All Posts Tagged With: "Ontario Colleges"
College teachers scramble for master’s degrees
As number of colleges offering degrees rise, so does the demand for academic qualifications
Despite having decades of experience, some teachers are rushing to get a master’s degree to stay qualified as colleges morph into degree-granting institutions. A quiet rivalry has always existed between colleges and universities, one promising practical courses, the other, theoretical, some long-time college faculty members have said.
But as more and more colleges offer degrees, the pressure is on for people like Mary-Lu Zahalan to shore up their resume with academic qualifications. “In the big picture, this will be the best thing that ever happened,” said Zahalan, an instructor with Sheridan College’s Music Theatre-Performance Program. Zahalan recently acquired her master’s degree. “But absolutely I was skeptical. I was frustrated by the lack of respect — sounds rather harsh– but that kind of feeling that you’re not as respected if you’re a performer and not an academic.”
There are six colleges in Ontario with applications before the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities for new or revised degree programs, among them is Sheridan College. Greg Peterson, the music theatre program co-ordinator for Sheridan, has watched as some of his instructors scurry to get their qualification just in time for the program’s degree granting transformation in 2011.
Zahalan went all the way to Liverpool’s Hope University to get a master’s in popular music with a focus on The Beatles. “It was the first year that the master’s was being offered and she’s now an expert in The Beatles,” said Peterson, chuckling, as he explained the lengths some have gone to in order to get letters “MA” behind their names.
For some of the full-time instructors, the degree is a rubber-stamp of sorts, especially for teachers already skilled in the practical elements of musical theatre training. The head of the dance division in Sheridan’s program went to York University to get an MA in dance, but ended up studying modern dance, very different than the ballet, jazz and tap used in musical theatre. “For her, she said it was a mixed blessing. She learned a whole bunch of new vocabulary, but the application of this would be limited in our field,” admitted Peterson.
The ministry grants a degree program to a college after it’s recommended by the Post-secondary Education Quality Assessment Board. The board reviews the proposal by examining the content of the college program, its resources and its faculty. “While a master’s or PhD isn’t explicitly required, PEQAB may require specific credentials of faculty relevant to the program being proposed,” said Linda MacKay, a spokeswoman for Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, in an email.
Zahalan would have kept her job without the master’s, but would have had to give up her role as the head of the commercial performance department that she helped create. For Sheridan’s theatre program, most of the full-time staff will be required to have an MA to teach. “In our field of study that’s very difficult, because there are very few degrees or programs that offer master’s in the field we study in,” explained Peterson, adding he’s not aware of a single university in Canada that offers a master’s specifically in musical theatre.
Some argue the push for instructors to have more and more academic credentials to teach seemingly practical, hands-on classes is only natural given the demands of employers in today’s labour market. “Everything we do as a society is more and more complex,” said James Knight, the president and CEO of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges.
Knight said college teachers, like the population in general, need to have a higher level of post-secondary achievement. “Yes, some people with great experience may, from time to time, be unhappy with this, but that’s where we’re heading as a society,” said Knight, who added colleges take pride in their faculty’s achievements.
Peterson said he was given an exemption from the MA requirement, because he has been with the program for many years. “I’m five years from retirement. Do I really want to go and get my master’s, spend all that money?” said Peterson. “I thought, ‘I can’t do that.’ ”
He will walk the program through its transformation over the next few years, and then retire, likely handing it over to someone with a master’s degree. Peterson said he’s thrilled to be a part of the program’s change, but admitted he has mixed feelings about the graduate degree requirement.
However, he said having faculty with more credentials could expand the musical theatre discipline. “Having a full-time faculty with master’s (degrees) in the field of music theatre would legitimize the art form and actually encourage universities here in Canada to offer up master’s programs in music theatre,” said Peterson.
