All Posts Tagged With: "Ontario"
Ontario tuition credit coming (for some) in January
CFS and opposition want credit extended to all families
*To see a more up-to-date version of this evolving story, click here.
Despite Ontario’s woeful fiscal situation, the Liberal government says it will make good on its promise to offer 310,000 students tuition rebates—$730 per college student and $1,600 per university student. At $6,500, Ontario has the highest average university tuition in the country.
Those receiving Ontario Student Assistance Program funding will automatically get the rebates in January, which will be credited online in time for second semester payments, according to CTV News. Other students will need to apply through a website that will be available in January.
Five out of six families with students will be eligible for the rebate—but families who make more than $160,000 will be left out. The Canadian Federation of Students presented a 40,000-signature petition to the legislature asking for the $423-million annual cost of the rebate program pay for a 13 per cent reduction in tuition fees for all students instead. The opposition New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives agree that all students—not just some—should get a break on tuition.
*Editor’s Note: In a comment below, Glen Murray, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, addresses who is eligible for these particular grants. The 30 per tuition reduction applies to students who are within four years of high school graduation, registered in a first-entry undergraduate university or college programs, and from families with incomes lower than $160,000. He notes that there are other provincial programs available for other students.
Minister’s surprising vision for higher ed
Glen Murray sees dramatic changes ahead for Ontario
Minister Murray, by Shaun Merritt on Flickr.
Ontarians are busy debating where the province’s three new post-secondary campuses should be, with mayors from Barrie to Niagara Falls holding out their caps. But ahead of that decision, Glen Murray, Ontario’s new Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, says there all kinds of ideas he wants to explore first. Those who lust after future campuses should take note.
Here are 10 things I learned about the future of higher education in Ontario from Glen Murray.
1. Murray’s biggest concern “is how we’re utilizing the existing capacity we have right now.” He thinks more campuses should be using their physical resources year-round, by offering three-semesters, perhaps.
Ontario city wants new university
Pledges millions for new campus
The City of Barrie approved a preliminary motion Monday to ask Ontario’s government for the province’s next university campus, reports the Barrie Examiner. City council will also commit $14-million toward a new campus of Laurentian University that would cost roughly $60-million to build. Laurentian itself has committed $14-million. The proposed campus would house 3,000 students and open in 2020. Barrie is estimated to have grown by one-third in the past decade to 135,000 people according to the City, with 191,000 in the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in 2010, according to Statistics Canada. That makes it the biggest CMA in Ontario, by far, without a university. The Ontario Liberals promised three new campuses during the October election campaign. Ontario will need to add between 50,000 and 104,000 new undergraduates seats by 2025 to meet the growing demand for degrees, according to the new book Academic Reform.
CFS grades Ontario leaders
Who gets the highest marks?
Photo by Medmoiselle T on Flickr
The Canadian Federation of Students has released a report card for each of the four party leaders who hope to be premier of Ontario after the Oct. 6 election. They graded them on tuition fees, funding, research and student debt.
The CFS has long lobbied for lower tuition fees. Here’s how the parties were graded on that measure: The Liberals and Progressive Conservatives got Fs for tuition, because “the Liberals have increased fees by up to 59% since 2006,” and because “the PCs have not made any commitments to regulate, freeze or reduce tuition fees,” writes the CFS. They gave the New Democrats a B, because “the NDP has promised to freeze college, undergraduate and graduate tuition fees if elected.” The Greens got a C+ for their plan is to freeze tuition fees and then allow them to grow with the rate of inflation.
Overall, they gave the Liberals a C+, the PCs a D, the New Democrats a B+ and the Greens a B-.
It’s worth noting that students care about more than just education issues. In a poll for the Historica-Dominion institute before the federal election in April, students were asked to rank their top concerns. Only 18 per cent put “paying for my post-secondary education” in their top-three list. Health care, military and economic conerns were all ranked significantly higher by those polled.
Ontario New Democrats promise tuition freeze
Undergraduate Student Alliance supports plan
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said that her party would freeze post-secondary tuition for four years and eliminate interest on the provincial portion of student loans if elected on Oct. 6. The NDP say that it would cost $365-million over four years.
Sean Madden, president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance supports the plan. ”A freeze will save students over $300 annually, while beginning to shift the cost of higher education back to the public,” he said.
The Ontario Liberals have promised to cut post secondary tuition by 30 per cent or $730 per year for colleges student and $1,600 per year for university students. Only students from families with household incomes under $160,000 would qualify.
The Progressive Conservatives have promised to expand access to Ontario student loans.
