The high cost of a postsecondary education is borne not only by those who complete their degrees. A recent study by the US National Center for Education Statistics examined the federal student loan burden of American students who had not completed college or university in 2001 and 2009, and found they owed comparatively more, in […]
A lower cap on tuition sounds nice, but lurking beneath is a more ominous cap on government funding. The new tuition framework, announced last week by the Ontario government, won’t change the fact that tuition fees for at Ontario’s universities are already the highest in Canada. For the next four years, universities can hike tuition for graduate students by five […]
A new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ (CCPA) Ontario office reveals how austerity policies are damaging the province’s economy. More damning, the austerity agenda is also slowing the rate that Ontario reduces its deficit, and is therefore self-defeating. The CCPA makes several important observations: The case for austerity – a supposed “deficit crisis” – was based […]
Funding for basic research is the cornerstone of knowledge creation and innovation. Unfortunately, the federal government is doubling down on commercialization and letting basic research languish. At Canadian universities, the largest chunk of public funding earmarked for university research comes from the federal government. In 2011-12, federal grants and contracts accounted for three-quarters of public research […]
Higher education is a provincial responsibility, which gives the federal government a free pass when it comes to scrutiny of university and college funding. But the decline in federal transfers for postsecondary institutions is a big reason why tuition is so high and per-student public funding levels are so low. Federal funding for universities, colleges, and […]
On the one hand, the latest data from the Common University Data Ontario (CUDO) indicate the deterioration of student-faculty ratios and class sizes seem to be slowing. On the other, the slope is still downwards and indicators suggest things are worse than during the final year of the “Double Cohort.” The Double Cohort was the bubble […]
The gap in government funding between Ontario universities and American public universities has narrowed, albeit simply by default. But the gap in provincial funding between Ontario and the rest of Canada is headed in the other direction. At its best in 2006-07, the rate of Ontario government operating, trust and research funding for teaching, research and […]
The free-fall in US state government support for universities is over. According to data collected by the Grapevine project at the Illinois State University Center of Education Policy, total state support in 2012-13 remains virtually the same as the previous year. That said, it is still 11 per cent lower than it was five years […]
Just about everyone agrees that Ontario needs strong universities to drive student success, economic growth, and social vitality. Too bad the Government of Ontario still hasn’t gotten the message. The Council of Finance Officers – Universities of Ontario (COFO) report for 2011-12 indicates that provincial operating funding to Ontario universities increased by two per cent […]
Today, OCUFA released new poll findings on public attitudes towards higher education and austerity in Southwestern Ontario. Presented at a news conference at the University of Western Ontario, the results indicate that residents of the region do not want the government’s deficit-cutting agenda to compromise the quality of university education in the province. Key findings […]
It is not hard to imagine what will happen to student debt as governments scale back their funding for postsecondary education, causing institutions to increase tuition to cover the shortfall. The latest report on student debt in the United States shows that the average inflation-adjusted debt for first time bachelor’s degree graduates rose from $14,700 […]
Today, OCUFA released new poll findings on public attitudes towards higher education and austerity in Ontario’s Ottawa region. Presented at a news conference at the University of Ottawa, the results indicate that Eastern Ontarians do not want the government’s deficit-cutting agenda to compromise the quality of university education in Ontario. Other key findings include: 72 […]
Today, OCUFA released new poll findings on public attitudes towards higher education and austerity in Ontario’s 905 region. Presented at a news conference at McMaster University in Hamilton, the results indicate that residents of the 905 region do not want the government’s deficit-cutting agenda to compromise the quality of university education in Ontario. Other key […]
The latest provincial-level data on Research and Development (R&D) shows that R&D expenditures as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Ontario continue to be higher than the national average. Only Quebec spends more. Although Canadian – and Ontario and Quebec – businesses spend comparatively less than the OECD average , they still account for the largest proportion of R&D expenditures. Quebec businesses invest […]
The Council of Canadian Academies’ report on the gender dimensions of Canada’s research capacity found that the pattern of under-representation of women in universities is similar to that in other advanced countries. While recognizing Canadian women have made great strides, the assessment identified a number of life-course factors affecting their success. The broadest factor concerns the learning and professional trajectories of […]