The Canadian Press
Another week, another student lawsuit
Cambrian College sued for $20 million, over allegations it misrepresented its health and information management program
Cambrian College is facing a $20 million lawsuit over allegations it misrepresented its health and information management program. The suit, filed by 11 students, claims that Cambrian mislead them about the school’s intentions to become certified by the Canadian Health Information Management Association, which is responsible for controlling entry into the profession.
College president Sylvia Barnard and two other administrators have been named in the suit. The allegations have not been proved in court.
Cambrian began offering the health and information management program in September 2005. According to the statement of claim, quoted in the Sudbury Star, “Prospective students were told in promotional materials and through outreach activities about the possibility of entering the ‘high-demand’ field of professional health information management.”
The claim adds that the college advertised that the “HIM program was based on requirements established by the Canadian Health Information Management Association, which controls entry into the profession through a national certification program and that the college’s program would be CHIMA certified.” According to the student plaintiffs, it was not until 18 months after the program began that the college began applying for certification, a process that was not completed.
President Barnard denies the allegations. “We will be working through the process because we do not feel that there has been any wrongdoing on behalf of the college. Other than that, we’ll be defending ourselves vigorously, but I can’t go into any other detail … It’s before the courts, so at this point I can’t comment any further,” she told the Star.
Put students in warehouses
Ontario opposition wants closed factories converted to classrooms, and McGuinty is open to the idea.
Using shuttered factories and stores as college classrooms to ensure as many would-be students as possible are accommodated this fall is an idea that can’t be dismissed out of hand, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Monday.
With applications to Ontario colleges projected to be up by almost 15 per cent, with a 23 per cent jump in applications from non-high school students, the Opposition is calling for such unorthodox steps to address what it calls a “crisis” created by the government. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to the folks within the ministry, in particular the minister,” McGuinty said when asked about the scheme. “It’s an interesting idea and I think it would be irresponsible of me to reject it out of hand.”
Monday was the deadline to apply to Ontario colleges for the year beginning Sept. 6, and the Progressive Conservatives said the government has failed to properly plan for a big increase in the number of applications from unemployed workers. “Mr. McGuinty is to blame for this unprecedented situation we’re in now,” said Tory critic Jim Wilson. “It’s the first time in several generations that those young people that want to go to college may not have the opportunity to do so.”
The final number for college applicants won’t be known for a few days. The non-high school applicants are mainly people who’ve lost their jobs.
Some colleges have seen a 47 per cent jump in applications, said Wilson, who warned a lot of high school students could find themselves shut out of college by the older competition. “We know in the short-term in this crisis there’s going to be thousands of students who won’t be able to find a place,” he said.
McGuinty didn’t dispute Wilson’s claims but said there was an upside to the problem: more and more people are recognizing the value of higher education and want to return to college. “I embrace that challenge,” McGuinty said. “I believe it’s a legitimate point that’s being made.”
It’s no surprise that in times of economic challenge people are going back to college, said the premier, who promised the government would address the problem of limited spaces in the March budget.
There are lots of closed stores and factories that could quickly be converted into college classrooms, said Wilson. “Open up some of the factories that are closed in our ridings and some of the shops on the main streets, put some desks and chairs in them, bring back retired professors if you have to,” he said. “We have lots of vacant storefronts and I’m sure we could get a pretty good deal from landlords.”
This is a crisis situation and the government seems to have no plan to deal with it, added Wilson. “I don’t think there’s a reason at all — except for lack of planning — for the government to be turning away students,” he said.
The Liberals should have known they’d create problems for high school students with their second career program, which has resulted in a surge of applications for post-secondary education, said Wilson. “The government should have seen this coming,” he said. “Instead, laid-off workers and Ontario students are left fighting each other over opportunities to improve their education, training and job prospects.”
College administrators have said they would not give special priority to the Grade 12 candidates over the other applicants.