Students: Voters in Ontario, Newfoundland, Manitoba and PEI will go to the polls in October. Saskatchewan votes on Nov. 7. Visit Maclean’s On Campus and click “Politics” for coverage.
Ontario college strike makes it harder to vote
Campus voting booths nixed
Elections Ontario announced on Friday that 27 college campus polls will be moving off campus because of the college support staff strike, making it harder for students to vote on Oct. 6.
The College Student Alliance expressed disappointment with the decision. “Student associations have been working on their campuses to help mobilize the student vote and engage the youth in this provincial election,” writes Brian Costantini, president of the CSA. “Historically this has been a demographic that has not fully participated elections. ” Campus polls were supposed to help.
Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa decided to relocate the polls because of “recent labour issues at Ontario’s colleges and the resultant uncertainly regarding the use of college facilities,” he told the Toronto Star. However, he said students will be informed of other places where they may vote.
Ontario Liberals promise big tuition grants
Ontario and Manitoba to vote in October
Photo courtesy of Benson Kua on Flickr
Students will go to the polls a month from now in two provinces: on Oct. 6 in Ontario and on Oct. 4 in Manitoba.
The Ontario Liberal Party made post-secondary students a big part of their plan, which was released today. If reelected, Dalton McGuinty says his Liberals would give 86 per cent of students substantial new tuition grants next year. University students would get $1,600 and college students would get $730. The grants only apply to those who come from households that make less than $160,000 per year. The promise would cost taxpayers $486-million per year. Ontario’s average annual university tuition fees are $6,000, according to Statistics Canada.
The Ontario PC Party, under Tim Hudak, says it would eliminate a $30-million scholarship program that McGuinty created to attract foreign students. They would also change the Ontario Student Assistance Program to allow more students from middle class families to qualify. “A student whose parents earn $39,000 and $46,000 would get about $2,500 in provincial OSAP support,” they said in a press release, adding: ”Dalton McGuinty gives that family no OSAP.”
The Ontario New Democrat platform does not specifically mention post-secondary students.
The Liberals promised earlier to extend the interest-free period on student loans from six months to one year for those working in the non-profit sector and to double the length of teacher’s college.
In Manitoba, New Democrat Premier Greg Selinger says that his government would freeze tuition, give universities a five per cent annual boost and triple annual student award funding to $20-million.
Manitoba Progressive Conservative candidate Hugh McFadyen’s government would boost training for northerners and aboriginals and also help to fund a new stadium at the University of Manitoba.
The races are tight in both provinces are tight.
In Ontario, the PC Party is leading with 35 per cent support while the Liberals have 30 per cent and the New Democrats have 26 per cent, according to a Forum Research poll released Sept. 1.
In Mantioba, the New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives were tied with 44 per cent support, according to the most recent poll, which was released by Probe Research on June 29.
Both polls had a three per cent margin of error.
Ontario college support staff on strike
Classes will continue. But students are confused.
Workers picketing outside George Brown College
Ontario Colleges say that classes will resume next week and students will be able to move into residences, despite the fact that 8,000 support workers went on strike at 12:01 last night.
Cleaners, food service workers, classroom schedulers, IT support workers and maintenance workers are among the Ontario Public Services Employees Union members who walked.
“It’s gonna look like hell here in two, three days,” Warren “Smokey” Thomas, President of OPSEU, told a crowd of dozens of picketers outside of George Brown College’s Chef School in Toronto around 8:30 a.m.
He said that workers are striking to protect full-time jobs because the colleges want to add more part-time employees. “I tell parents and students that we’re fighting for their futures,” he said. “How many people do you know with university degrees who are working retail?” he asked the crowd.
They have also asked for wage increases. Under the expiring collective agreement, employees who have worked full-time for more than one year are paid between $18.27 and $44.91 per hour.
The College Employer Council’s last offer on August 31st included a 4.8 per cent raise over three years, which would put the average salary at just over $59,000. The offer also included adding a one-year probation period for new employees and offering four-day work weeks for some.
Thomas said that colleges are flush with cash, as evidenced by raises given to college presidents. He said that if “Daddy Dalton,” referring to Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty, wants improve education, “he better put his money where his mouth is.”
“I have to pay my own way through college,” Brianne Dubeau, a second-year student at Fleming College in Peterborough, Ont., said over the phone from her workplace in Barrie after learning about the impending strike on Thursday. “It would have been nice to know what’s going on. If classes are going to be cancelled, I could stay here and work more shifts.”
As of Thursday, Dubeau hadn’t received any information from her school.
