Analyses of the 49th annual administration of the CIRP Freshman Survey find substantive variation across levels of institutional selectivity and control in students’ intentions to transfer. Students also increasingly place greater importance on early admissions programs in the college search process, perhaps signaling a new strategy for those attempting to enroll in the most selective institutions. As the Obama administration finalizes its plans to measure performance outcomes for colleges and universities, more freshmen appear to be aspiring to graduate degrees.
When the Royal Bank of Canada was recently caught up in a maelstrom of bad publicity over its use of temporary foreign workers, it led politicians and pundits to scrutinize and question the growing use by Canadian firms of imported, short-term labour. The Royal Bank was accused of misusing a system designed to help employers who could not find Canadian
workers by using it, instead, to find cheaper foreign labourers to replace higher-cost Canadians. But the incident raises a bigger question than simply how one bank makes use of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP): Whether the program is, in fact, interfering with the natural supply and demand responses of the labour market. And if we want
to make better use of available Canadian labour, the time has come for the federal government to start cutting back on the use of TFWP.
The number of admissions under the TFWP has nearly tripled in 25 years, from 65,000 to 182,000 in 2010. The primary justification for the expansion of the program has been the widespread assumption that Canada is suffering from a growing shortage of labour. Yet, it is hard to find any evidence to support this belief.
In our 2006 report, Canadian Post-secondary Education: A Positive Record – An Uncertain Future, CCL soberly articulated the various reasons for which uncertainty clouds the future contributions that the post-secondary education sector may make to Canada’s economic and social goals. Despite the myriad strengths that PSE educators and institutions have demonstrated
over many years, the absence of clear pan-Canadian goals, measures of achievement of goals and cohesion among the various facets of PSE led us to express deep reservations.
The mission of the Canadian Council on Learning is, in part, to describe our learning realities. If we have a remit to identify issues, equally we have a responsibility to report potential strategies for success. In last year’s account, we found that what we do not know can hurt us; that we must develop pan-Canadian information about PSE that can provide
decision-makers the best tools available to determine policies. We also found that almost all other developed countries have built not only the national information systems required to optimize policy, but have also—in both unitary and federal states—provided themselves with some of the necessary national tools and mechanisms to adjust, to act and to
succeed. Canada has not.
ALGONQUIN COLLEGE KEY AREAS OF DIFFERENTIATION
Algonquin College delivers a comprehensive range of applied education and training experiences to
serve the diverse learner choices and the breadth of employer labour demands across Eastern Ontario
and the province.
Algonquin College works with industry partners to:
• Develop labour-market informed programs and services;
• Provide opportunities for work-integrated learning, and experience inside and outside the
classroom; and
• Engage in applied research and commercialization activities that support student success,
employee growth, and social and economic development in the region and beyond.
Algonquin College employees are engaged in the strategic direction of the College to:
• Lead the transformation of Ontario’s postsecondary system;
• Deliver high-quality teaching methods and modalities that leverage technology to enhance the
educational experience; and
• Improve student learning outcomes for career and life success.
Algonquin College broadens learner access to applied postsecondary education and training in
Ontario, demonstrating leadership through:
• Alternative learning modalities and options to suit multiple learning styles and learner
preferences;
• New, targeted approaches to programs and services that improve pathways for learners of diverse
demographic characteristics; and
• Smart investments in technology that enhance the Algonquin learner experience.
Teach on Purpose! Responsive Teaching for Student Success, written by Leslie David Burns and Stergios G. Botzakis, is an impassioned argument for the importance of using responsive teaching within today's and tomorrow’s K–12 schools. The authors and their guest teacher-authors provide a straightforward rationale that explains why teaching purposefully and responsively is not just an option, but fundamental to teaching well. They collectively do this in a way that is relevant, practical, timely, and sometimes even humorous.
Effective Practices to Enhance the Educational Quality of Structured Work Experiences Offered through Colleges and Universities
Why competency-based education?
