This latest instalment in our occasional “Five for Friday” column gathers some of the more eye-catching and varied items that we’ve been reading lately. We present them here for your end-of-week reading pleasure.

Reimagining the freshman year

Arizona State University and MOOC provider edX are joining forces to offer the first year of a university degree online.

Disconnect in Canadian visa processing

An internal report finds that Canadian immigration officials are having a hard time keeping up with increasing demand for international student visas.

The Google rules of email

The former CEO of Google offers nine field-tested tips to tame your email once and for all.

Getting past calls-to-action online

You might know the path your website visitor should take on your website, but how easy is it for him or her to find information, make a request, or contact you? This post offers some quick reminders and tips on how to guide website visitors throughout each step in the conversion process online.

Dutch university protests

Could student protests in an Amsterdam university touch off wider action in other countries? So far, they’ve led a university board chair to resign.