As part of our ongoing election activities, OCUFA has met with experts on issues important to faculty to talk about how these issues will figure into the 2014 provincial election. Videos of these conversations are available under the “Resources” tab of our election webpage.
Professor Glen Jones, Ontario Research Chair in Post-secondary Education Policy and Measurement at the University of Toronto, weighed in on higher education issues in the campaign, noting that “the one thing that Ontario has been missing for […] multiple generations has been a plan for postsecondary education.”
In a series of videos he speaks about what’s at stake in this provincial election.
Tuition policy, funding, and the positioning of higher education as part of knowledge and innovation economy are some of the key issues that the political parties should be responding to in the campaign.
Given how much the government spends on higher education and the important role the sector plays in the social and economic development of the province, it’s important for each of the political parties to articulate their plan for the sector.
One thing that a government could do to support postsecondary education in the province is to develop a real plan for the future of the sector. This is something that Ontario has been missing for far too long.
Higher Education must be recognized as an important element of any “jobs” plan – ensuring we have highly educated labour and socially developed individuals in our society is key to a thriving economy.
Watch the full 4 1/2 min video here: