National level data reported by Statistics Canada reveals that the number of people working at universities and colleges has declined over the past year, offsetting gains in employment in other parts of the public sector. Since 2010, the average number of people employed in the postsecondary education (PSE) sector fell by 14,000. Almost all that decline occurred […]
universities
As with many things in public policy, the devil is in the details. Right now, many universities offer a three year option to their undergraduate students. Demand for these programs is low, and some institutions have decided to phase them out. Three year degrees – not as an option, but as the new norm – […]
OCUFA is criticizing the report of the Drummond Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services for being long on cuts and short on insights. Taken together, Drummond’s recommendations would continue the erosion of educational quality at Ontario’s universities and colleges. “Drummond recognizes that higher education is severely underfunded. He also recognizes that universities and colleges […]
University enrolments continue to increase in Canada. If community colleges that recently were given university status and denominational institutions are included, the total number of students attending universities outside Ontario went up by five per cent between 2010 and 2011 reports the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada . The number of students at older publicly funded universities rose by almost three per […]
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 […]
This fall has seen the largest number ever of first-year students enter Ontario universities, even more than the 2003 “double cohort”. More than 90,000 confirmed their registration, which follows upon a 3.5 per cent increase the previous year. College enrolments are also up. Meantime, according to data from Statistics Canada, the number of Ontario’s […]
There is a great editorial in the Globe and Mail today concerning the relationship between teaching and research at Canadian universities. Written by Stephen Saideman, a professor of Political Science at McGill University, the article seeks to expose the false dichotomy in current debates about teaching in higher education. For many observers, research has become over-emphasized, and the quality of instruction has suffered. […]
Several weeks ago, we sent out a questionnaire to each of the political parties asking them to provide more information on their plans for higher education in Ontario. Their answers are in, and we are pleased to make them available: Provincial Political Party Responses to the OCUFA Election Questionnaire All of the answers are the […]