Although competency-based education (CBEd) may seem relatively new to postsecondary education, the concept has been widely discussed throughout American education since the 1990s (Jones & Voorhees, 2002; Mulder, Gulikers, Biemans, & Wesselink, 2009). In fact, colleges including Western Governors University, Sinclair Community College, and Kings College were pioneering CBEd initiatives over a decade ago (2002). Several factors have focused current attention on CBEd in higher education in recent years, including the demand for expanded access to education, the need to reduce the cost of postsecondary education, and a shift from traditional models for learning. Online learning technology, for example, which supports the notion of learning anytime, anyplace, anywhere, also requires higher education to adjust and rethink the traditional educational system.
Probing the question of the effectiveness and applicability of outcomes-based funding policy for higher education in Ontario requires an approach that (1) reviews current research and policy literatures on this topic and (2) differentiates and contextualizes the knowledge available. In order to evaluate successful and unsuccessful policy features and institutional practices, it is important to take stock of current policies across varied provincial, state, regional and national contexts, as well as over time. The topic of outcomes-based funding has received considerable and continuing attention in the research and policy literatures, and syntheses of these are currently available (e.g., Dougherty & Reddy, 2011, 2013; Frøhlich, Schmidt & Rosa, 2010; National Conference of State Legislatures, 2013). However, a comprehensive policy-relevant perspective can only be a product of extended study that considers policy contexts internationally and provides an actionable, differentiated view on the research and policy in this area. T
Interest in leadership increased during the early part of the twentieth century. Early leadership theories focused on what qualities distinguished between leaders and followers, while subsequent theories looked at other variables such as situational factors and skill level. While many different leadership theories have emerged, most can be classified as one of eight major types:.
Abstract
Articulation agreements between colleges and universities, whereby students with two-year college diplomas can receive advancement toward a four-year university degree, are provincially mandated in some Canadian provinces and
highly encouraged in others. In this study, we compared learning in collegetransfer and direct-entry from high school (DEHS) students at the University of Guelph–Humber in Ontario, using eight factors related to learning: age, gender, years of prior postsecondary experience, learning approach, academic performance, use of available learning resources, subjective course experience, and career goals. Our results show that while college-transfer students tend to be older than DEHS students, they do not significantly differ in either learning approach or academic performance. This is an important finding, suggesting that college-transfer programs are a viable option for non-traditional university students. We conclude that the academic success of college transferstudents is attainable with careful consideration of policies, such as admissions criteria, and the drafting of formal articulation agreements betweeninstitutions.
Résumé
Les ententes d’articulation entre les collèges et les universités (qui permettent aux étudiants de programmes d’études collégiales de deux ans d’être admis dans un programme universitaire de quatre ans) sont prescrites dans certaines
provinces canadiennes et fortement encouragées dans d’autres. Chez des étudiants de l’Université de Guelph-Humber en Ontario, la présente étude a comparé huit facteurs liés à l’apprentissage, entre les études universitaires après un séjour au collège et les études universitaires directement après les études secondaires (DEHS), soit l’âge, le sexe, les années d’expérience postsecondaire, la méthode d’apprentissage, le rendement scolaire, l’utilisation de ressources d’apprentissage disponibles, l’expérience subjective en matière de cours et les objectifs de carrière. Nos résultats démontrent que, tandis que
les étudiants qui passent par le collège ont tendance à être plus âgés que les étudiants DEHS, leurs méthodes d’apprentissage et leurs résultats scolaires restent sensiblement les mêmes. Cette constatation est importante et suggère que les programmes avec transfert collégial sont une solution acceptable pour les étudiants non traditionnels. Nous concluons que la réussite scolaire des étudiants qui transitent au collégial est réalisable si on étudie attentivement les politiques, comme les critères d’admission et la rédaction d’ententes d’articulation formelles entre les institutions.
Canada's post-secondary institutions are at the forefront of excellence in science, research and innovation. They help to
train the workforce of tomorrow and create the knowledge and insights needed by the private and public sectors to build a
clean, sustainable economy.
The Minister of Science, the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, today announced that the Government of Canada will launch the
application process for a $2-billion fund that will improve research and innovation infrastructure at universities and
colleges across the country.
Public colleges are the only academic institutions in Canada that deliver a robust range of career-focused programs and training to all segments of the population.
The colleges’ labour-market programs, such as Second Career, employment counselling, academic upgrading and apprenticeship training serve more than 160,000 students each year.
