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STUDENTS’ VISION The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System SEPTEMBER 2012 | CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS-ONTARIO

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Page 1: STUDENTS’ VISIONstudentunion.ca/cfs/on/CFS-O - Students Vision... · VISION The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System SEPTEMBER 2012 | CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS-ONTARIO

STUDENTS’ VISION

The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

SEPTEMBER 2012 | CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS-ONTARIO

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General inquiries regarding this document should be directed to:

Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario180 Bloor Street West, Suite 900

Toronto, Ontario M5S 2V6 Tel 416.925.3825 Fax 416.925.6774 Email [email protected] Web www.cfsontario.ca

Ce document est disponible en français

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With more than 300,000 members at 37 students’ unions in all regions of the province, the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario is the voice of post-secondary students in Ontario. Founded in 1981, the Federation represents students at the college, undergraduate and graduate levels, including full and part-time students.

Algoma University Students’ Union

Brock University Graduate Students’ Association

Carleton University Students’ Association

Carleton University Graduate Students’ Association

Association étudiante de la Cité collégiale

Student Association of George Brown College

Glendon College Student Union

University of Guelph Central Student Association

University of Guelph Graduate Students’ Association

Lakehead University Student Union

Laurentian Association of Mature and Part-time Students

Laurentian University Graduate Students’ Association

Laurentian University Students’ General Association

Laurentian Students’ Union at Barrie

Association des étudiantes et étudiants francophones de l’Université Laurentienne

McMaster University Graduate Students’ Association

Nipissing University Student Union

Ontario College of Art and Design Student Union

Student Federation of the University of Ottawa

Graduate Students’ Association des étudiant(e)s diplômé(e)s de l’Université d’Ottawa

Queen’s University Society of Graduate and Professional Students

Ryerson Students’ Union

Continuing Education Students’ Association of Ryerson

Saint Paul University Students’ Association

University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Students’ Union

University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union

University of Toronto Students’ Union

University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union

Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students of the University of Toronto

Trent University Central Student Association

University of Western Ontario Society of Graduate Students

Wilfrid Laurier University Graduate Students’ Association

University of Windsor Students’ Alliance

University of Windsor Graduate Students’ Society

University of Windsor Organization of Part-time University Students

York Federation of Students

York University Graduate Students’ Association

CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS–ONTARIO

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Background ...................................................................................................................................... 9Context ....................................................................................................................................................9Discussion Paper .................................................................................................................................10Roundtable Discussions ....................................................................................................................12Students’ Vision ....................................................................................................................................13

Public Benefit ................................................................................................................................. 17Post-Secondary Education as a Public & Social Good ..........................................................17

Affordability .................................................................................................................................... 21Tuition Fees ............................................................................................................................................21Student Debt ..........................................................................................................................................26Disproportionate Impact on Marginalized Communities ...................................................27

Quality ............................................................................................................................................... 31What is the Purpose & Function of Colleges & Universities? .............................................31The Link Between Teaching & Research ....................................................................................32The Student-Faculty Ratio ...............................................................................................................34Online Learning ..................................................................................................................................34Student Engagement & Experiential Learning .......................................................................37

Accessibility ..................................................................................................................................... 41Creating Accessible Post-Secondary Education ......................................................................41Students with Disabilities .................................................................................................................41Students & Mental Health ...............................................................................................................42French Language Education ...........................................................................................................44Regional Accessibility ........................................................................................................................46Flexibility for Students ......................................................................................................................47

Accountability ................................................................................................................................. 51Building Democratic & Accountable Colleges & Universities ............................................51Right to Organize Legislation for Students’ Unions ...............................................................54Oversight by the Ontario Ombudsman .......................................................................................55Capping University & College Salaries ......................................................................................55Accountable Research on Post-Secondary Education ...........................................................56

Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 59Fighting for Our Vision ....................................................................................................................59

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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4 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 5

AFFORDABILITY• Mandate universities to introduce post-residency fees for graduate students.• Establish a tuition fee framework that progressively reduces tuition fees for all

college and university students to 2005 levels, including re-allocating money currently spent on the Ontario Tuition grant and provincial tax credits.

• Prohibit the institutional practice of charging students deferral fees, interest or deposits for tuition fee payments.

• Prohibit the institutional practice of implementing flat tuition fees based on course load or year of study.

• Eliminate interest on Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) loans.• Extend OSAP eligibility to part-time students.• Increase the number of Ontario Graduate Scholarships.• Work with the Ministry of Community and Social Services to allow Ontario Works

recipients to receive OSAP assistance and for Ontario Disability Support Program recipients to receive OSAP assistance without a clawback in financial support.

• Expand grants for non-Status Aboriginal students and Métis students.

QUALITY• Establish a long-term funding plan that increases per-student funding to the

national average.• Improve the student-faculty ratio by hiring more tenure-track faculty and reversing

the trend of increasingly relying on sessional faculty.• Ensure the Ontario Online Institute remains an information portal for online

courses in the province – not a new, degree-granting institution.• Reinstate provincial funding for the Ontario Work Study Program.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

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6 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

• Prohibit the institutional practice of charging placement fees for co-op or internship placements.

• Prohibit institutions from requiring unpaid work placements in programs of study.

ACCESSIBILITY

• Address the shortfall in deferred maintenance and ensure that buildings are sustainable and accessible for students.

• Reinstate the funding for the Fellowship for Study in French and expand provincial funding for French-language education.

• Provide enhanced funding to northern and rural institutions in order to provide and establish a comprehensive range of programs for these communities.

• Continue to establish the provincial credit transfer system that will allow students to move within the college and university systems without duplicating credits.

DEMOCRATIC AND ACCOUNTABLE INSTITUTIONS

• Mandate universities and colleges to undertake governance changes that would increase student representation on decision-making bodies.

• Reintroduce legislation that would provide legal protection for students’ unions.• Extend the purview of the Ontario Ombudsman to include university oversight.• Cap university sector salaries at $250,000 and college sector salaries at $200,000.• Eliminate the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) and redirect

funding toward graduate research.

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 7

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8 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

1

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 9

BACKGROUND

ContextSince the beginning of the global economic recession, we have heard from governments around the world that they have to make difficult decisions to respond to the global crisis. The Government of Ontario has been no different, with Premier Dalton McGuinty and Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan frequently citing the need to slash the deficit by implementing “restraint measures.”

The provincial government’s austerity agenda led to the creation of the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services in 2011, chaired by former bank executive Don Drummond. Unfortunately, the Commission ignored revenue shortfalls in the province, did not consider increasing revenue and did not look for ways to reasonably sustain quality public services. Instead, the closed-door investigation simply tackled the spending side of Ontario’s balance sheet and focused entirely on how to downsize public services – including post-secondary education – in Ontario.

The impact of the Drummond Report on the 2012 Ontario Budget was stark, leaving Ontarians who rely on public services worried about the quality and availability of these services in the future. Students were disappointed to see the short-term projections for the post-secondary sector, including cuts to institutional operating grants and capital funding. The budget did allocate more funding to the problematic Ontario Tuition Grant, but at the expense of eliminating nine grant, scholarship and bursary programs. For every new $1.00 invested into the government’s new grant scheme for 2012-13, $1.20 of student aid would be clawed back through the cuts to the nine programs and tuition fee increases. The nature of the program changes also did little to help students with larger need, including those from lower-income backgrounds, part-time students and mature students.

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10 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

Discussion PaperShortly after the 2012 Budget was passed, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities released Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge. Minister of Training Colleges and Universities Glen Murray made it clear that this discussion paper would be used to guide and facilitate roundtable sessions that were being held across the province.

Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge is loosely based on a confidential discussion paper that was leaked in February 2012 called 3 x 3: Revolutionizing Ontario’s Post Secondary Education System for the 21st Century. The leaked document, which was co-authored by Minister Murray, outlines a very concerning vision for the sector that explicitly pushes for three-year undergraduate degrees, three full terms per year and three out of five courses online. These proposed strategies to revolutionize the sector are inspired by examples from other jurisdictions – whether or not these strategies have actually benefited students – and are based on several, often false, assumptions about Ontario’s post-secondary education system, student experiences and student needs.

Despite using softer and more generalized language, Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge carries many of the same assumptions that are contained in the leaked document. The discussion paper describes the government’s overall goal of “identify[ing] ways to

improve productivity through innovation” in the post-secondary education system. The words ‘productivity’ and ‘innovation’ run heavily throughout the document but students are still left to ask – how are we defining ‘productivity’ and ‘innovation’? Does this mean that students, faculty and institutions are expected to simply do more with less? Are we changing things for the sake of change? Are we changing things to benefit students or other interested parties?

The discussion paper asserts that the reconfiguration of the system is not only being brought on by the changing economy and labour market demands, but by the broader public’s expectation for “concrete results from the investment of scarce public resources.” To be clear, the broader public – including students and their families – wants public money to be used wisely. Funding education has always been considered one of the best investments for the future of the province. It should not be a foregone conclusion that public resources are scarce, either. This discourse reinforces Don Drummond’s claim that the province has a spending problem and omits all of the reasonable ways the province could generate revenue like reversing previous cuts to corporate tax rates and building on the newly created top income tax bracket.

The discussion paper maintains that costs in the post-secondary education sector have grown at a rate above inflation and that the government intends to contain spending to ensure financial sustainability.

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 11

ONTARIO INSTITUTIONS RECEIVE THE LOWEST PER-STUDENT FUNDINGProvincial government transfers to colleges and universities per full-time equivalent student

(Canadian Association of University Teachers, 2011)

$ 10,222

$ 12,756

$ 13,481

$ 13,572

$ 13,863

$ 13,882$ 14,208

$ 15,771

$ 15,916

$ 22,520

$ 25,459

QUÉBEC

NEWFOUNDNLAND & LABRADOR

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12 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

“There’s a one size fits all mentality throughout this

[discussion] paper”

– University of Toronto Student

It goes further by claiming that controlling compensation costs – particularly with regard to faculty and academic staff – is the key to financial sustainability. The document narrows in on faculty compensation as the main driver of the rising costs of post-secondary education, however, there is no clear evidence that this is actually true. The Ministry’s assertions on faculty salaries align more with the government’s interest in implementing a wage freeze for the broader public sector than the reality on campuses. Data from colleges and universities show that the proportion of institutional operating expenses dedicated to faculty salaries has remained unchanged over the last 15 years.1

In the last decade, 200,000 new students entered the post-secondary education system, representing a 40 per cent increase in enrolment.2 Yet, the rapid climb in enrolment and the basic resources required to support this shift are not even mentioned in the document as cost drivers. The concerns over the financial sustainability of the sector should focus on the lack of an adequate growth strategy over the last decade. Maintaining a high-quality education system cannot be achieved by simply doing “more with less.” Any discussion about funding also cannot be

1 Council of Finance Officers & Colleges Ontario. 2012.

2 2012 Ontario Budget. Government of Ontario. 2012.

detached from the issue of affordability for students and families.

Roundtable DiscussionsThe Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario was invited to participate in the series of roundtable discussions hosted by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities over the summer of 2012. Students continue to stress the importance of the Ministry receiving meaningful input from the people who are most affected

by policy changes – students themselves. Students from campuses across the province have expressed the concern that the process has lacked meaningful participation from students. Despite having provincial student organizations at the table, local

students’ unions or associations were not invited to the original seven roundtable discussions, even if they were being hosted at their campus. In addition, local faculty or staff representatives were not invited to participate in these discussions.

As a result, the roundtable discussions were disproportionately comprised of senior administrators from colleges and universities. Representatives from individual post-secondary institutions were invited and were present at the regional roundtable sessions, along with representatives from Colleges Ontario and the Council of Ontario Universities. The voices of

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 13

students, faculty and staff were limited, and expectedly, the few student, faculty and staff representatives present were alienated at the sessions. The Ministry did respond to students’ concerns about the lack of representation by creating a students-only consultation in September. However, this session was organized with short notice for students’ representatives, took place during the busy orientation period at the beginning of the academic year and was inaccessible for some since participants had to cover their own travel and accommodation costs.

The underlying problem with the consultation process was evident when the discussion paper was released. The discussion paper set the agenda for the roundtables and clearly outlines the intentions of the Ministry with regard to the direction that the government should be taking to reform the system. The roundtables did not leave space for the larger discussions about why the system needed to be reformed, how the system was not being ‘productive’ or ‘innovative’, how the ‘box’ that we needed to think outside of was being conceptualized or why the quality of the post-secondary education system was declining. The policy choices in the discussion paper were presented as the only available options and the objective of the roundtables was for stakeholders to provide feedback on how best to implement them.

The most concerning aspect of the process has been the deliberate omission and separation of the issues around affordability and accessibility for students. The Ministry indicated that a separate forum for stakeholders would be created as a new tuition fee framework is developed. However, transformational policy changes cannot be treated separately from tuition fees, student debt and funding. While the policy discussions have been contextualized around containing costs within the system, there has been no discussion about how to

reduce the cost for students and their families who are trying to get through the system. Students’ attempts to draw the link between affordability and the conversations around innovation and productivity at the roundtable sessions were largely ignored and deemed irrelevant to the discussion. Because the high cost of post-secondary education is not

being properly addressed within the larger conversation about sector transformation, students will continue to face significant financial barriers to a college or university education.

Students’ VisionThe discussion paper and resulting roundtable consultations gave a clear direction for how the government wants to transform post-secondary education in Ontario. Students are presenting their own vision for how to ensure that post-secondary

“Education should be student-driven: this

includes the ability for students to make their

own decisions about their education.”

– Ryerson University Student

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14 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

education becomes affordable and accessible for everyone who chooses to pursue it, that students are able to receive a high quality education and that colleges and universities are democratic and accountable institutions.

As the school year began, students across the province organized their own public town halls to ensure space was created for ordinary students to express their concerns with the discussion paper and, more importantly, voice their vision for post-secondary education in the province. Town halls were organized in every major region across Ontario and included events at Algoma University, Carleton University, George Brown College, Laurentian University (Sudbury and Barrie campuses), Lakehead University, McMaster University, Ontario of College Art and Design University, Queen’s University, Ryerson University, Trent University, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto (Mississauga, Scarborough and St George Campuses), University of Western Ontario, University of Windsor and York University. Students shared their personal stories and highlighted a range of issues including classroom experiences, student-teacher ratios, diminishing access to education through tuition and ancillary fees, cost of books and equipment, equity issues, inclusive campus spaces and lack of adequate bursaries and grants. The stories and feedback from the town halls have helped shape this submission.

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 15

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16 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 17

PUBLIC BENEFIT

Post-Secondary Education as a Public & Social GoodAs a society, we have decided that there are certain costs that need to be born collectively and not by individuals. Public services like health care and education are seen as having a benefit not only to the individuals who access these services, but also to our society as a whole. Students believe that college and university education should be a right for all people who want it, and not a privilege reserved for those who can afford the high user (tuition) fees. Unfortunately, because of government policies allowing tuition fees to increase dramatically over the past two decades, college and university is increasingly becoming reserved for the rich, while low- and middle-income families are either shut out completely or take on massive amounts of debt just to get a foot in the door.

These policy decisions are out of step with what Ontarians want. Ontarians know the importance of college and university education and are attending in record numbers, with a 40 per cent increase in enrollment in the past 10 years. Students and their families know that getting a college or university education is essential to getting a job, but also recognize the value of education as important to engaging in our communities and developing as individuals.

Proponents of privatizing education often exalt the individual benefits of a college or university education, while barely mentioning and even ignoring the significant societal benefits of a more educated population. These benefits extend into all areas of our social fabric including the economy, health, civic engagement and community development. For every dollar invested into colleges and universities in Canada, there is $3.20 in public return.1 With 70 per cent of jobs now requiring some form of post-secondary education,

1 Education at a Glance 2011. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2011.

“If people can’t get a post-secondary

education, what else are they left to do?” – McMaster University

Student

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18 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

ensuring that all Ontarians have access to colleges and universities is key to helping to ensure people can get stable and well-paid employment. People with more education tend to have higher incomes, be healthier, access public services like income assistance less frequently and are less likely to go to jail. These benefits add up in dollars and cents, but more importantly, in the well-being of our communities.

Unfortunately, because of government underfunding, our colleges and universities are increasingly reliant on private funds. Private funding takes many forms including tuition fees, the outsourcing of services such as food provision, private donations from individuals and corporations, endowment funds and corporate funding for research. In 1993, 25 per cent of college funding and 30 per cent of university funding came from government funding. Today, the portion has grown to above 50 per cent.2 In Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge, universities are referred to not as public institutions but as “publicly assisted,” blurring the government’s role in a policy of divesting from public colleges and universities over the past 20 years.

Privatization of colleges and universities threatens the role post-secondary education plays in our society. In a private system, the

2 Colleges Ontario & Council of Financial Officers. 2012.

priorities of our institutions are dictated by what they can get people to pay for. This takes many forms including predatory recruitment of international students who pay higher tuition fees, research

agendas that are focused more in disciplines where there is a clear opportunity for commercialization such as engineering, the cutting of programs such as fine arts that are resource intensive but produce graduates who make lower incomes, and building

new facilities over addressing deferred maintenance costs. Instead, students believe in a system where college and university stakeholders and the public can determine what our institutions should be prioritizing.

“Privatization is an issue. The government

should make an effort to buy back the colleges”

– George Brown College Student

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 19

ONTARIO’S COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES HAVE BECOME PRIVATELY FUNDED INSTITUTIONSTuition fees and government funding as a percentage of college and university operating revenue

(Colleges Ontario, Council of Ontario Universities)

Universities in 1993

70% PUBLIC

Universities Today

< 50% PUBLIC

Colleges in 1993

75% PUBLIC

Colleges Today

< 50% PUBLIC

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20 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 21

AFFORDABILITY

Tuition FeesThe most significant issue facing students and their families today is whether or not they can afford to go to a college or university. The upfront cost of tuition fees is simply the largest barrier to accessing a post-secondary education. Generally, public funding for social services like health care and elementary and secondary school allows everyone in Ontario adequate access to these programs, regardless of their socio-economic background. These programs are funded through tax revenue, including revenue generated by the province’s progressive income tax system. Tuition fees can be considered a regressive flat tax for education since all students and their families – irrespective of income – must pay the same amount. Studies have shown that the distribution of college and university students and the distribution of family income demonstrate that subsidizing the cost of post-secondary education through government revenue results in an income transfer from higher-income families to lower-income families.1 By increasing tuition fees and reducing public funding, the net transfer from higher-income families to lower-income families would be reduced.

Tuition fees in Ontario for undergraduate students were less than $2,000 per year in 1990, including those in professional programs like law or medical school.2 Today, undergraduate students are paying an average of $7,180 in tuition fees, while those who want to attend professional programs like law or medical school have to pay upwards of $25,000 per year.3 Ontario students pay the most for their education compared to students in other provinces in Canada. Undergraduate students in Ontario pay 29 per cent more compared to the Canadian average, while graduate students pay 41 per cent more. Ontario graduate students pay an average of over $8,000 in tuition fees per year every year they are registered, while the majority of graduate students outside of Ontario pay reduced fees during research and thesis-writing

1 Hugh Mackenzie. The Tuition Trap. Hugh Mackenzie & Associates. 2005.2 Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. 2012.3 Statistics Canada. University Tuition Fees, 2012/2013. Government of Canada. 2012.

“Because of high tuition fees we could be missing the biggest

ideas, brightest minds and the undiscovered creativity

of others who simply haven’t made it into the system”

– George Brown College Student

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22 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

“I wanted to take business, but I’m in arts because I

couldn’t afford the degree for business students.”

– University of Toronto Scarborough Campus

Student

stages of their degrees. On top of all this, international students pay twice as much as domestic students for the same education. The socio-economic implications for such an unaffordable post-secondary education system are damaging to a province that is still struggling to recover from the global economic recession.

Some colleges and universities have tried to address underfunding by increasing the financial burden on students through ancillary fees or other fee mechanisms. For example, some institutions require that fall and winter fees be paid in September. Students who need to pay their winter fees in January because that is when student loan money is released or for other financial reasons are then charged additional fees. Similarly, many universities have implemented flat fees, a form of tuition fees where instead of charging per course, the institution charges the same amount for any course load over a certain percentage of full-time. At University of Toronto, for example, students in arts and social sciences pay the same whether they are taking three courses or five. These fee schemes are often used by universities and colleges to raise additional revenue from students.

Other jurisdictions in Canada and throughout the world have managed to make access to post-secondary education a priority, while operating in the same global economic environment. The government of

Newfoundland and Labrador has responded to students’ call for affordable education and recognized the benefits of making college and university affordable for families to the province’s economy. The government froze tuition fees between 1999-2002, reduced fees by 25 per cent back to 1996-97 levels between 2002-2005 and has kept fees frozen since 2005. Undergraduate and graduate students pay less than $2,700 per year, while paying no interest on provincial student

loans and having access to a grants programs that is more generous than what exists in Ontario.4 Not only do students in the province have greater access to a post-secondary education, but students from throughout the Maritimes have flocked to Newfoundland and

Labrador to pursue their studies. Between 1997 to 2009, the number of students from Prince Edward Island attending Memorial University increased by 418 per cent. The number of students from New Brunswick increased by 800 per cent, while those migrating from Nova Scotia increased by 1,079 per cent. 5

University students in Québec pay almost the same tuition fees as those

4 Statistics Canada. University Tuition Fees, 2012/2013. Government of Canada. 2012.

5 Kirby, Greene, Bourgeois and Sharpe. Matriculating Eastward: Maritime Student Migration to Newfoundland and Labrador. Memorial University. 2011.

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 23

TUITION FEES HAVE FAR OUTPACED THE RATE OF INFLATIONTuition fees versus inflation in the last 25 years

(Colleges Ontario, 2012; Statistics Canada, 2011; Bank of Canada, 2011)

7,000

1986 2012

Undergraduate - ActualUndergraduate - By Inflation

College - ActualCollege - By Inflation

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24 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

in Newfoundland and Labrador, while CÉGEP students pay nominal fees. Governments in Québec have historically responded to students’ demand to keep post-secondary education affordable, which is why tuition fees remain below $3,000 for undergraduate and graduate students and the province’s system of needs-based grants remains. Québec’s tuition fees have been consistently lower than the rest of the country over the last three decades. The previous Liberal government’s multi-year plan to increase tuition fees by 75 per cent not only proved to be unacceptable for students who fought the hike with the longest and largest student strike in Canadian history, but also to the general population who voted the Liberal Party out of power.

The majority of graduate students in outside of Ontario have access to reduced fees during the period of research and thesis-writing. The Ministry has identified timely completion in graduate programs as an issue, but has not addressed the impact of paying full graduate tuition fees for every year a student is enrolled. High fees result in graduate students taking on addional employment, limiting the time they can commit to their studies. Students have long called for reduced fees for graduates after they have completed course work, which would reduce the financial burden on graduate students and encourage timely completion.

RECOMMENDATIONS• Mandate universities to introduce post-

residency fees for graduate students.

Ontario risks falling behind the other provinces in Canada by not making access to post-secondary education a priority. Students outside of Ontario are paying less upfront and accumulating less debt, allowing them to better participate in their local economies. If Ontario wants to compete on the world stage, it also needs to recognize how other countries are educating their citizens. Many countries have public post-secondary education systems where students pay no or nominal fees, such as Argentina, Austria, Barbados, Brazil, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Kuwait, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden and Trinidad and Tobago.

Ontarians understand how the high upfront cost of education affects their families. Year after year, polls have shown that 9 out of 10 Ontarians support a tuition fee freeze or reduction, with the majority of people are in support of generating more tax revenue in order to invest in post-secondary education. The most progressive and effective way to increase access to post-secondary education would be to reduce tuition fees and develop a long-term framework that aims to eliminate the upfront cost of college and university in Ontario.

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 25

RECOMMENDATIONS• Establish a tuition fee framework that

progressively reduces tuition fees for all college and university students to 2005 levels, including re-allocating money currently spent on the Ontario Tuition grant and provincial tax credits.

• Prohibit the institutional practice of charging students deferral fees, interest or deposits for tuition fee payments.

• Prohibit the institutional practice of implementing flat tuition fees based on course load or year of study.

Student DebtAs tuition fees continue to rise in Ontario, policy makers, educational policy entrepreneurs and interest groups continue to assert that students are more than able to pursue a college or university education through greater access to student loans. This policy approach diverts the emphasis away from the upfront cost of education, allowing institutions to fund a greater portion of their operating budgets through tuition fees and ignoring the impact of requiring students to bear the full cost of their education. With stagnating wages and household debt at record levels, students and their families simply cannot afford the increasing cost of education and the

inevitable outcome of taking on more debt.

The majority of students in college and university are forced to take on debt to pay for their education. Collectively, students owe the Government of Ontario $2.6 billion through their Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) loans and billions more to the federal government.6 In

addition to government loans, students are forced to take on debt through bank lines of credit, family loans and credit cards. More parents are now putting away less money for retirement because they are helping their children pay for their education. Undergraduate students

who rely on both public and private sources of debt to finance their education carry an average of $37,000 in student debt after graduation.7 Graduate students or students looking to obtain additional diploma or degree credentials have to carry their previous debts while borrowing more money for their current studies. Students

6 Ministry of Finance. Consolidated Financial Statements, 2011-2012. Government of Ontario. 2012.

7 Justin Bayard and Edith Greenlee. Graduating in Canada: Profile, Labour Market Outcomes and Student Debt of the Class of 2005. Culture, Tourism and the Centre for Educational Statistics, Government of Canada. 2009.

“Tuition fees are increasing, student debt is getting worse and students can’t afford it. Students make it work but

are at a tipping point. Many students rely on food banks

on campus because they can’t afford food.”

– Carleton University Student

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26 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

STUDENT DEBT IN ONTARIO IS BALLOONING TO RECORD LEVELSOutstanding student debt owed to the Ontario government

2 0 0 5$1.147 BILLION

2 0 0 8$2.260 BILLION

2 0 1 2$2.638 BILLION

(Ontario Ministry of Finance Consolidated Financial Statements, 2005-2011)

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 27

pursuing professional degrees like law or medicine often graduate with over $100,000 in debt, which severely limits their career choices within their field.

If Ontario is looking to position itself well in the new economy, it must address the student debt crisis. New graduates are having more difficulty finding stable employment than ever before and the weight of a five-figure student debt is intensifying the problem. Saddling Ontario’s students with such debt actually stifles the economy since their purchasing power is greatly diminished. New graduates are now less likely to buy cars, take out a mortgage on a home, start a family, start a new business or pursue more education. Instead, they must contend with paying off their student debt while trying to enter the shrinking labour market. Indebting a generation of people with large student debt will limit Ontario’s ability to climb out of the recession and will surely damage the long-term economic health of the province.

RECOMMENDATIONS• Eliminate interest on OSAP loans.• Extend OSAP eligibility to part-time

students.• Increase the number of Ontario

Graduate Scholarships.

Disproportionate Impact on Marginalized CommunitiesPost-secondary education is commonly seen as the path to higher income earnings and socio-economic mobility for marginalized members of society. This idea builds on a vision that college and university education is accessible to anyone with the ability and desire to learn, and not simply the means to afford the lofty price tag. Unfortunately, a post-secondary education system that forces students and their families to pay a high upfront cost – with financial implications if they cannot fully do so – disproportionately penalizes those who have less financial means. High tuition fees constitute a larger barrier for marginalized communities – including but not limited to Aboriginal, racialized and immigrant people, people living with disabilities and women – and contribute to systemic discrimination within society.

RECOMMENDATION• Work with the Ministry of Community

and Social Services to allow Ontario Works recipients to receive OSAP assistance and for Ontario Disability Support Program recipients to receive OSAP assistance without a clawback in financial support.

Despite the ideal of an equitable and multicultural society, the economic reality faced by marginalized communities in Ontario and the rest of the country tells

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28 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

a story of socio-economic exclusion. The 2006 Canada Census showed that 44 per cent of Aboriginal people aged 25 to 64 completed some form of post-secondary education, compared to 61 per cent of the non-Aboriginal population.8 The proportion of Aboriginal children living in low-income households is double that of non-Aboriginal children, while the average income for the Aboriginal population is 33 per cent or $12,000 lower than the non-Aboriginal population.9

RECOMMENDATION• Expand grants for non-Status

Aboriginal students and Métis students.

On average, racialized people are two to four times more likely to fall below the poverty line and subsequently, are more likely to have related problems like poor health, lower education and few job opportunities compared to the rest of the population.10 Racialized people have lower participation rates in the labour market, while also earning a median after-tax income that is 13 per cent less than non-racialized people. 11 The majority of new immigrants

8 Statistics Canada. Educational Portrait of Canada, 2006 Census. Government of Canada. 2008.

9 Chantel Collin and Hillary Jensen. A Statistical Profile of Poverty in Canada. Government of Canada. 2009.

10 Colour of Poverty Campaign. 2007.11 Grace-Edward Galabuzi and Cheryl Teelucksingh.

Working Precariously: The impact of race and immigrants status on employment opportunities and

are racialized, but lower income rates are not attributed simply to recent settlement. It takes about 20 years for someone who immigrated to make as much as someone born in Canada of the same sex, age and education level. 12

In recent years, the participation of women in post-secondary education has increased more rapidly than men, but the proportion of men with some form of post-secondary education is still higher. This is, in part, because having a post-secondary credential is one of the only ways women can access quality jobs. However, men are still more likely to be employed full-time and to earn more than women. According to the Pay Equity Commission of Ontario, the average income of women with a post-secondary certificate or diploma is still less than the average earnings of a male worker with a high school diploma. In Ontario, for every $1.00 earned by a full-time male worker, a full-time female worker earns 72 cents.13

Progressive economists have identified time and again, that any flat tax or user fee for services disproportionately affects people with lower incomes. The provincial government continues to ignore the regressive nature of tuition fees, instead opting to focus on a confusing and inconsistent patchwork of financial

outcomes in Canada. Centre for Social Justice and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. 2005.

12 Colour of Poverty Campaign. 2007.13 The Gender Wage Gap. Pay Equity Commission of

Ontario. 2012.

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 29

assistance programs through the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). Over half of the Ontario students rely on OSAP, with students having the ability to accrue almost $30,000 in student loan debt after a four-year degree.

Marginalized communities are less likely to afford high tuition fees because of the structural disparities in wealth and income. As a result, they are more likely to rely on student loans and other sources of debt to pay for post-secondary education. If a student with the maximum OSAP loan takes the maximum time – 14.5 years – to pay off their loan, they will pay an additional 50 per cent on top of the principle loan amount through accrued interest.14 Students are also paying interest on debts owed through lines of credit and credit cards to pay for their educational expenses. Students from marginalized families are more likely to pay more for their education compared to their wealthier counterparts simply because they cannot afford to pay the high upfront cost. Downloading the cost of post-secondary education from the public to individual students undermines the role that education plays in achieving socio-economic equity and instead, exacerbates existing inequities.

14 Ontario Student Assistance Program. Repayment Calculator. Government of Ontario. 2012.

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 31

QUALITY

What is the Purpose & Function of Colleges & Universities?

The discussion paper and roundtable process set the agenda for sector transformation, but left little room for a larger question – what are colleges and universities for? Traditionally, post-secondary institutions have been the places to generate new knowledge, facilitate the pursuit of knowledge, develop critical members of society, promote scholarly work and conduct basic and curiosity-driven research. The government is steering in a direction away from our post-secondary institutions being the central places of higher learning, but instead toward colleges and universities being industry training grounds and commercialization hubs.

Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge places a heavy emphasis on “entrepreneurial learning” and the “entrepreneurship capacity” of new graduates, while cheering on the business incubators that currently exist in Ontario post-secondary institutions. Promoting the creation of business incubators or incentivizing entrepreneurial education in the province’s public colleges and universities does not facilitate knowledge, innovation or creativity. Instead, the drive to commercialize college and university knowledge limits academic freedom and public ownership of research, while discouraging private sector innovation.

By putting resources into business incubators and private sector partnerships, the government is subsidizing private sector research through the post-secondary education system and discouraging private sector investment in its own research infrastructure. Canada has ranked very low on indexes that measure innovation, especially with regard to its scientific research institutions and private sector spending on research and development.1 Colleges and universities are increasingly being used to foster commercialization and serve the market, rather than educating people to be critical and productive members of society.

1 Klaus Schwab. The Global Competitiveness Report, 2012-2013. World Economic Forum. 2012.

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32 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

The Link Between Teaching & ResearchOne of the strengths of the post-secondary education system has been the intricate link between scholarship and research. This model builds on the idea that an expert in a particular field who has gained knowledge through original research and experience is best suited to impart that knowledge to students. Universities in Ontario have always built on the strength of its researchers and as such, have been structured to allow professors to teach and engage in current research. Over the last decade, however, this structure has fundamentally changed.

Policy makers and institutional administrators have pushed for a tiered stream of education where some professors would only focus on teaching. The province has seen a trend where institutions are increasingly relying on contract, teaching-only faculty who are compensated much less than tenured professors and are not paid to conduct research. Contract faculty often teach at multiple institutions and are faced with the additional challenges that come with commuting between different cities for work. Contract instructors lack job security, as their employment conditions can easily change between semesters or academic years. From policy makers’ and institutions’ perspective, the proliferation of teaching-only faculty and reliance on

cheaper, precarious labour is the solution to containing costs in the system.

The working conditions of contract, teaching-only instructors impacts the quality of education that students receive. An instructor may not be able to dedicate the time to a student who requires extra help or wants an academic mentor because they have to travel to another campus to teach a class, need to dedicate time to their

own research or have another job. The opportunity for continuous course development is limited if courses are taught by different instructors and if those instructors are not able to engage in current, relevant research.

It is now common for a significant proportion of graduate classes to be taught by contract faculty who are not paid to engage in research or mentor graduate students. Doctoral students are pushed to complete their degrees faster. Yet, these students have limited opportunities for them after graduating beyond landing a short-term contract position to teach at a university. PhD graduates are now leaving for academic opportunities in other provinces and countries. This brain drain amounts to a lost investment in Ontario’s post-secondary education system and diminishes the province’s research capacity.

RECOMMENDATION• Establish a long-term funding plan that

increases per-student funding to the national average.

“A researcher can say ‘this is how it happens’

vs. ‘this is how it happens in theory’.”

– Lakehead University Student

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 33

GRADUATE STUDENTS IN ONTARIO RECEIVE LITTLE PUBLIC FINANCIAL SUPPORTNumber of full-time graduate students compared to the number of Ontario Graduate scholarships

(Common University Data Ontario, 2006-2011; Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, 2011)

~ 6 0 , 0 0 0NUMBER OF GRADUATE STUDENTS IN ONTARIO

3 , 0 0 0NUMBER OF ONTARIO

GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS

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34 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

The Student-Faculty RatioStudents understand the important role that professors play in their education and recognize that the hiring and retention of professors has an impact on the quality of their education. Ontario has the highest student-faculty ratio in the country, meaning students in the province are learning in larger classes and are less likely to interact with their professors compared to their counterparts in other provinces. Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge not only ignores the problem of large class sizes, it deflects the issue and suggests that institutions can create savings by maintaining class sizes and moving learning modules online.

It is well understood in the elementary and secondary school system that class sizes matter because students need the face-to-face interaction with their teachers and fellow students. While college and university students have more experience in the classroom than their younger peers, the concept that learning is better in a more interactive, intimate and inclusive environment is no different. Students who sit in a lecture hall with 500 other students will undoubtedly have a different – and less fulfilling – experience than those who are able to interact with their professors and classmates in a classroom.

The student-faculty ratio encompasses many aspects of the learning experience beyond class size. It impacts the opportunities for students to get academic help from their professors outside of the classroom. A

professor is less likely to mentor students if they have to grade more assignments, provide help to more students or write more letters of recommendation. At the graduate level, professors now have to supervise more students in addition to their teaching and research commitments.

As a result, graduate students are not able to receive the level of support or guidance that they need from their mentors.

RECOMMENDATION• Improve the student-faculty ratio by

hiring more tenure-track faculty and reversing the trend of increasingly relying on sessional faculty.

Online LearningThe solution to Ontario’s high student-to-faculty ratio is to hire more faculty. Instead, policy makers’ opt to ignore the problem and do little to address the underlying issues. Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge pushes an agenda to expand and rely more heavily on online modes of learning, with the proposal to create a new, degree-granting, online

“Students were forced to sit on the stairs in my large science class because the class didn’t have enough room. Crowded

classes make it harder to learn and participate.”

– Carleton University Student

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 35

ONTARIO STUDENTS ARE LEARNING IN THE LARGEST CLASSESThe ratio of full-time faculty to full-time student

(Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, 2009)

ON QC MB AB BC NFLD NSNB PEI SK

#

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36 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

institution in Ontario. Students oppose the creation of such an online institution and are critical of the government’s approach to online learning.

The push for online expansion is motivated by the desire to save money in the sector without appreciating the impact on the quality of education for students. The creation of a degree-granting online institution or heavy expansion of online education will not address the fundamental issues around teaching quality and student engagement. Post-secondary institutions in Ontario already offer a host of online courses at all levels, many of which have been developed by instructors with in-depth knowledge of online platforms.

Students learn in a variety of ways and cannot necessarily be expected to engage with an online learning experience in the same way they can in a classroom. For example, a working professional taking one or two online courses toward their MBA will have different needs and another learning style than a first-year undergraduate student who just completed high school. It is also important that online learning not be seen as the remedy for barriers faced by marginalized students. For example, some may argue that online learning is more accessible for students with children, who face barriers to accessing classes because of

a lack of affordable childcare options on campus or the financial barriers of tuition fees. Online education should not be seen as a cost-cutting way to divert from the problem of large class sizes or accessibility issues such as the lack of affordable childcare, physical barriers, and regional disparities in course offerings. Instead, it should be seen as one tool that can complement diverse learning and teaching styles.

Policy makers also need to be careful not to assume that online education is cheaper. The

development, maintenance and delivery of quality online courses and content is expensive and can cost more than “traditional” classroom learning. Some institutions and communities in the province still don’t even have the basic infrastructure that

would support the expansion of online educational opportunities. In some cases, these technology-related costs have been passed directly to students. On many campuses, students face additional ancillary fees associated with the costs of online learning including fees to access online course material, wireless internet on campus and mandatory equipment costs. Creating a new degree-granting, online institution would not only be redundant considering the online capacity of existing institutions in the province, but it would be very costly.

“Online education takes away from the setting education

should be promoting. You don’t just learn from your professors,

you learn from your peers”

– University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Student

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 37

RECOMMENDATION• Ensure the Ontario Online Institute

remains an information portal for online courses in the province – not a new, degree-granting institution.

Student Engagement & Experiential LearningStudents have a myriad of learning styles and respond to different teaching approaches in their own ways. Whether they are sitting in the back of a lecture hall with 500 other people, participating in a seminar class with 15 classmates, working in a laboratory with a lab partner, enjoying a field trip or working hard in a co-op placement, students retain knowledge and develop skills at their own pace. In addition to spending time in the classroom, students should all have the opportunity to learn through hands-on and creative experiences.

Ontario’s high student-faculty ratio has diminished students’ ability to learn in smaller classes or groups or undertake a research project with a professor. The rapid rise in enrolment, along with the lack of commensurate funding directed to deferred maintenance or new building construction, has placed more pressure on students and their instructors to work with limited laboratory space and equipment. The increasing popularity of business and commercialization incubators can limited

the ability of those students who aren’t engaged in their own entrepreneurial pursuits from having meaningful, experiential learning opportunities.