The Canadian Press
Students competing fiercely with the laid off
As mature students flood unis, schools say they will not give priority to Grade 12 applicants
Ontario’s graduating high school students are facing stiffer competition for high-demand, high-employment college and university programs as workers who lost their jobs in the recession head back to school and claim the country’s coveted post-secondary education spots.
Colleges and universities will not give special priority to the Grade 12 candidates, administrators say, despite the fact they could be thrown out into a tough, recessionary job market with little or no work experience, and only a high school education if they’re not accepted. The deadline for Grade 12 students to apply to Ontario’s universities for next September is Wednesday; for colleges it is Feb. 1.
College applications overall were up by 10 per cent over the last several years, with those in areas with a high jobless rate experiencing increases of up to 50 per cent. The recession’s ravaging of the job market is pushing laid-off workers back to school and a wildly popular Ontario government program has provided many unemployed mature students with the financial means to do so.
In northern Ontario, for example, where the forestry industry’s collapse was followed by one in mining, Northern College saw applications for its four campuses jump 47 per cent last year. And that’s even before Extrada’s planned layoff of 700 people this May. In Windsor, where auto sector layoffs have battered the city, applications to St. Clair College were up by 20 per cent in 2009.
“When the economy is strong, students tend to put off going to school, going to college particularly, in favour of entering the workforce and earning some money,” said Northern College president Fred Gibbons. “When the economy turns soft as it has in 2009, students will then return to school or elect to leave high school and enter college . . . College enrolment tends to vary inversely with jobs in the economy.”
The Ontario government’s Second Career program, which provides laid off workers with up to $28,000 a year to go back to school to train for high-demand jobs, has been a huge incentive for mature students. Second Career was announced in 2008 as a $355-million, three-year program. However, it was so popular that the money was scooped up in 18 months as laid off workers headed back to school and the province pumped another $78 million into the program last October.
Prof crusades against strike
Says strikes are “disruptive to our students”
With a strike vote just a week away, divisions among college faculty are beginning to surface. William Tenant, a business professor at St. Lawrence College, is calling on his colleagues to vote against a work stoppage.
Negotiations between the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, and the colleges broke down last month, after initially breaking down in November. If faculty vote to strike on Jan 13, the earliest they could walk is Jan 18. The OPSEU represents 9,000 faculty at 24 colleges. A strike would leave the semester in limbo for 500, 000 students.
Responding via email, Tennant says he is urging college professors to vote no because strikes are “disruptive to our students” which is “our reason for being.”
He points to what he says is the failure of previous strikes in 1984, 1989 and 2006. At his website, stopthestrike.net, Tennant summarizes each work stoppage as following a similar trajectory:
College teachers gave weak support to the negotiating team for a strike; Management didn’t budge; Teachers went on strike; Management didn’t budge; Provincial Government passed legislation ordering teachers back to work followed by Binding Arbitration.
There has been little discussion between the union and the colleges since December. Today, the OPSEU released a number of documents outlining why faculty should vote to strike.
Near the top of the union’s concerns is that the colleges in November unilaterally imposed terms and conditions of employment, a power granted by the province in 2008. The union says that under the terms imposed by the colleges, workloads will increase, and that in three years, “College faculty salaries will fall below high school teacher levels.”
According to OPSEU, previous strikes were successful at ensuring workload limits, and, as such were ultimately beneficial to students. One union document says, “Faculty’s working conditions are students’ learning conditions.”
Tennant says that unlike in 2006 when faculty were on strike for three weeks, this year it could last for much longer, suggesting that the province might be reluctant to legislate faculty back to work. “The Ontario Government is $25 billion in deficit. A number of colleges are in deficit. A strike would help their finances.”
In his campaign to stop his colleagues from giving the union a mandate to strike, Tennant still has a long way to go. So far only between 20 and 30 college professors have given him explicit support.
Related: Another year, another strike
Cracking down on private colleges?
