Today, OCUFA is pleased to release its full analysis of the 2016 Ontario Budget. Access to What? recognizes the important changes that were made to student financial aid, but highlights how the lack of public investment in university operating budgets is undermining the student experience. As the report notes: While improving access to postsecondary education is a welcome […]
budget
Professors and academic librarians across Ontario are welcoming changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) to make higher education more accessible to low-income students, announced in today’s Budget. At the same time, they are reminding the government that new investment in universities is urgently needed to ensure that that every student has access to […]
On Feb. 1, 2016, OCUFA President Judy Bates presented OCUFA’s 2016 budget priorities to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. This committee is tasked with reviewing Ontario’s fiscal and economic policies, and makes recommendations to government on what should be contained within the provincial budget. OCUFA’s proposals are directed toward enhancing the quality […]
On Friday, January 30, 2015, OCUFA President Kate Lawson presented OCUFA’s 2015 Pre-Budget Brief to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (SCFEA). The Brief, entitled Strong Universities for a Strong Ontario argues for renewed investment in higher education and increased faculty hiring. Every year, SCFEA conducts hearings in the run-up to the provincial budget. The committee then makes recommendations […]
On Monday, July 14, the Liberal government introduced a new budget identical to the one that sparked the recent election. And with a majority in the legislature, this budget is certain to pass. So what does it mean for higher education in Ontario? In short, small funding increases in some areas, but a continued slide […]
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 […]
If a government’s commitment to “innovation” can be measured by its support to the institutions that carry out innovative research and educate the people who put their own ingenuity to work, Ontario’s government support is on a downward slide. University funding as a percentage of GDP still lags well behind the rest of Canada, despite […]
Read OCUFA’s full budget analysis . Ontario’s 17,000 professors and academic librarians are calling on Premier Wynne to invest in the province’s universities after today’s budget missed an opportunity to introduce new funding for higher education institutions. The 2013 Budget continues to impose small cuts on the university sector, leading to an overall decline in per-student funding. “Ontario already has the worst […]
The 2013 Ontario Budget will be released on May 2nd, 2013 by Minister of Finance Charles Sousa. It is expected that the budget will continue the Liberal government’s focus on reducing the provincial deficit, although it will likely also contain provisions put forward by the NDP (such as reduced auto insurance premiums). Premier Kathleen Wynne […]
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 […]
Last week, OCUFA made its official submission to the Government of Ontario’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (SCFEA). Titled Preserving the Gains We’ve Made , the submission contains a plan to dramatically increase the quality and affordability of Ontario’s universities by 2020. Key recommendations include: The Government of Ontario immediately begin moving per-student public investment in universities towards the […]
One of the many casualties of the recent federal budget is the University and College Academic Staff System (UCASS) . This Statistics Canada survey was an annual census of full-time faculty in Canadian universities, and an invaluable source of information for the postsecondary sector. Due to cuts, the August 2011 data will be the final UCASS release. Without detailed information on faculty […]
Writing in the Toronto Star , Michael Mendelsohn of the Caledon Institute for Social Policy observes that the relative size of Ontario’s deficit is not because of spending. In 2009-10, the Ontario government spent the lowest amount of any province per capita – $9,030, seven per cent less than ninth place British Columbia. He cites the Drummond report and points out that 39 per cent […]