Daily News

posted on Aug. 28: School of Business course goes paperless

This fall, fourth year Commerce students taking Business Policy and Strategic Management 4PA3 will experience the future. All course material will be available on the internet -- no books to be purchased and tests and quizzes will be taken online. Nick Bontis, course instructor and creator of the course, cited several reasons for the introduction of this new technologically-based course delivery. Bontis said: "It's not because I'm a tree hugger, although it is an added benefit that this method is environmentally friendly. It's because I feel that, as part of a university which is known as an innovation leader, we need to leverage the technology we have available to us within the School of Business. Most of the classrooms in the School of Business are wired to accommodate computer use. Bontis is also interested in reducing costs to students. Instead of purchasing a custom course pack for $50, a student purchases an online voucher for $20 which the student must produce in order to gain entrance to the mid-term and final exams. The voucher features a raised watermark stamp which prevents illegal duplication. This method also helps to protect against copyright infringement. Royalties for case studies are usually worked into the fees of a custom courseware package. However, the courseware packages can be photocopied and shared among students, thereby reducing the royalties owed to the schools that sell the rights to the cases. All course materials are posted to WebCT, an e-learning based Web site. Through this system, the onus for printing is on the student, giving them greater freedom as to how much material is printed and in what format. The instructor can offer online testing to provide immediate feedback for students after each class. The instructor can also monitor student activity and will be able to monitor who has logged in to read the case studies and who has taken the online tests. When the participation level is increased, you become a facilitator rather than an instructor," Bontis said. Other innovative features of this course include an online simulation game, an improvisation workshop (much like the show (What's my Line?), and an Olympiad based on the reality/game show models. (End of story)

posted on Aug. 28: McMaster gains first place in public accountability survey

McMaster University has soared to the top of an annual survey designed to measure the public accountability of Canadian universities. McMaster climbed from 35th place to first in just one year - scoring 64.5 using an index that considers such public documents as mission statements, performance targets, detailed financial statements and research summaries. Researchers with the School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University have been conducting Canada's only annual survey of public accountability by universities since 1988. The survey now involves 41 universities from British Columbia to Newfoundland. Using a modified accountability disclosure (MAD) index of one to 100, universities are awarded points based on the depth, clarity and quality of the information provided in 26 categories. Though there has been improvement in the last two years, the researchers found that Canadian universities still fall short when it comes to external reporting and accountability. Compared to institutions in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, Canadian universities are not making enough information available to the public on key objectives, performance indicators and facts and figures. "We are seeing a bit of improvement overall among Canadian universities, and a great deal when you look at particular institutions like McMaster," said Morton Nelson, one of the researchers and an accounting professor with the Laurier School of Business and Economics. "But Canada has tended to lag behind other Commonwealth countries, especially New Zealand, where accountability reports have been legislated into practice."

posted on Aug. 23: McMaster’s new Calendar of Events has arrived!

McMaster's Daily News Calendar of Events has arrived! If you haven't already noticed the new McMaster University calendar on the right-hand side of our home page take a look now and, if you have the time, try out this new service. "This new, comprehensive, fully searchable and user-friendly Calendar of Events replaces our popular Coming Events section and offers on- and off-campus visitors to the site a wide range of information about the day-to-day activities at McMaster. We hope this new calendar will become the place to post or find information on what's happening at McMaster. The calendar is another good reason for faculty, staff and students to start their day with the Daily News," says Kelly Curwin, publications/communications co-ordinator, Office of Public Relations. Curwin is excited about the launch of the new calendar. "The calendar offers a number of features that we think users will appreciate. People can post, revise and delete their own submissions. They can e-mail a calendar listing to a friend or to their own e-mail. They can even print out the event description for a seminar and post it on a local bulletin board as a small poster." The success of the service will depend, in large measure, says Curwin, on regular and frequent contributions by people from all areas and departments on campus. While the calendar is now live on the site, it may take a couple of days until all of the calendar functions are fully operational. Staff in public relations have begun posting information onto the site and the information database will grow as more items are posted by members of the community. Training sessions are being held for those on campus whose departments and areas frequently submit items for posting on the calendar. To find out what's happening on campus you can view calendar items by day or by week or even look ahead a couple of months. Or you can search the calendar's database by keyword, Faculty or category. For example, using the category or Faculty search buttons you can find out what events on campus are scheduled for alumni or what lectures and seminars are being presented by a particular Faculty. If you have an item you want to post on the calendar -- a lecture, an event, a conference -- simply click on the Make a Submission link under Calendar of Events (on the home page) and complete the specialized form. In addition to including the usual details about an upcoming event, you can also include relevent Web site links and even a photograph of the event or lecturer. Items by, for and about the McMaster community occurring on or off campus or which involve members of the University community are eligible for posting. *** To view a sampling of items now posted on the calendar: Go to Select Month and choose September 2001 (click Go) Select Week of Sept. 9 to see the Week View Click on "True confessions of an art collector" (Sept. 11) to see Event Description Select Sept. 11 (numeral on main calendar) for the Day View Click on Search the Calendar (on home page) In the Search by Category box select "alumni' from the drop-down box (Calendar will display all items listed in alumni category)