The problem of unregulated colleges in Canada is widespread and elusive
The woman who answers the phone (in Cantonese) at the America Institute of Technology seems confused when I ask, in English, when classes start. “Who are you?” she asks. I tell her that I’m calling for a friend. “We’re not a school,” she replies. “We’re immigration consultants.” Now I’m surprised. The institute’s website, where I found this phone number, advertises one- and two-year diplomas in computer science and hospitality. Tuition ranges in the thousands. But, she insists, she’s never heard of the American Institute of Technology (AIT). She says her firm Yi-Jia Immigration Consultants Ltd. helps people (often from Hong Kong, she says) immigrate to Canada.
When I call again a week later (these phone calls occurred last year), whoever answers the phone is much less confused. “You want to register for classes?” she asks when I say I’m calling about AIT. She forwards me to another woman who says her name is Adelle, but won’t reveal her last name after I say that I am a journalist. She confirms that AIT catered to international students. She says it was associated with Yi-Jia Immigration but hasn’t offered classes since last year. “Do you realize the website is still advertising classes with the same address and phone number as your firm?” I ask. “That must be a mistake,” she says.
The America Institute of Technology is just one example of a unique Canadian gift to higher education: the barely-regulated private college. Some, like AIT, target overseas students, offering them a chance to get into Canada — but for a price, and often under dubious pretenses. Others promise diplomas and degrees to Canadian students that the school is not legally able to offer. They prey mostly off low-income people who may be unemployed and looking for new opportunities during hard economic times.
In a Toronto Star investigation published in September, undercover reporters enrolled in two unregistered schools; one reporter was promised a job as a security guard at Pearson Airport if he paid $262 for a one-day training course. The job never materialized. Another reporter enrolled in a two-week, $480 course and earned a diploma as a personal health care worker by watching DVD videos and reading Wikipedia handouts.
What’s so bad about these schools? For Canadian students, illegal colleges are taking advantage of people’s desire to better themselves and their economic circumstances by charging high fees in exchange for useless credentials and a disingenuous promise of employment. Schools that cater to foreign students are a whole different ballgame. They are not only duping students but also the federal government (which grants student visas) and the public (who trust that students entering Canada on visas are coming here to study at a legitimate institution).
College students fear another York
Students sound off over threat to school year
Fearing a repeat of 2006 when Ontario college faculty went on strike for nearly a month, or, worse, a repeat of the 2008/09 York strike where faculty walked for three months, Ontario college students have started an online petition opposing a work stoppage. The petition so far has nearly 2000 signatures.
Negotiations between college management and the the faculty union broke down earlier this week, and a strike vote is scheduled for January 13th. Some 500,000 students could have their school year interrupted.
Related: Another year, another strike
A Facebook group titled “Ontario College Students Against a Strike” has more than 12,000 members and counting. The group was created by Graeme McNaughton, who was quoted in the Toronto Star today drawing comparisons with the York walkout. “We don’t want a strike to happen. My sister went to York last year and lost out on a summer job because that strike,” he said.
Much of the group’s message board is filled with students concerned over losing their term, not getting their money’s worth in a shortened term, or missing out on summer jobs due to an extended school year. Much of the anger is directed towards the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. One student wrote: “I understand that they feel overworked and underpaid . . . How does ruining all of our semesters going to help that?”
The College Students Alliance is calling on both sides to work to come to an agreement. “Students are concerned with the fact that, yet again, there is a threat of a province-wide faculty strike looming over their education,” says CSA president Justin Fox. “Students do not want a repeat of the 21 day strike of 2006, which nearly cost many their semester and graduation.”
The CSA also points out that many college students are in government retraining programs, meaning a strike could have far reaching economic consequences during a fragile recovery.
Editor’s note: This post has been updated to correct for the number of college students. It was previously stated that there were 200,000 college students in Ontario. The correct number is 500,000 comprising of 350,000 full time students and 150,000 part time students.