Ontario Liberals would double teacher’s college
More classroom experience needed, they say
Ontario’s governing Liberals say that if they’re re-elected on Oct. 6, they would double the length of teacher’s college programs from one to two years.
“The new two-year program would mean that student teachers would spend more time in the classroom,” the Liberals wrote a press release. “Ontario’s one-year teacher education program is one of the shortest in Canada. Other places in the world where students rank high in standardized tests — such as Japan, Singapore and Finland — have multi-year programs.” They point out that Ontario teachers graduate with only 40 days experience.
Ontario capped enrollment in teacher’s colleges in May in response to high unemployment among new teachers.
Foreign doctorate students could be sent home
Finish in four years or pay for it yourself: Ontario government
Six international doctorate students at the University of Western Ontario are fighting a new rule that forces them to pay up if they take more than four years to complete their degrees. They say that if they get sent home, their education — subsidized so far by Canadian taxpayers — will be wasted.
Saad Anis of Pakistan is one of those students. He told Inside Higher Ed that he may never finish his Ph.D. in philosophy, because he can’t afford to pay the international tuition of $16,000 plus living costs to take a fifth year. Although Ph.D. Humanities students at Western take an average of nearly six years to graduate, international students are funded only for four.
“Transfer is one option,” Anis said. “But I think most likely what is going to happen is I will not be able to finish and I’ll just go back home [to Pakistan] and teach at a high school or something.”
Russell Poole, the associate dean of research and graduate studies for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities said: “I feel very sorry for them that the rules have changed and those rules have changed while they’ve been here.” But, he added that Western doesn’t owe them more funding. “It would be simply wrong to say that any time a student is not completing in four years the university has the obligation to provide funding for the fifth or sixth year,” he said.
Henrik Lagerlund, the philosophy department chair feels that it would be a waste for the students not to finish, but added, “I think I can say with confidence that this program is doable in four years.”
Ontario college strike possible
8,000 support staff could walk out Sept. 1
Ontario college students could get an extra-long summer break if support staff strike Sept. 1.
The contract for 8,000 Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) members will expire that day.
Rod Bemister, chair of the union’s bargaining team, warned in a press release on Friday that “students should be very aware that the start of the school year will be jeopardized as long as college management refuses to negotiate seriously.”
He said employees are working to protect the pay and benefits they have accrued in previous contracts. Under the expiring collective agreement, employees who had worked full-time for more than one year are paid between $18.27 and $44.91 per hour.
The College Employer Council, negotiating for management, hasn’t released a statement.*
The two sides will meet again Tuesday.
An earlier version incorrectly named Colleges Ontario as the management-side negotiators.
Feds fund science outreach in Ontario
Money will create programs for under-represented youth
More students from under-represented groups will be encouraged to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and medicine) fields, thanks to $1.25-million from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
“Our Government recognizes the importance of preparing young people for today’s high-tech economy,” said Conservative MP Peter Braid at the announcement in Waterloo. “By developing our next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians, we can help drive innovation and keep the economy growing in southern Ontario for years to come.”
The money goes to Actua, a science, engineering and technology outreach network that provides summer camps and classroom workshops delivered by university students. The funding will help create new programs for under-represented children, including Aboriginals, at-risk youth and girls.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Commerce released a study that showed women make up only 25 per cent of the STEM workforce, despite holding nearly 50 per cent of all jobs. They concluded that America’s economic growth is held back by the gender gap in STEM fields.
McGuinty would give non-profit sector grads a break
Election promise: six more months of interest free loans
Photo courtesy of JenniferK on Flickr
Ontario Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty said he would give Ontario college and university graduates an extra six months of interest-free status for their student loans if they take a job in the non-profit sector upon graduation. That would be on top of the six month interest-free period that all students currently receive. ”We believe it’s important for young people to have an opportunity to help our broader society,” McGuinty told young Liberals in Sudbury on Saturday. Ontarians will vote on Oct. 6.
The fastest growing (and shrinking) degrees
Who’s winning the competition for students?
Photo courtesy of m2ec on Flickr
Far more Ontario high school graduates are choosing to study science or engineering in 2011 than in 2010, while arts, music and fine arts enrollments declined, according to new data from the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre. Education registrations declined dramatically too — unsurprising considering that Two-Thirds of New Teachers Can’t Find Full-Time Work.
But arts programs can take comfort in the fact that they still take in more students than any other programs. Arts (25,845), Science (14,212) and Business Administration (9,300) accounted for 71 per cent (49,357) of the 69,546 first-year registrations made by July 7, 2011.
Here are the major program areas, from the fastest growing to the fastest shrinking.
