Posts from November 2013

On Friday, November 29, 2013, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) released its policy framework for differentiation in Ontario’s university and college sector . According to the document, MTCU views differentiation as “a primary policy driver for the system.” As such, the framework will be used to inform the Strategic Mandate Agreement (SMA) process and on-campus initiatives like program prioritization. The document lays […]

On November 22, 2013, OCUFA held a university finance workshop. The goal was to provide tools to faculty associations to hold their administrations to account on financial issues. Faculty association representatives from across Ontario listened to presentations on how to interpret, challenge, and communicate about institutional budgets. Speakers included CCPA economist Hugh MacKenzie, Toronto City Councillor […]

On November 14, 2013, the magazine Fast Company published a remarkable article . A profile of Udacity founder and Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) evangelist Sebastian Thrun, it contains a stunning revelation: even those closest to the MOOC industry have serious doubts about their quality and educational impact. As Thrun states: “We were on the front pages of newspapers and magazines, and […]

On November 7, Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa presented the government’s Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review to the Ontario Legislature. The fall economic statement allows the government to signal its fiscal priorities between budgets, and Minister Sousa’s November 7 statement indicated a new direction for the provincial government. Under the leadership of Premier Kathleen Wynne, the […]

OCUFA is pleased to announce our 2014 Conference, “Future U: Creating the Universities We Want”. The event will be held from February 27-28, 2014 in Toronto. The Future U conference will look at current trends and the possibility of alternatives for the future of higher education. Our goal is to allow professors, librarians, administrators, students and […]

Contract faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University are holding a strike vote this week. The Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA), who represent part-time faculty, filed for a no-board last Thursday after two unsuccessful days of conciliation. The contract faculty unit continues to push for job security and benefits, in an attempt to improve their precarious […]

It might be overstating the case for the Globe and Mail’s Konrad Yakabuski to “ blame business ” for Canada’s poor showing in research and development (R&D). But it is also becoming increasingly clear it makes little sense to demand universities and university researchers to become more business-like and pick up the entrepreneurial slack. As we noted a couple of weeks ago, the […]