Students today lack maturity, feel entitled : Professor

First-year university students are less prepared and have poorer research skills than students from three years ago, according to a new Ontario-wide survey of faculty and librarians.

Survey respondents reported students had lower writing and numeric skills, lower maturity, and a belief that good grades are an entitlement and a right.

Respondents also said students relied too much on Internet tools, such as Google and Wikipedia, as external research sources.

The survey asked: "Thinking about your own experience over the last three years, do you believe that first-year students are:"

- Better prepared -- 2.27 per cent
- About the same -- 26.85 per cent
- Less prepared -- 55.21 per cent
- No opinion -- 15.67 per cent

The survey, which received 2,000 responses from 22 Ontario universities, was conducted by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations.

"It is very troubling that a majority of respondents are witnessing a decline in student preparedness," professor Brian E. Brown, OCUFA's president, said in a press release.

"Study after study shows that success in university is linked to the preparedness of students for the rigours of the university curriculum."

Many respondents reported that universities were establishing remedial courses for students struggling with the demands of higher education.

Brown said the Ontario government has been applauding itself for increasing high school graduation rates but students are still not receiving the requisite skills they need for university.

"Our secondary schools are poorly resourced and require new investments to enhance the classroom experience if our kids are going to thrive," Brown said.

The survey was conducted between Feb. 16 and March 13, 2009.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with the study?

China detains soldier who spoke out about Tiananmen Square

A soldier who publicly expressed regret for his part in the bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy rallies in Beijing's Tiananmen Square has been detained by Chinese police, according to a human rights group.


In an open letter posted on the internet, Zhang Shijun, 40, called on Communist party Leader Hu Jintao to reconsider the condemnation of the student-led rallies the happened almost 20 years ago.

A family member said he was taken from his home early Friday, according to the Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch, a mainland-based group.

Zhang was reached on his mobile phone Friday afternoon, but said, "it was not convenient to talk," before hanging up.

His wife said Friday she had not seen or heard from him.

Zhang is among only a few soldiers to speak publicly about the incident that sparked international outrage.

It is believed troops stormed into the square killing hundreds, possibly thousands of protesters on orders from top party leaders.

Zhang spoke about his experiences during the crackdown and about serving jail time later for alleged political crimes in an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday.

The next day, he was ordered into his local police station and told to shun contact with foreign media, he said.