OTHER ADMINISTRATION +21.6 per cent
OTHER DEGREES +6.2 per cent
ENGINEERING +5.8 per cent
SCIENCE +5.6 per cent
JOURNALISM +4.6 per cent
FAMILY & CONSUMER STUDIES +4.2 per cent
PHYSICAL & HEALTH EDUCATION +3.1 per cent
SOCIAL WORK +2.9 per cent
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION +2.7 per cent
OVERALL REGISTRATIONS +1.9 per cent
ARCHITECTURE +1.5 per cent
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES +1.4 per cent
ARTS -0.4 per cent
MATHEMATICS -1.2 per cent
NURSING -2.8 per cent
FINE AND APPLIED ARTS -4.4 per cent
EDUCATION -6.7 per cent
MUSIC -9.4 per cent
Note: These figures include students who applied directly from secondary school to undergraduate degree programs. Only subjects with at least 100 registrations are included in this list.
Ontario’s Top 10 Colleges ranked by graduate satisfaction
Is your school on the list?
Want to know how colleges are doing? Just look at the “Key Performance Data” that the Ontario government makes colleges and universities publish each year. The information is based, in part, on surveys that students complete six months after graduation.
The new 2010 figures suggest colleges are better than they were in 2005. The graduation rate is up from 60 per cent 64 per cent. Employer satisfaction — always high — nudged up from 92 per cent to 93 per cent. Graduate satisfaction also inched its way from from 78 per cent to 79 per cent. The only notable decline was in the employment rate six months after graduation, which slipped from 89 per cent to 83 per cent.
The numbers also show a big range in student satisfaction, so we thought we’d share some details. Of the 24 Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology in Ontario, these 10 had the most graduates who answered that they were “very satisfied” with their college experience when asked six months after graduation in 2010.
1. St. Lawrence – 85 per cent
2. Sault – 85 per cent
3. Northern – 84 per cent
4. St. Clair – 84 per cent
5. Georgian – 83 per cent
6. Confederation – 82 per cent
7. Collège Boréal – 82 per cent
8. Cambrian – 82 per cent
9. La Cité collégiale – 82 per cent
10. Conestoga – 81 per cent
Big swings in enrollments at Ontario universities
Which schools are gaining popularity?
Ontario Graduate Caucus opposes more grad spots
Improve quality and accessibility instead, they say
Some graduate students in Ontario were “concerned” that the Government of Ontario announced 6,000 new master and PhD-level seats yesterday. The Ontario Graduate Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students says the money should have gone to addressing quality and accessibility problems faced by the current 50,000 graduate students instead. Those problems include high undergraduate debt, lack of research funding and graduate tuitions that average $9,000 per year. ”This announcement will simply add more students to an over-crowded and underfunded system, leading to a decrease in the quality of graduate education,” Kimalee Phillip, Chairperson of the OCS-CFS said in a press releases. Financial pressure on graduate students is so intense that roughly half of them don’t finish the degrees they start, according to Phillip.
Ontario Liberals to fund 6,000 more graduate degrees
Only certain programs will get new money
Today, Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities announced the creation of 6,000 new spots for master and doctoral students in “high-demand and emerging fields – such as engineering, health and environmental studies.” The seats would be rolled out between now and 2015. However, these plans may not come to fruition if the Liberal government loses the election in October, which looks increasingly today as a new Angus-Reid poll shows Premier Dalton McGuinty has an approval rating of just 19 per cent.
Ontario to fund 60,000 PSE seats
Province says plan will cost $309 million
Ontario’s Liberal government is set to announce funding for 60,000 new post-secondary education seats in Tuesday’s budget. The plan, which would be fully realized by 2015-16, would cost approximately $309 million. The Canadian Press reported that despite a deficit of nearly $17 billion for the current fiscal year, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan says that education and health care will be safe from any cost cutting measures.
70% of Ontario high schools charge course fees
Report concludes that schools generate as much as $90,000 a year from prohibited fees
Students at a majority of Ontario high schools are required to pay “course fees” that are suppose to be illegal, according to a recent report by People for Education. Nearly 70 per cent of schools generate income from everything ranging from activity fees, to athletic fees, to fees for french textbooks, and even fees for mandatory English courses. Schools generate between $1,000 and $90,000 from these fees, suggesting, the report states, that schools in wealthier neighborhoods are capable of charging their students for more services. “There appears to be some evidence that schools with a higher proportion of low-income students have lower average course fees, leading to a possible conclusion that fees are charged on a ‘what the market will bear’ basis,” the study reads. Course fees are prohibited by the Education Act and the province, which has recently completed consultations on the issue, is expected to issue guidelines.