posted on Aug. 23: McMaster announces new provost and vice-president academic

McMaster has chosen a new provost and vice-president academic. Kenneth Harold Norrie, dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta, will take up the post on January 1, 2002. Norrie's appointment was approved today (August 23) by the Executive Committee of McMaster's Board of Governors. The appointment is for a five-year term. An economic historian, Norrie will also hold a professorial appointment in the Department of Economics. "Dr. Norrie brings to McMaster an impressive record of scholarship, teaching and administrative leadership and has earned national respect for his research on Canadian economic history, regional economics and economic policy. I am confident that his gifted academic leadership, his collaborative leadership style, and his proven ability to work successfully with colleagues and students will help McMaster continue to strengthen its outstanding record of academic accomplishments," said University President Peter George in making the announcement today. Norrie was the unanimous choice of the selection committee. In recommending Norrie to the Board, the committee cited his open collaborative leadership style, his excellent communication skills, his ability to work well with colleagues and students, and his commitment to the vision, mission and goals of McMaster University. Norrie is looking forward to his move to Ontario and to working with the McMaster community. "I am excited by McMaster's excellent reputation and by the opportunity to work with a President I have known for nearly three decades through economic history circles. I am particularly impressed by the University's vision to be a leading student-centred, research-intensive university and by its commitment to interdisciplinarity. I have much to learn, and doubtless will be testing McMaster's reputation for collegiality. As a lifelong Westerner, I am also looking forward to living in a new part of Canada, especially one with such a rich social and cultural life." Ken Norrie grew up in Saskatchewan, receiving his undergraduate degree (honours BA) from the University of Saskatchewan in 1967. He obtained his graduate degrees from Yale University in 1969 (M.Phil.) and 1971 (PhD, economics). He became a professor of economics at the University of Alberta in 1980, served as chair of the department of economics, and has held the position of dean of arts since 1999. He has taught introductory and advanced economics to both undergraduate and graduate students and is an expert in Canadian economic policy. He is the author of numerous articles for various journals, books and studies on such topics as regional economic conflicts in Canada, the National Energy Program, Western separatism, and the history of the Canadian economy. In 1984-85 he co-directed research for the Royal Commission on the Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada. He was the Clifford Clark Visiting Economist in the Department of Finance in 1990-91. A board member of the Centre for Constitutional Studies at the University of Alberta, Norrie is also on the advisory board of the Institute for Intergovernmental Relations at Queen's University. He is a member of Premier Ralph Klein's Advisory Group on Constitutional Issues and sits on the executive of the Edmonton Opera Association, serving as chair of the board's Artistic Liaison Committee. Norrie is married to Lorna Higdon-Norrie, who currently works at the University of Alberta following careers with the federal government and the private sector. The couple has two children: Paul, a winter and summer mountain guide who resides in Canmore, Alberta; and Erika, who is completing a master's degree in drama at the University of Alberta.

posted on Aug. 21: CAE gift boosts software engineering scholarships

CAE Inc. has made a $100,000 gift that will support the creation of an endowed fund to support undergraduate scholarships in the Faculty of Engineering. The CAE scholarships in software engineering will be awarded to students who have successfully completed Level II of a software engineering program. Red Wilson, chair of McMaster's successful Changing Tomorrow Today campaign and Tony Fell, campaign vice-chair, accepted the gift from CAE president Derek Burney at a meeting held earlier this month. The endowment, when fully mature, will enable three scholarships to be awarded each year at a value of $2,500 each. CAE is the world's premier provider of simulation and control technologies for training and optimization solutions in the aerospace, defence and forestry industries. PHOTO: (L to R) CAE Ltd. president Derek Burney, Red Wilson, Tony Fell. (END OF STORY)