On October 3, 2012, the OCUFA Executive met with Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Glen Murray to discuss our submission in response to the government’s recent discussion paper. Members of the Executive highlighted OCUFA’s concerns with the assumptions and proposals contained within the discussion paper. We believe that, taken to their logical conclusion, they would lead to […]
universities
Those who claim that faculty compensation is eating up university funding just don’t know the facts – or are trying to prevent Ontarians from learning the truth. Right now, as a proportion of total expenses, province-wide full-time and part-time faculty represent barely 19 per cent of Ontario universities’ annual expenditures. When looking only at operating expenses, […]
This week, OCUFA released its response to the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities discussion paper, Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge . Our submission, titled Growing Ontario’s Universities for the Future, was officially launched at a press conference this morning alongside responses from the Canadian Federation of Students , The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) . The OCUFA response highlights our concerns with […]
In the wake of the McGuinty government’s imposition of a salary freeze on Ontario’s elementary and secondary teachers, the government has now indicated that it will extend this freeze to the broader public sector. Such a freeze would apply to university sector, including professors and academic librarians. Yesterday, the Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan announced a freeze of executive salaries in the broader public sector . During […]
A new study by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) suggests that three year degrees are not the productivity fix that many politicians think they are. In The Three Year Bachelor’s Degree: Reform Measure or Red Herring ?, the AASCU argues that the three year option does not meet student needs and is not likely to prove a popular educational option. In […]
Video of the July 19, 2012 consultation sessions at Fanshawe College have emerged online. The two videos, of the morning and afternoon sessions, provide an accurate sample of the kinds of discussion and comments made during the roundtables. The Minister of Training. Colleges, and Universities, Glen Murray’s afternoon comments are particulary interesting. They run from […]
Ontario’s professors and academic librarians are questioning why Ontario has one of the least affordable university systems in Canada, as revealed in a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The report, Eduflation and the High Cost of Learning , compares university affordability for students across Canada. “This study shows that students and families have been asked to […]
On Wednesday, August 29, 2012, OCUFA President Constance Adamson met with Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Glen Murray. The purpose of the meeting was to follow-up on the recently completed consultations around the discussion paper, Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation, and Knowledge . The Minister indicated that the government hopes to announce its plans for higher education in later fall […]
Last week, OCUFA representatives participated in Government of Ontario consultations at Algonquin College in Ottawa, and at UOIT in Oshawa. The Ottawa session was a full day, and covered a variety of themes. The UOIT session focused on “experiential and entrepreneurial learning”. As with the other roundtables discussions, there was wide agreement on the […]
There has been much discussion of the Bologna Process – the effort to harmonize Europe’s higher education credentials – in Ontario lately, thanks largely to the Government of Ontario’s desire to create a three-year, Bologna-style credential. Two stories, out earlier this month, suggest that Ontario should be wary of copying the European model. The University World News […]
Last week, OCUFA representatives attended roundtable consultations on higher education reform in Ontario. Led by Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Glen Murray, the consultations are intended to explore questions and recommendations made in the discussion paper, Strengthening Centres of Creativity, Innovation, and Knowledge . The sessions are organized around four themes, each extracted from the discussion paper: Quality Teaching and […]
A recent Statistics Canada report reveals a worrying decline in the number of tenured and tenure-track faculty members at Canada’s universities. According to the study: “The overall proportion of tenured or tenure-track positions for doctorate holders working full-time in Canadian universities decreased by 10 percentage points between 1981 and 2007, decreasing from 79.8% in the 1980/1981 academic year to […]
Who drives innovation in Canada and Ontario? When it comes to research and development, higher education – fuelled by public dollars – leads the way. According to Statistics Canada, the number of people engaged in research and development (R&D) in Canada rose by almost 67,000 between 2000 and 2009. Ontario accounted for 27,000 of those added positions. During the same period, the […]
By almost any measure, provincial public funding for Ontario universities has lagged behind every other province for nearly two decades. Reckoned in terms of inflation-adjusted per student funding, provincial support bottomed out in 2002-03, rose again for a few years, and has been falling again since 2008-09. Operating expenditures follow a similar pattern. Over […]
After last week, you’d be forgiven for being a little lost on what tuition policy looks like in Ontario. On Thursday, March 8, 2012, it was reported that Ontario would be moving to standardized tuition fees , set by the Government of Ontario. This new fee structure would require some universities to raise their fees, potentially hurting students. Other […]