With the current economic climate, many students are looking for work-related opportunities in their field of study as they pursue their diploma or degree. Some institutions have developed and expanded co-op programs, providing valuable hands-on learning opportunities for students. Unfortunately, many students must pay placement or other fees in order to access these experiential opportunities and

students in co-op programs often find themselves providing unpaid work for their employers when they normally rely on summer or seasonal work to pay for school. In many cases, students are paying their college or university in addition to receiving nothing

from their employer. Such practices are a deterrent for students to pursue co-op programs and allow students to be exploited as cheap labour for companies.

Students have also relied on Ontario Work Study Program (OWSP) opportunities to gain field-related experience within their own college or university. These experiences provide students the opportunity to be involved with the college or university community while developing their research, organizational and communication skills.

“The whole point of learning is to be in class, see your peers, and have

the experience of it.”

– Ontario College of Art and Design University

Student

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38 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

However, the 2012 Ontario Budget permanently slashed all provincial funding to the OWSP, leaving cash-strapped institutions to fund the programs as they choose.

In many cases, students are working in addition to attending school, sometimes in a job related to their field of study, but it can be difficult to translate this into credits that students can use towards their degree. Even more concerning is that some programs require placements or internships to be unpaid, creating situations where students who are employed stop getting paid for doing the same work in order to fulfill program requirements.

Students have always acknowledged the value of non-classroom learning opportunities to complement their experiences in the classroom. Unfortunately, Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge and the roundtable discussions around it have been primarily concerned with a narrow idea of experiential learning where student ideas can be easily commercialized, even suggesting that capital funding for learning space be incentivized based on what is produced and marketable from these spaces. Students see the need for different types of

learning spaces to build a diversity of skills, including problem solving, critical thinking skills and job specific skills, whatever the marketability of the work they do.

The unwillingness of policy makers to improve the student-faculty ratio and the

lack of capital funding directed to learning space makes it more difficult for students to gain non-classroom learning opportunities. The financial burden of co-op placements and cuts to OWSP continues to cause a shrinking pool of work-related learning opportunities for students. In

addition, the current government’s focus on online education and entrepreneurial learning will further alienate students who are looking for experiential learning opportunities but cannot find them.

RECOMMENDATION• Reinstate provincial funding for the

Ontario Work Study Program.• Prohibit the institutional practice of

charging placement fees for co-op or internship placements.

• Prohibit institutions from requiring unpaid placements in programs of study.

“Booking studios and equipment required for assignments is difficult.

It prevents us from experimenting and self-

directed learning.

– Ryerson University Student

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 41

ACCESSIBILITY

Creating Accessible Post-Secondary Education

Making post-secondary education accessible for all students encompasses financial barriers, but also unique barriers faced by students facing a diverse set of physical, social, cultural and regional realities. Any discussion about educational quality and improving the student experience should also include the ways in which classrooms, events and campus spaces are or are not inclusive to all students.

Students with DisabilitiesCollege and university campuses do not always have adequate physical accommodations for all students, especially if they were not designed and built in the last decade. Many buildings lack the basic elements like elevators, adequate hallway space, ramps, functioning automatic doors and clear signage that students depend on just to get around campus. The backlog in deferred maintenance in the province means that colleges and universities are less likely to make the structural changes needed to accommodate students who confront physical barriers on campus.

Students with invisible disabilities face similar barriers participating in classes and campus life and need adequate support from their institutions. The availability of support services for students with disabilities ranges across institutions across the province, while provincial funding for students with disabilities often comes in the form of targeted grants to some institutions. Some policy makers have suggested that technology, including delivering more content online, can more adequately address the challenges faced by students with disabilities. While the creative use of technology can help some students, caution needs to be taken when trying to rely on technology to address the multitude of barriers that students with disabilities face.

RECOMMENDATION• Address the shortfall in deferred maintenance and ensure that buildings are sustainable

and accessible for students.

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42 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

Students & Mental Health In recent years, policy makers and the media have begun to pay attention to student mental health issues in light of several tragic events where university students took their own lives. Apart from the stories that are covered in the news, there are a countless number of students on campuses across the province who suffer from stress and other mental health issues. Many of these students don’t have the support they need and are faced with difficult life circumstances. While some stakeholders in the sector have been advocating for more and better mental health support services for students – which are badly needed – they often overlook some of the systemic causes of stress and mental health issues that students face.

In addition to dealing with new environments, challenging school work and other personal circumstances, students have to contend with the high cost of their education. Many students from low- and middle-income families do not have the luxury of attending school while being able to easily afford their day-to-day expenses. After covering their school costs, students often have to make tough choices between paying rent, eating healthy meals or traveling back home to see family. More students than ever are working throughout the school year to pay for tuition fees and living expenses, holding full-time or several part-time or

seasonal jobs. Students with dependents have additional responsibilities and are more likely to study part-time. When students are faced with these pressures, they often suffer from stress, anxiety and other mental health issues that go unnoticed.

Financial pressure is only one of several causes of mental health issues that students face on campuses across the province. College and university campuses are diverse communities where students want to learn, but to also fit in and develop

lasting relationships with their peers. Yet, college and university campuses are not always inclusive spaces. Campus cultures can easily alienate people who don’t fit into particular societal norms and can be pervasively oppressive. Many students confront challenging social situations as

soon as they set foot on their campus for the first time.

For example, students who don’t drink alcohol or enjoy the large group mentality of frosh week may not feel like they are able to participate in campus life when they start school. In particular cases, the discomfort of having to witness sexist or homophobic chants or songs is enough to turn someone off from participating in campus activities. The numerous cases of racist costumes, hazing incidents, academic discrimination and hate graffiti all contribute to making campuses less inclusive for students. The

“Campuses become home away from home

for students and we rely on services that are easily accessible.”

– Carleton University Student

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 43

WORKING HARDER TO PAY FOR SCHOOLNumber of summer days required to work in order to pay off tuition fees for one year of full-time study *35 hours per week at minimum wage

(Statistics Canada, Ministry of Labour)

19828 weeks*

201220 weeks*

June 26

September 18

August 31

May 1

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44 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

escalating number of sexual assaults – including undocumented cases that occur in campus bars and residences – make college and university campuses less safe for women. While campuses can be great communities where students from diverse backgrounds can meaningfully socialize and learn, they can also be very oppressive spaces. As a result, students who may already face financial, academic and other personal challenges may suffer from mental health issues that are exacerbated by particular campus cultures and spaces.

French Language EducationMost of Ontario’s colleges and universities are English-only institutions with the exception of two francophone colleges (Collège Boréal, La Cité collégiale) and three bilingual universities (University of Ottawa/Université d’Ottawa, Laurentian University/Université Laurentienne and York University’s Glendon College/Collège Glendon). Considering Ontario’s sizable francophone population and French as one of the country’s official languages, French-language education is important for the development of Ontario communities. As such, students should be able to access a comprehensive range of French-language programs if they want to pursue them no matter which region of the province they come from.

Reports have shown that there is considerably less access to French-language

post-secondary options in Ontario, with people in the Central-Southwestern region faring worse than the rest of the province. Compared to English-language programs, Francophone students in the region have a three per cent access rate to French-language college and undergraduate programs.1 The shortage of French-language and bilingual programs and institutions has meant that many Francophone students end up pursuing degrees in English even if their first choice is to study in French. 2 Francophone students are often unable to find a French-language program that is close to home or that is offered in their desired field of study.

Francophone students commonly cannot access French-language programs, but those who manage to enroll in bilingual programs also face structural barriers to a French-language education. Despite attending bilingual institutions, many Francophone students end up not being able to complete their degrees entirely in French. Core courses are not always offered in both languages, while elective courses are less likely to be offered in French. Students have also cited being forced to use English course material for French-language courses. Some bilingual institutions have identified significant gaps between what they receive from the provincial government in bilingual

1 French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario. The State of French-Language Postsecondary Education in Central-Southwestern Ontario: No Access, No Future. Government of Ontario. 2012.

