Last month we asked OCUFA Report readers to tell us what they thought about eCampus Ontario’s new Open Textbook Library , which establishes a provincial repository of Open Educational Resources (OERs) from a range of disciplines, which faculty can freely use and adapt for the classes they teach. Thank you to everyone who participated! The results from the […]
The 2017 Ontario Budget failed to make much-needed investments in the province’s universities. This continued underfunding threatens the quality of education and will cause Ontario to fall even further behind other provinces in public per-student funding. The budget includes no new university operating funding for the next three years. Adjusted for inflation, this will amount […]
With Budget 2017 arriving imminently, it is useful to revisit the provincial government forecasts for one of the principal variables in provincial funding for universities – the number of students. In the 2010 provincial budget, the Ontario government optimistically promised to add 40,000 new places for full-time university students by 2015. Because of a demographic […]
Download a pdf of this document. It is a common practice at universities to have students complete end-of-term questionnaires about their courses and instructors. Sometimes called student evaluations of teaching (SETs) or student questionnaires on courses and teaching (SQCTs), these are often used to make decisions about faculty tenure and promotion without an appreciation of their limitations. These questionnaires could be […]
Are books a condition of our labour? Do we need libraries with stacks and physical collections? Recent discussions within libraries across the country have highlighted faculty anxiety and displeasure with the fate of university libraries, as cuts are made to purchasing and operating budgets, collections culled, and the very nature of acquisitions transformed by changes […]
OCUFA has set out its priorities for the 2017 Ontario Budget in a written submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. Preserving the quality of university education in Ontario provides a vision for postsecondary education founded on a strong, comprehensive system of public funding that is accessible, high quality, and provides good […]
Today, OCUFA released the results of a public opinion poll examining attitudes to precarious work in Ontario’s universities – the first of its kind in the province. This new research demonstrates a strong level of support for good working conditions in our universities. Highlights from the poll include: 94 per cent of Ontarians think universities should be model employers and support good jobs in their communities. 88 per cent […]
A new report by the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) demonstrates that Ontario’s university graduates enjoy higher earning, have better employment rates, and find employment in their fields . The findings, based on data from Statistics Canada and the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities, was published on February 25, 2014. The report counters recent media criticisms that a university education does not prepare students for the needs of the workforce. It […]
A new survey by the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) shows that the people of Ontario think universities make an important contribution to the province , behind only hospitals and schools in public esteem. Ontarians also think that students “benefit greatly” from a university education. This level of public support demonstrates the resilience of public attitudes in the face of negative – and […]
On January 20, 2014, the Government of Ontario announced $190 million in new research funding . The funding, which will be distributed through the Ontario Research Fund’s Research Excellence and Research Infrastructure programs, will be invested over six years. OCUFA welcomes this new investment as an important first step in bringing Ontario’s research spending in line with the rest of Canada. In our […]
Across Canada and in Ontario, business and provincial government investment in research is falling, and universities are picking up the slack. The latest data on research and development (R&D) from Statistics Canada indicate that aggregate research expenditures in Canada will fall this year. Once forecast GDP inflation (1.3 per cent) is taken into account, the decline […]
OCUFA, as a member of the Ontario University and College Coalition, a coalition of student, staff and faculty organizations, is deeply concerned about the findings of a new report, released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which projects that the average cost of university tuition and other compulsory fees in Ontario will reach […]
Download the PDF In recent weeks, the research practices of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) have come under scrutiny by the media and members of Ontario’s higher education stakeholder community. On April 10, 2012, Jennifer Massey and Sean Field, both PhD candidates at Queen’s University, wrote a letter to Harvey Weingarten, President and CEO of […]
In late December 2011, the Government of Ontario terminated Rounds Six and Seven of the Ontario Research Fund Research Excellence Program (ORF-RE), as well as the termination of the special round for the social sciences, arts, and humanities. OCUFA believes strongly that these cancellations will harm the quality and quantity of research and innovation produced […]
The poll, commissioned by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) and the Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario (CFS-O), found that 81 per cent of residents in Eastern Ontario are concerned about the ability of young Ontarians to attend postsecondary education, while 69 per cent believe tuition fees are too high. At the […]
