TRU 2010 International Conference

March 31, 2010 at 10:00 pm · Filed under Events/Contests ·Tagged , , , , ,

Open learning and distance education is just one of the topics slated to be discussed at this year’s MTMI-TRU 2010 International Conference entitled Emerging Paradigms and Practices in Business Management and Technology.

From June 12-13, 2010, Thompson Rivers University (TRU) will play host to international academics, practitioners, researchers and students, congregating to share and discuss research-based knowledge related to the Conference theme.

The theme, according to Dr. Siva Prasad Ravi, Program Chair, School of Business and Economics, TRU, was chosen to “reflect the purpose of the conference which is to share the current and emerging knowledge and practices in management and technology” and thus meet one of the organizers strategic goals of promoting research among international representatives and stakeholders.

“Benefits to conference participants include updating their knowledge base and developing new ideas for research,” Dr. Siva Prasad Ravi, member of the Conference Committee, said. “Participants can look forward to making new contacts that will result in networking and joint research with faculty from other collaborating universities.”

Presented by the Modern Technology and Management Institute (MTMI), in collaboration with TRU, the conference will feature papers presenting new ideas, concepts and paradigms based on original empirical research or real life case studies relating to emerging trends. The goal of the conference, which is sponsored by the Open Learning Division of TRU, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Frostburg State University, is to present emerging theories, cutting-edge research and best corporate practices from areas of interest including (visit http://www.truopen.ca/mtmi for more details):

• Business Strategy
• Operations and Supply Chain Management and Decision Sciences (Operations Research)
• Entrepreneurship
• Marketing
• Information Technology / Computer Science
• Human Resources Management
• Finance
• Accounting
• Economics
• Open Learning / Distance Education
• Tourism Management

Academicians and professionals can submit full papers (camera ready) in any of the previous areas by April 15, 2010, in order to ensure that they will be published in the conference proceedings.

In order to encourage research among students, the conference is offering a separate session for student paper presentations, provided that a sufficient number of student papers are submitted. A separate session will also be organized for tutors, instructors and teachers representing open learning. The two best papers will be awarded a cash prize of US$100.

“At this conference, participants, including TRU-OL tutors, will be able to use the knowledge they have gained both through their teaching and through their guidance of student projects,” Prasad Ravi said. “By guiding student projects, individuals taking part in the conference will be helping their students by providing them with an opportunity to participate in an international conference.”

The last date to submit registration fees, without a late fee, for the MTMI-TRU 2010 International Conference is May 10, 2010.

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Coming home to home care

March 26, 2010 at 10:53 pm · Filed under News ·Tagged , , , ,

One student discovers being a mature student translates into respected experiential learning at OL.

Knowledge never dies, it only grows with experience. Thompson Rivers University, Open Learning (TRU-OL) student Maggie Marsh discovered this invaluable lesson through her experience as a mature student enrolled in the revitalized Return to Registered Nursing program.

“The course work and the tutor’s support helped me to recall just how much I still did know,” Marsh said. “My life experiences since having left the nursing profession were also acknowledged and respected (by cohort students and tutors).”

Marsh began her career in nursing in 1987, immediately after graduating from high school. She worked as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN) for six years before returning to school. Here is where Marsh’s TRU story begins.

In order to upgrade her education, Marsh enrolled in the RPN/RN Access program at Thompson Rivers University, formerly known as Cariboo College. In 1992, she completed the program and became a Registered Nurse (RN). Despite the program’s medical approach to nursing, Marsh returned to the field of mental health for another six years. At this point, she decided to make a huge life change.

“I left the nursing profession all together and became a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT),” Marsh explained. “I have enjoyed this field for the last 13 years but a few years ago I had to ask myself if I could still do the labour intensive work of massage therapy for the next twenty years of my working life and the answer was ‘no’.”

Despite a complete shift in careers, Marsh found that through TRU-OL, she was able to return to her professional roots and find a new niche and new future, in her old career.

“I never thought that I would nurse again but one day it popped into my head that I could return to nursing,” Marsh said. After contacting the College of Registered Nurses of BC (CRNBC), Marsh had a plan. She would complete a CRNBC-accredited “refresher” program, a necessity as she had been away from nursing for more than five years, through TRU-OL’s accredited Return to Nursing program.

“I chose to go through Open Learning because it allowed me to still continue to do massage therapy and bring in an income while pursuing my return to the nursing profession,” Marsh explained. Through online and distance learning, Marsh was not only able to keep working and fit studying into her schedule but she was also able to stay in her hometown of Castlegar, BC, a six hour drive from TRU-OL’s home base in Kamloops, BC.

“I was initially concerned I would feel very alone at home, just me and my computer, but was delighted to discover in a short time, the togetherness I felt in coming to know and work with my cohorts during group assignments, online sharing and discussions about our work experiences,” Marsh said. “It was liberating to see how much we all had to offer and how much we still remembered and could readily contribute once again to the nursing profession.”

Before even beginning her return to nursing adventure, Marsh knew she did not want to go back into psychiatric nursing, nor work in a hospital and through TRU-OL’s practicum component Marsh was able to get a taste of the nursing sector that did interest her – Home and Community Care.

After completing her practicum at Nelson Home and Community Care, Marsh was offered casual status as a Quick Response Nurse and after just one month of work the verdict is in… “I love it,” Marsh exclaimed.
“Much has changed in nursing in the last decade and the Return to Registered Nursing program helped prepare me for that,” Marsh explained. “While I have lamented to my new colleagues that I still feel like a student they have responded to say that we are all students and that even after many years of work, the learning never stops.”