Ontario’s public college programs are affordable and reach students in all socioeconomic groups – from people who need upgrading in order to qualify for full-time college programs, to university graduates seeking marketable skills.
Graduates of Ontario’s 24 public colleges earn credentials that have met the province’s rigorous standards for post-secondary education and are valued by employers.
College graduates continue to be in high demand.
Community college systems were established across North America from the early 1960s through the early 1970s. The new systems had two principal models: in one model, the college combined lower-division, university-level general
education with technical education programs; in the other, most or all of the colleges were intended to concentrate on technical education. Ontario was the largest of the provinces and states in North America that opted for the second model. Many of the issues that planners confronted when designing these college systems have either persisted or re-emerged in recent years. This
article re-examines the debate on the design of Ontario’s colleges that took place when they were founded and considers its implications for the present.
Canadians invest considerable energy, resources, and personal and societal aspiration postsecondary education. It is good public policy to assess how we are doing and outcomes we are achieving with that investment. One of HEQCO’s core mandates evaluate the postsecondary sector and to report the results of that assessment. To this end, in this report, we have assembled data that assess the performance of Canada’s 10 provincial public postsecondary education systems.
Vision
Seneca is building a different kind of school with a different kind of graduate. We are driven by our values of excellence, innovation, community, and diversity. Seneca will be the preferred partner for colleges and universities, offering students the most innovative pathways in Ontario in a number of distinct academic clusters. With an enviable reputation for academic excellence, Seneca will continue to offer career- relevant programming at the certificate, diploma, baccalaureate, and graduate certificate levels. The College will consistently renew and refresh its programs, driven by a focus on student mobility and market demand.
Every program at Seneca will embed cross-disciplinary and experiential learning, and provide flexible learning options that enable students to learn during the day, in the evening, on weekends, in person, and online. More students and faculty will be supported in international study, work, and volunteer opportunities designed to enrich their own Seneca experiences. Students
will benefit from a comprehensive set of integrated advising services, from pre-application through to graduation, that will help them match their educational and career pathways with their interests and skills.
A different kind of school will produce a Seneca graduate with distinctive qualities: highly attractive to employers; ethical, engaged and confident; and adaptable and capable of addressing the challenges of the future in a global context. Our focus on the Seneca Core Literacies will ensure that graduates from every program have the broad range of skills that are key to success:
communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration – the skills required to navigate change at work and in society.
St. Clair College is determined to establish itself as a "Destination College". By offering more degree programs, extending its scope of articulation agreements with universities and colleges within the province, nationally and internationally, and by establishing entrepreneurship, research, and innovation partnerships, the College will broaden the ability of our students to
acquire knowledge and leading-edge skills that will allow them to be an important resource in a globally competitive marketplace, with unique program offerings, state-of-the-art facilities, and an operating philosophy founded on accessibility, quality teaching, learning method options, and sustainability.
When professors advise early-career academics on grant writing, we often focus on the common mistakes and pitfalls. But up-and-coming researchers don’t just need advice on what not to do.
They need to know what goes into a successful grant proposal, too. I have some suggestions on that front — that I have gleaned from teaching grant writing for 20 years, and being continually funded by the National Institutes of Health as a principal investigator. Here, then, are my top 10 tips on how to draft a grant proposal that has the best odds of getting funded.
The Student Mental Health Strategy is a framework to provide direction for the Division of Student Affairs and the broader university community to comprehensively and proactively review resources and opportunities for mental health promotion,
planning, and responsiveness in support of our student community. It is intended as a framework for the development and implementation of action plans to support positive student mental health and well-being in order to enhance all students’
potential for success.
The French-language college of the 21st century – Committed to success, access, productivity and innovation, La Cité’s mandate is to:
• Help each student achieve success by offering a customized learning approach and applied training focused on developing creativity and engagement.
• Support the social, cultural and economic development of the Ontario community through its presence and activities.
Welcome to the workshop. Our goal is to provide an update of the ideas from some of the key work that we are engaged in in partnership with schools and school systems around the world. We base our work on three fundamental assumptions:
1. The Moral Imperative Realized (raise the bar and close the gap for all students on deep learning goals);
2. Whole System Involvement (100% of schools and jurisdictions are engaged);
3. Precision and Practicality (clear strategies that become jointly owned).