2 Ibid.

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 45

GROWING GAP IN ACCESS FOR NORTHERN COMMUNITIESPercentage of the population 15 years of age and over with a university degree

(Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada, 1986-2006)

20.5%

20061996

11.4%

14.9%

8.7%

NorthernOntario

NorthernOntarioOntario Ontario

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46 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

grants and the funding required to support French-language programs and services.3

Students should be able to pursue a diploma or degree in either English or French without limiting their career and life choices. The inadequate funding for the province’s bilingual institutions and the shortage of French-language program options is an issue of inequity. In addition to the financial and other structural barriers, Francophone students and families must deal with the additional challenge of obtaining a post-secondary education in the language of their choice.

RECOMMENDATION• Reinstate the funding for

the Fellowship for Study in French and expand provincial funding for French-language education.

Regional AccessibilityEveryone who lives in Ontario is entitled to the same opportunities to access a college or university education regardless of their region and proximity to a campus. This is particularly critical for students and communities in northern Ontario. For a variety of reasons, northern colleges and universities require additional supports

3 University of Ottawa Task Force Report: French at the University of Ottawa. University of Ottawa. 2007.

to provide high quality education. While public funding for colleges and universities continues to decline, northern institutions are further disadvantaged because they tend not to have large endowments, the same diversity in program mix or access to financial centres compared to other institutions in the province.

Students and families who reside in northern and rural regions of Ontario face barriers that are unique from those faced by students in large municipalities and in the southern region of the province. In general, communities in the North contend with higher prices for commodities, longer commuting distances,

lower vacancy rates, fewer employment opportunities and lower than average wages. People from northern communities are more likely to live in poverty and less likely to access a college or university education.

The government’s current process of requiring institutions to submit mandate agreements is particularly problematic for northern schools. The government’s explicit intention to encourage differentiation through the mandate agreements and project funding will put northern schools at a disadvantage and reduce access for northern communities. The move toward greater differentiation and specialization imposes a more rigid

“It is difficult to access French resources. The amount of resources

available in the library or on campus doesn’t match

the number of Francophone students.

– Laurentian University Student

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 47

structure that threatens the ability of the province to offer comprehensive educational choices in every community.

Institutions in northern Ontario have already been cutting programs or moving them to satellite campuses in other regions of the province. Differentiation through these mandate agreements will particularly discourage northern institutions from further developing graduate or professional programs. Having a full range of academic programs is vital to addressing the social and economic realities of northern communities. With further differentiation, students from these communities are forced to move far from home for their desired program – leaving them to choose between incurring large additional expenses or sacrificing their educational goals.

RECOMMENDATION• Provide enhanced funding to northern

institutions in order to provide and establish a comprehensive range of programs for northern communities.

Flexibility for StudentsStrengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge acknowledges issues around credit transfer, credential compatibility and student mobility. Unlike some other provinces, Ontario is still in the process of establishing a province-wide credit transfer system. For

a variety of reasons, many students who start a post-secondary diploma or degree at one institution may choose to finish it at another. A student may discover new academic or professional interests, find a specialized program that is more suitable for their area of study, or discover an opportunity to study under a particular faculty member. Other students may have family or personal circumstances that require them to move. In the changing economy, more students are going back to school or supplementing a diploma or degree with a second designation.

Students need the flexibility of transferring or entering into new programs without having to duplicate credits that they have already earned depending on the institution they choose, the program of study they select and their ability to negotiate with administrators to navigate the system. This

requires the timely establishment of a province-wide credit transfer system that can address the credential barriers that students face when navigating through the college and university system.

Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge also pushes the idea of three-year degrees – which already exist in Ontario – with the belief that this would improve international mobility for graduates. The paper and the roundtable sessions frequently used the European Bologna Process as a model for changing

“I worked full time all summer and can’t even

come close to paying tuition let alone rent

and everything else” – University of Toronto

Student

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48 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

degree structures in the province. The Bologna process has received widespread criticism for its attempt to streamline and ‘harmonize’ the education system in Europe, with no evidence that it has benefitted students themselves.

The interest in three-year degrees has come with many assumptions – that restructuring undergraduate programs will not impact graduate programs in the province or that there would be no negative impact on students wanting to pursue graduate programs outside of Ontario or in the United States. The three-year degree model based on the Bologna Process has shown that there could be reduced flexibility for students because of the streamed and specialized structure of that model.

It has also been suggested that students can simply study full-time throughout the year to complete their degrees faster, without an appreciation for the financial constraints that force students to work throughout the summer and during the school year. At this point, the government’s vision for implementing three-year degrees is still unclear. However, students are cautious about the rush to shorten degrees for the sake of fast-tracking through the system instead of making a post-secondary education more accessible.

RECOMMENDATION• Continue to establish the provincial

credit transfer system that will allow students to move within the college and university systems without duplicating credits.

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 49

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 51

ACCOUNTABILITY

Building Democratic & Accountable Colleges & Universities

Colleges and universities play an important role in our society and students believe that as public institutions, our colleges and universities need to be transparent, accountable and democratic. Students, staff and faculty should be heavily involved in making decisions at colleges and universities, recognizing their important and unique position in understanding the institution. Unfortunately, students, staff and faculty face a number of barriers in participating fully in college and university decisions. Even if there is student representation, students’ voices are often still marginalized at senates and boards of governors.

Students’ unions may have designated representatives on decision-making bodies such as boards of governors, academic councils and senates. In some cases, colleges and universities employ separate processes than the democratic elections of the students’ union to fill student representative positions on decision-making bodies. There may be little accountability about the selection process for these positions, inhibiting representation that is accountable to students.

In other cases, administrations have attempted to limit students’ union participation in decision-making processes where representation exists. For example, in the spring of 2012, the Board of Governors at Lakehead University amended their Conflict of Interest Bylaw yo prevent student representatives students from fully participating in university decisions, including discussing and voting on tuition fees. While the bylaw was suspended temporarily, the threat against student participation in the highest decision-making body at Lakehead University continues to be present.

Students’ unions, as well as faculty and staff, should have a greater share of the decision-making responsibility at our institutions, not less. Administrators, as well as board appointees who may have little or no direct connection to the day-to-day business of the institution, make the bulk of college and university decisions.

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52 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

These decisions can be out of touch with campus realities and the priorities of students, staff and faculty. For example, many universities have recently signed onto an agreement with Access Copyright that increases copyright fees from $3.25 to $26 per student. While several universities chose not to sign the agreement after hearing concerns from students, staff and faculty, others signed the agreement and immediately passed the cost onto students.

The agreement with Access Copyright has a number of concerning elements including expecting universities to closely monitor the personal use of materials by students and faculty and is out of step with recent court decisions on fair dealing, along with the increasing availablility of open access materials. At Carleton University, which opted out of the deal, university officials have found that 80 per cent of requested copyrighted works are already covered under licensing the university has through existing resources such as databases. Students recognize that there are many ways that the transfer of information has changed over the past decade, with more information being shared online and the rise of more open access journals, extensive online databases and e-publishing. However, the limited decision-making power of students has allowed many institutions to enter into costly and problematic agreements.

Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge suggests that we need to improve our post-secondary education system by making it “more relevant, more flexible, and more beneficial to Ontario students.” Doing this requires taking seriously students’ desire to have a greater role in making institutional decisions. Students should be given the space to meaningfully engage

at all levels of college and university decision-making including helping to develop diverse curriculum, setting priorities for campus space and making decisions about institutional budgeting.

Colleges and universities in Ontario are all governed by acts of the Ontario Legislature. These acts are what determine the composition and size of boards of governors. The government is in a position to be able to ensure boards are more represenative of the university community.

RECOMMENDATION• Mandate universities and colleges to

undertake governance changes that would increase student representation on decision-making bodies.

“Students who sit on committees don’t feel respected or heard.

Administrators and the government need to recognize that students know what they

are talking about.”