While she is thrilled with her role as a Home and Community Nurse, Marsh knows that her yearning for learning will pop up once again and now she knows how to quell that desire – return to Open Learning and perhaps attain a degree in Registered Nursing.

“I feel confident that the OL approach will help me to easily attain my goals and thus I will be able to continue to live my life and pursue my educational dreams without too many distractions,” Marsh said.

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TRU’s School of Law will be based on modified version of U of C’s curriculum

March 25, 2010 at 5:54 pm · Filed under News ·Tagged , , ,

Curriculum Agreement Gets Green Light
Byline: Elise Desjardine, TRU Open Learning Editor

The Faculty of Law curriculum license agreement between Thompson Rivers University (TRU) and the University of Calgary (U of C) has been finalized.

The curriculum agreement states that TRU can license existing curriculum that has had appropriate content modifications which recognize the differences in BC legislation. The reason this is feasible is that the majority of Law school studies are common across Canada and graduates of common-law Law Schools can article in any other common-law province, regardless of what province they studied in.

“This is an historic agreement and we are very proud to be part of it,” John Sparks, Counsel and Secretary, TRU, said. “Not only does it facilitate the establishment of our law school by licensing the curriculum of an existing first class law school, it does so across provincial boundaries in Canada. We think this is a great model for efficiently starting a new law school in a way that will serve our students and our communities.”

In his communication with TRU, Alastair Lucas, Dean of the U of C Faculty of Law described the partnership as “invaluable” explaining that it will allow the two institutions to “bridge the gap by expanding the reach of our exceptional curriculum.”

“Our focus on Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law is uniquely suited to academic priorities at TRU and we are excited to provide them with a program that focuses on practical legal skills instruction in the context of more theoretical legal principles,” Lucas said.

The degree granted by TRU’s School of Law will be Juris Doctor (J.D.), the same as that of U of C, will be done so in collaboration with the U of C Faculty of Law and will feature the official crests of both institutions.

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Online & Distance Education News from TRU Open Learning

February 19, 2010 at 1:43 am · Filed under News ·Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Software develop tech skills for students

IBM recently announced the launch of its free “academic cloud,” a bundle of web-based IBM software that is intended to help professors teach technology skills to students. The software aims to ensure post-secondary students gain sufficient technology and technical skills to meet the needs of the workforce of the future.

The IBM software intends to help professors to help teach students in specific areas of technology, including software development, information management, Web 2.0 and cloud computing. Professors can use the software to build IT curriculum, make long distance education easier as well as free up existing internal infrastructure. More specifically, technology skills will be based on IBM Rational, WebSphere and Information Management software.

The new academic cloud is set to be freely available and accessible to 20 colleges and universities across the United States. However, an IBM company announcement stated that it plans to add additional schools over time.

17% increase in online course enrolments

A survey from the Sloan Consortium indicates that in the fall of 2008, online enrolments at American colleges increased 17% from the year before, with about 4.6 million students taking at least one course online.
Overall, all post-secondary education enrolments increased only 1.2% which shows just how much advancement has been made in online learning.
The survey indicates the greatest demand for online courses is a result of the recent recession, with 66% of schools reporting increased demand for new courses and programs and 77% seeing increased demand for existing courses and programs. The survey found that public institutions are most likely to believe that online learning is critical for their long-term strategy.

US builds bill regarding diploma mills

Legislation recently unveiled in the US Congress aims to develop regulations regarding diploma mills. The bill intends to:  cement in federal law definitions of “diploma mills” and “accreditation mills” (the unauthorized agencies from which the phony institutions claim to derive their authority to operate); bar federal agencies from using degrees from diploma mills to provide jobs or promotions that depend on candidates’ educational credentials; and give the Federal Trade Commission more authority to define and crack down on deceptive practices by dubious institutions.

The bill was discussed at a recent international forum sponsored by the US Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), by New York’s Congressman Timothy Bishop.

“We have an obligation to see to it that people have confidence in our institutions, particularly our institutions of higher education, and in the credentials they provide,” Bishop said.

The bill would define a diploma mill as “(1) any entity that is not accredited by an agency that is recognized by the U.S. Education Department or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or authorized to grant post-secondary degrees by a state government (business licensure is not sufficient) and (2) offers degrees or other credentials for a fee but requires ‘little or no education or course work’ to gain that credential.”

The proposed law would assert that institutions choosing not to seek regional or national accreditation but earn a state’s approval to grant degrees, will not be considered a diploma mill if they require work by students to earn degrees.

The bill would also direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish regulations that would define as “unfair and deceptive act(s) or practice(s)” a fairly wide array of activities:

  • Issuance of a degree or other credential by an entity that is not recognized as legitimate by the U.S. education secretary, “if such degree, diploma, certificate or similar document misrepresents, directly or indirectly, the subject matter, substance, or content of the course of study or any other material fact concerning the course of study” for which the credential was awarded.
  • The issuing of an “academic, professional, or occupational degree” by an institution not accredited by the education secretary or CHEA “unless the entity offering or conferring” the degree “clearly and conspicuously discloses, in all advertising and promotional materials that contain a reference to such a degree, that the awarding of the degree has not been so authorized or that the entity offering or conferring the degree has not been so approved or recognized.”
  • Any advertising or promotional claims that an educational entity is accredited unless it is accredited by a federally or CHEA-recognized agency, or any claim of approved status by an unaccredited entity that “misrepresents, directly or indirectly, the nature, extent, or credibility of such approval.”
  • The issuing of accreditation to a degree-granting institution by any entity “that is not recognized for accreditation purposes” by the education secretary or CHEA.

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