Threat of college faculty strike remains
Talks resume for one day only
The threat of an Ontario wide college faculty strike remains, even as talks between the union and college administrators resumed Monday. Talks initially broke down earlier this Month when the College Compensation and Appointments Council imposed a contract on faculty. Provincial legislation permits college management to unilaterally draw up an agreement when negotiations stall. This power does not necessarily preclude renewing negotiations.
Bargaining started up again with both sides claiming credit for the meeting. However, a union negotiator told SooToday.com that the talks are “only for Monday,” suggesting that a strike remains a real possibility.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, representing 9,000 faculty at 24 community colleges, wants greater commitments on workloads and educational quality. The union also wants academic freedom to be protected in colleges the way it is in universities. While OPSEU insists wages are not the issue, management says OPSEU’s initial offer was unaffordable.
As late as Sunday, the union was still supportive of a strike at the earliest possible moment, and faculty at several colleges have strike votes planned for the new year. A strike would affect as many as 200, 000 students.
Record size first-year class at Ontario Colleges
Colleges Ontario cites demand for skilled workers
First-year enrolment at Ontario’s 24 public colleges increased 5.6 per cent this September compared to overall enrolment at the beginning of the 2007 academic year.
The total number of first-year students at Ontario’s colleges is now 95,805.
“Students clearly recognize the tremendous value of the education and training provided at Ontario’s public colleges,” said Linda Franklin, president and CEO of Colleges Ontario in a news release. “Our business and industry leaders are urgently calling for innovative, technically skilled workers and today’s students are listening: they want to graduate to good jobs.”
Many students are attracted to the college system by the promise of employment following graduation, especially in the skills trades. The Conference Board of Canada is predicting Ontario will face a shortage of 360,000 skilled workers by 2025.
Colleges Ontario is expressing concern about government funding to match the increased enrolment. Ontario’s colleges receive the lowest amount of per-student funding in the country and less per-student that Ontario’s universities and high schools.
Strike called off at Ontario colleges
Ontario’s more than 500,000 college students can breathe a little easier following the announcement of a tentative agreement between the province’s 24 public colleges and over 7,000 support staff represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. Today’s announcement follows a marathon weekend session of bargaining to avoid a strike which was scheduled to begin [...]
Ontario’s more than 500,000 college students can breathe a little easier following the announcement of a tentative agreement between the province’s 24 public colleges and over 7,000 support staff represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
Today’s announcement follows a marathon weekend session of bargaining to avoid a strike which was scheduled to begin Tuesday.
The strike would have resulted in longer than usual line-ups for students attempting to pick-up financial aid forms, register for classes, or purchase textbooks.
Colleges planned to remain open and classes were scheduled to continue during a strike.
“We are pleased that both sides were able to reach a new agreement prior to the starting of classes on Tuesday,” says Jenn Howarth, president of the College Student Alliance. “Students will now be able to access essential services and move about campuses with ease, knowing that all staff – administration, faculty and support staff – are there to assist them.”
Both sides are honouring a media blackout agreed to as part of their negotiations and no details of the agreement have been revealed.
The agreement still requires ratification by both parties.
Ontario’s part-time college staff to get bargaining rights
Public Sector Union says it comes “with a high price tag”
The Ontario government introduced legislation today which will allow the province’s over 17,000 part-time and sessional college workers to unionize.
The changes to the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act (CCBA) will remove provision that forbid part-time college workers from unionizing. The bill will also allow colleges to use replacement workers in the event of a labour dispute.
Last summer, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled there is a constitutional right to unionize making Ontario’s ban on unionization for part-time college workers unconstitutional.
In response, the government appointed Kevin Whitaker, Chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, to make recommendations on changing the CCBA. The legislation tabled today will implement those recommendations.
“A healthy and robust collective bargaining process serves the interests of students, college employers and workers. The Ontario government’s proposed legislation encourages all parties in the college sector to take greater responsibility for finding solutions to workplace challenges,” said Whitaker.