– University of Ottawa Student

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 53

ONTARIO FALLS BEHIND THE REST OF THE COUNTRYCross-country snapshot of student-friendly policies and rights

BC• Provincial health

coverage for international students

• Right to organize legislation

• Ombudsman oversight of universities

AB• Highest

per-student funding in

Canada

MB• Provincial

health care for international

students

NL

NS• Provincial

health care for international

students

PEI

QC• Right to

organize legislation

ON• Lowest per-student

funding and highest student-faculty ratio

• Highest tuition fees and highest student debt

• No student protection

•Interest-free loans• Provincial

health care for international

students

• Interest-free loans• Ombudsman

oversight of universities

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54 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

Right to Organize Legislation for Students’ UnionsStudents’ unions are on the frontlines of what’s happening on their campuses. When an unfair practice exists on campus, when students are unable to access the classes they need to complete their program or when a college or university is acting against institutional or government policy, students often turn to their union for support. Despite this very important role and perspective, students’ unions are not protected under the law because in Ontario no legislation protects the existence of students’ unions.

Sometimes the work of a students’ union may be at odds with the direction of college and university administers, leaving students’ unions vulnerable to intimidation and repression. Administrators at some schools have withheld or threatened to withhold students’ union membership fees, threatening the operations and existence of local students’ unions. As democratic and autonomous organizations lead by students who have been elected to undertake work on behalf of students, students’ unions must have legal protections to ensure the right of students to exercise free expression without fear of reprisal or administrative retaliation.

Students’ unions provide a variety of services for their members including health and dental coverage, discount programs, orientation and other community-building

events, equity centres, and other cost-saving and support services. They may also operate student-run businesses that provide social spaces and affordable services to students while also providing student employment. All of these services can face indiscriminate threat from administrations, despite being democratically established and maintained by and for students. In 2010, for example, several students’ union services at Carleton University including health and dental benefits, student jobs and services provided through the Women’s Centre, Disabilities Awareness Centre and others were threatened when the administration arbitrarily withheld membership fees from the Carleton University Students’ Association and Carleton University Graduate Students’ Association for most of the fall semester.

Without legal protection, many students’ unions are also unable to fulfill requirements under the Corporations Act because administrators refuse to provide full membership lists. This limits the ability of a students’ union to communicate with their members on important issues and information about their union, hindering the students’ union’s ability to be transparent and accountable to their members.

In 2011, MPPs Yasir Naqvi and Rosario Marchese co-sponsored a Private Member’s Bill, Bill 184: An Act Respecting Student Associations at Post-secondary Institutions in Ontario, that provided basic protections for

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 55

students’ unions while also ensuring that students’ unions remain accountable to their members. Legislation to protect students’ unions already exists in Québec and British Columbia.

RECOMMENDATION• Reintroduce legislation that would

provide legal protection for students’ unions.

Oversight by the Ontario OmbudsmanUniversity students’ ability to rely on accountability at their institutions is further undermined by the lack of oversight by the Ontario Ombudsman. The Ontario Ombudsman, an agency of the Ontario government, has the power to investigate complaints about fairness lodged against many public services and agencies, but does not have purview over the municipalities, universities, school boards and hospitals (MUSH) sector. If a student experiences unfairness in the Ontario college system or with the Ontario Student Assistance Program, that student can contact the Ontario Ombudsman and file a complaint. Unfortunately, university students do not have this same protection when it pertains to their institution.

Complaints filed by college students have led to important changes for students. In 2011-12, the Ontario Ombudsman received 50 complaints related to public universities that the office could not investigate.

These complaints covered a diverse set of issues, including fees and refunds, course requirements, marks, expulsions, decisions of internal academic appeals committees, unfair policies and the services of the university’s internal ombudsman office.1

During the last sessions of the Ontario Legislature, a Private Member’s Bill that would have ensured that the Ontario Ombudsman could investigate complaints in the MUSH sector was voted down. Students believe that this decision should be reconsidered and Ontario should follow the lead of British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador to expand the purview of the Ontario Ombudsman. This would provide a much needed boost in measures for students to have unfair practices at universities investigated independently.

RECOMMENDATION• Extend the purview of the Ontario

Ombudsman to include university oversight.

Capping University & College SalariesStudents are obviously concerned about the direction of their institutions, including how resources are managed and allocated. Ontario now spends less in real dollars per student than 20 years ago. In addition to

1 André Marin. 2011-2012 Annual Report. Ombdusman Ontario. 2012.

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increased funding, there is a need to ensure colleges and universities are spending public money in an accountable way.

The government recently announced it would be capping management salaries in a variety of sectors, including at colleges and universities. Capping salaries at colleges and universities is one way to both redirect funds within the system, and ensure a balance between reasonable compensation and other expenses. Students would like to see this the current cap of $418,000 for new hires reduced to a lower cap that applies across the board to both new hires and existing staff.

RECOMMENDATION• Cap university sector salaries at

$250,000 and college sector salaries at $200,000.

Accountable Research on Post-Secondary EducationThe Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) is a provincially funded, arms-length body that undertakes and publishes research on Ontario’s higher education system. Unfortunately, HEQCO has consistently forwarded a research and policy agenda that is out of step with other research in the sector, ignoring student and faculty concerns. Students, faculty and staff have consistently condemned HEQCO for flawed and misleading policy initiatives and remain concerned that $5 million supposedly earmarked for research annually

are going to this agency.

HEQCO has been unable or unwilling to investigate several important issues facing the post-secondary education system in Ontario, including the impacts of high tuition fees, long completion and retention rates for graduate students, the proliferation of contract or sessional faculty and the impact of private research funding on academic freedom. Instead, HEQCO has used public money to purchase ads in commuter newspapers across Ontario to promote a biased and highly questionable myth/fact competition that contradicts research that is conducted by many other organizations and individuals in the higher education sector.

In addition, HEQCO has come under fire recently because of allegations of research misconduct. In April 2012, allegations arose from researchers who had worked on a project that was contracted by HEQCO to Queen’s University that the conclusions of their report had been significantly altered without their knowledge or consent. The changes ensured that the report aligned with HEQCO’s already established agenda. This instance of alleged research misconduct raises questions about whether public money should be directed to an agency that serves as a mouth piece for certain government-supported policy agendas.

RECOMMENDATION• Eliminate the Higher Education

Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) and redirect funding toward graduate research.

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Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario 59

CONCLUSIONFighting for Our Vision

This year has been a historic one for student movements. Students in Ontario watched and were inspired by their peers in Québec who were able to stop tuition fee increases through mass mobilization. Students in Québec organized the longest, largest student strike in Canadian history, but they also built alliances with community members to present a vision for Québec. That vision is one where public services are supported, where education is a right for all and not a privilege for a few and where students and communities are engaged democratically in the decisions that impact them. This vision is one that is shared by Ontario students and our allies.

The government has so far presented a vision where we need to justify the value of colleges and universities because there is a shrinking pool of resources for our public resources. On several occasions, attempts have been made by the government to suggest that calls from students for an affordable and accessible system are at odds with a high quality system. Additionally, the interests of students are falsely suggested to be at odds with the interests of faculty, support staff and other stakeholders on our campuses.

The vision that students have is a much more holistic approach that recognizes the need to address affordability, access, quality and accountability at our institutions. Over September, students across the province spoke out about the issues they were facing on their campuses. The vision in this document has been crafted by students and shows that students have a transformative vision for colleges and universities – perhaps just not what the government had in mind.

The government’s approach to transformative change in the sector has not tried to engage students about what they see and understand as the problems on our campuses. Instead, they have presented an agenda based on several problematic assumptions about what our colleges and universities need. Meaningful consultations require that stakeholders are engaged and are not available to simply provide feedback on what seems like a forgone conclusion. Rather, they should be indentifying the problems in the system and should be genuinely heard when suggesting solutions.

“University has become a job factory,

I want more than that” – McMaster

University

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60 Students’ Vision: The Future of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System

FULLY-FUNDED EDUCATION IS POSSIBLECountries with nominal or no fees for post-secondary education

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