The latest issue of Academic Matters asks whether universities are doing enough to respond to colonization in higher education. An insightful group of scholars contribute their perspectives. It’s a must read and available online for free. Bringing Indigenous viewpoints to higher education By Tanya Talaga and Victoria McMurchy Ojibway author and journalist Tanya Talaga sits down with Victoria McMurchy to discuss how Canadian postsecondary institutions have responded to the Truth […]
OCUFA is concerned about the motives behind the Ministry of Finance’s “consultations” on compensation for workers in the broader public sector. It has become increasingly clear that these consultations are not being conducted in good faith and are, instead, part of the Ford government’s political agenda to undermine the rights of workers and unions in […]
On April 11, the 2019 Ontario Budget was tabled. Given the track record of the Ontario government to date, this budget delivered what OCUFA expected: a continued attack on workers’ rights, university autonomy, and public services, including postsecondary education. The overall postsecondary education and training sector budget is projected to be cut by $700 million, […]
The early-bird registration deadline for Worldviews 2019 is tomorrow. After that, ticket prices will increase. Register today to get a special reduced rate on conference registration. This June, participants from around the globe will gather in Toronto for the 2019 Worldviews on Media and Higher Education Conference. Titled Democracy at risk? Reflecting on the future of higher education and media in a post-truth world, the three-day […]
TORONTO – Ontario’s faculty are alarmed by the Doug Ford government’s budget proposal to allocate 60 per cent of university funding based on institutional performance. By design, performance-based funding threatens education quality as it rewards institutions that meet specific performance targets while penalizing those that do not. Faculty are also concerned by signals that the […]
There is more to Academic Matters than just the print issue. New articles are being added to the Academic Matters website every week. Healthy research ecosystem – healthy researchers? The researcher as an organism of focus within a ‘research ecosystem’ By Michelle L.A. Nelson and Ross Upshur “The academic research environment is changing and researchers report struggling to adapt in order to be successful. Funding shortfalls are perennial, but what systemic shifts […]
This June, join participants from around the globe for the 2019 Worldviews on Media and Higher Education Conference in Toronto, Canada. Register for Worldviews 2019: Democracy at risk? Reflecting on the future of higher education and media in a post-truth world. Taking place June 12-14, the three-day conference will focus on democracy and the changing power relations of higher education and the media in the global north and south – specifically examining the concept of […]
At the 2019 Worldviews Lecture, Ojibway author and journalist Tanya Talaga addressed the need for better education for Indigenous students in Canada and how higher education can be a part of the solution. After her lecture, Talaga joined a panel discussion about the responsibilities higher education and the media have regarding truth and reconciliation. Watch the 2019 Worldviews Lecture by Tanya Talaga on truth and reconciliation in higher education and the media. Talaga’s […]
Students come to university to learn, but only so much can be learned from a textbook. Active, engaged learning happens in the classroom when professors get to know students – their interests and their goals. In this new video from OCUFA, Ontario students talk about how their professors have helped them succeed. Their stories illustrate […]
TORONTO, February 8, 2019 – Susan Hillock, an associate professor at Trent University, has won the 2018 Equity and Social Justice Committee Award of Distinction, presented by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA). The award, sponsored by OCUFA’s Equity and Social Justice Committee, recognizes faculty whose work has improved the lives and working […]
TORONTO, February 6, 2019 – A new report published by a working group of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations exposes substantial issues with student questionnaires on courses and teaching (SQCTs), including endemic bias and systemic discrimination. These end-of-term student questionnaires are common practice at universities across Canada. The report finds that student questionnaire […]
The report of OCUFA the Working Group on Student Questionnaires on Courses and Teaching (SQCT) has now been released . Prompted by increasing reports of the misuse of results and the harassment of faculty through anonymous comments, and by suggestions in the policy community that SQCT scores be used as university “performance” metrics, OCUFA established the […]
OCUFA has set out its priorities for the 2019 Ontario Budget in a written submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. Strengthening Ontario’s universities through meaningful investment in university education is essential to support high-quality accessible education for Ontario students, continued strength in research, and fairness for contract faculty. As part of […]
TORONTO – Without increased public funding for Ontario’s universities and colleges, the Progressive Conservative Government’s announced tuition fee reduction is nothing more than an ill-conceived political gimmick designed to distract Ontarians from damaging cuts to the province’s already under-funded postsecondary education system. OCUFA has long advocated for tuition fee reductions but not in the absence […]
Over the past few years, the debate about freedom of speech on university campuses has intensified. Often sparked by high profile and provocative speakers from outside the academy, this debate has focused on expression rights, whether some groups have more privileged rights than others, how exercising these rights can harm certain individuals or groups, and […]