Thousands of college part-time workers have signed union cards to join Ontario’s largest public sector union, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).
OPSEU says the legislation comes with a high price tag. The union is unhappy with provisions allowing colleges to use other workers in the event of a labour disruption. “It is pretty outrageous that this government thinks that recognizing the Charter rights of one group of workers means that another group of workers must give something up,” said OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas.
However, the union is calling on all parties to fast-track the legislation.
“Make no mistake about it, we want this bill passed into law as soon as possible,” says Thomas. “But we are definitely looking for changes to be made.”
Although consistent statistics are not readily available in Canada, it has been estimated that over one-half of college faculty in Ontario are part-timers. In the U.S., where more accurate statistics are published, 47.5 per cent of faculty were part-time in 2005, up from 46.3 per cent in 2003. Evidence seems to suggest that the trend is mirrored in Canada. The latest StatsCan data(from 1997-98)shows 10 per cent growth since 1990 while full time positions decreased.
These professors are paid a fraction of their fulltime counterparts, on a class-by-class basis. Part-time university professors receive between $6,000 and $13,000 per course depending on the institution and college sessionals make even less. They generally do not have benefits, pensions, or job security.
Compared to universities, college heads are poor cousins in salary sweepstakes
Ontario salary disclosure shows lower salaries at colleges; presidents and profs less well-paid than their university peers
Colleges claim that, compared to universities, they don’t get enough respect. A recent Ontario colleges ad campaign was humorously premised on the idea that the average parent would be willing to drug their kid to keep him or her from going to college. Whether parents really want their kids to choose university over college is an open question, but the latest Ontario salary disclosure suggests that parents should at least be dreaming of having their kids run a university, rather than a college.
RELATED CONTENT Who is Canada’s top paid academic? AND Update: Maybe David Naylor is a (relative) bargain AND Professor pay varies greatly by discipline AND McMaster goes to court to block release of president’s pay package
The “$100K” list for colleges is shorter—much shorter—than the list of Ontario university employees making over $100,000. And most colleges have only one person—the president—earning over $200,000. That compares to universities, where the $200K club is extensive, featuring a variety of deans, administrators and professors, and where many university presidents are earning over $400,000.
Algonquin College in Ottawa was the only college with three employees making more than $200,000: president Robert Gillett and vice-presidents Raymonde Hanson and Robert Letourneau. Toronto’s Humber College had three names on the list at $200,000-plus, but two occupied them same position: outgoing president Robert Gordon, who retired in the summer of 2007, and new president John Davies.
Sheridan College and Seneca College were the only other Ontario colleges with two employees earning over $200,000. Seneca president Frederick Miner was Ontario’s highest paid college president; in 2007 he earned just over $367,000
Two other college presidents had total compensation over $300,000: Sheridan president Robert Turner was paid nearly $324,000 and John Tibbits, president of Conestoga College in Kitchener, earned almost $339,000.
(See salary chart next page.)
Ontario government vows to curb illegal fees on heels of class action lawsuit
Reminds colleges of regulations governing fees
The Ontario government publicly announced that colleges cannot legally charge ancillary fees for academic or capital costs. The announcement came only days after two students launched a $200-million class action lawsuit against the provinces colleges, arguing that they have been charging the computer, laboratory, locker, and other fees illegally for years.
But the students are not letting the government off the hook. They threatened to name the government in the lawsuit as well for turning a blind eye to the fees. They also say that under-funding colleges led to college’s being forced to charge the fees.
“Ontario is ninth out of ten in government funding for colleges,” said Jesse Greener, Ontario Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, a student lobby organization that is supporting the student lawsuit. “The government has essentially employed a strategy of under-funding in which they have allowed colleges to charge hidden tuition fees with a wink and a nod.”
But not all students agree that the fees are not appropriate. The student president at Sault College told the Sault Star that the charges were fair. He said that the student government has been monitoring the fees closely and new charges are always determined in consultation with students.
