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.
This report evaluates the impact of the University of Windsor Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Mentorship Program (FASSMP) on students, mentors and instructors. The FASSMP was established in 2005 in order to address issues of enrolment and retention by enhancing the first-year experience. The program addressed this challenge by integrating peer mentors into first-year foundation courses as a way to help students transition to university.
The 2015 report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) provided the country with a roadmap for establishing a new, mutually respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Despite the history of Canada's residential school system, the report highlighted the important role of education in the reconciliation process and called upon government and educators to reduce longstanding gaps in education and employment outcomes.
Overall, people with a college education do better in the labor market than people with no education beyond high school. Higher levels of education correspond, on average, to higher levels of employment and higher wages. Yet, as college prices rise and as examples of graduates struggling to find remunerative employment despite their credentials become more visible, both potential students and the general public are questioning the value of a college education.
The data, however, remain clear: even at current prices, postsecondary education pays off for most people. Promising occupational and personal opportunities are disproportionately available to college graduates. It is increasingly difficult to maintain a middle class lifestyle without a postsecondary credential, and the economic, social, and civic benefits of a more educated population are well documented.
While the benefits of strong literacy skills are well established, there is growing concern that Canadians’ literacy skills, including those of students attending postsecondary institutions in Ontario, are not meeting expectations. The timing is especially problematic given that strong literacy skills are critical to students as they graduate into a highly competitive and increasingly globalized labour market.
A review of literacy data from Statistics Canada and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including results from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), point to some troubling trends in literacy achievement and a lack of consistency in expectations for high school students who go on to postsecondary education.
To provide a detailed account of the nature and scope of recommendations for promoting faculty grant proposal success in academic medical settings.
We use data for a large sample of Ontario students who are observed over five years from their initial entry into high school to study differences in postsecondary education participation. The students are grouped by average neighbourhood income and birthplace (Canadian or foreign‐born). We find substantial differences in the allocation of students based on their performance in Grade 9 courses and the types of PSE participation within achievement groupings.
We document differences in PSE participation based on the students’ birthplace. Foreign‐born students, conditioning on performance in high school, are more likely to continue onto university and college. Foreignborn students in higher income neighbourhoods are more likely to pursue a university degree than a college credential. Uniformly, Canadian‐born students are less likely to pursue a PSE credential upon the completion of high school.
Two of five Canadians would have difficulty reading this sentence, following the instructions on a prescription bottle, finding out information about how to vote, or filling out a permission form for their child’s upcoming school trip. Although for nine of the past 14 years, Canada has ranked first on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), a measure of a country’s relative wellbeing, complacency would be a serious mistake. Low levels of literacy – especially among adults and vulnerable groups – remain a significant challenge to Canada’s continued well- being. As our performance on the HDI and other international rankings
confirms, we have a solid foundation on which to build; but we must not underestimate the significance of literacy problems in this country. The groups most vulnerable to low literacy are the poor; persons of Aboriginal ancestry; persons whose native language is neither English nor French; persons in rural and isolated communities; and persons with certain disabling conditions. Given the rise in skill levels demanded throughout the labour market, the ubiquity of new technologies in daily and work life, and the desire of people to engage with pub- lic issues, those with poor literacy will become even further
marginalized.
Executive Summary
While there has been great interest and progress in terms of defining core learning outcomes related to the completion of various postsecondary programs, there has been far less progress in terms of elucidating powerful ways to assess these outcomes. Without clear assessment methods it is difficult to see how one could perform course or program redesign with these learning objectives in mind.
To date, attempts to address this “assessment of learning outcomes” gap have focused mostly on the use of qualitative tools that are given to students as they leave some institution or program, tools like the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) questionnaire or the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) index. But these tools rely on subjective report, are often difficult to administer repeatedly at scale, and typically only provide an “after education” snapshot of learning. This report highlights and validates a different assignment- based approach that has much greater potential to provide quantitative data with much higher resolution.
The reasons why students need to be involved and engaged when they attend college are well established. Engagement can be the difference between completing a degree and dropping out. Research has sought to identify what makes student involvement more likely. Factors like student-faculty interaction, active and collaborative learning experiences, involvement in extracurricular
activities, and living on campus have all been shown to make a difference. Not surprisingly, faculty play a critical role in student engagement … from the obvious: facilitating discussions in the classroom; to the often overlooked: maximizing those brief encounters we have with students outside of class. This special report features 15 articles that provide perspectives and advice for keeping students actively engaged in learning activities while fostering more meaningful interactions between students and faculty members, and among the students themselves. For example, in “Student Engagement: Trade-offs and Payoffs” author E Shelley Reid, associate professor at George Mason University, talks about how to craft engagement-focused questions
rather than knowledge questions, and explains her willingness to take chances in ceding some
control over students’ learning.
In “The Truly Participatory Seminar” authors Sarah M. Leupen and Edward H. Burtt, Jr., of Ohio Wesleyan University, outline their solution for ensuring all students in their upperdivision seminar course participate in discussion at some level. In “Reminders for Improving Classroom Discussion” Roben Torosyan, associate director of the Center for Academic Excellence at Fairfield University, offers very specific advice on balancing student voices, reframing discussions, and probing below the surface of group discussions.
And finally, in “Living for the Light Bulb” authors Aaron J. Nurick and David H. Carhart of Bentley College provide tips on setting the stage for that delightful time in class “when the student’s entire body says ‘Aha! Now I see it!’” Who wouldn’t like to see more light bulbs going on more often? One of the most challenging tasks instructors face is keeping students engaged. Building
Student Engagement: 15 Strategies for the College Classroom will help you meet that challenge while ensuring your classroom is a positive and productive learning environment.
Maryellen Weimer
Editor
The Teaching Professor
This draft framework has been approved by the Committee of Presidents of the 24 publicly-funded colleges. In approving this template, the presidents recognize that individual colleges may need to make changes to reflect local circumstances during the development of their stand-alone sexual violence and sexual assault policy and protocol. In doing so, the colleges have committed to retaining as much consistency with the template as possible to reflect a similar style, tone, and format that will help students and others easily access information they need no matter which college they approach.
It has been well documented that the nation’s public colleges, universities, community colleges, and career training centers significantly boost the economic mobility of students who pursue and complete degrees and credentials after high school. The skills students acquire at these higher-education institutions lead to jobs that pay a wage premium in a modern economy. However, for many students, families, and society as a whole, decreasing state investments and increasing student-loan debt is threatening the value of a public postsecondary education—that is to say, the idea that a degree or credential beyond high school will deliver on the promise of a higher standard of living. To make sure that higher education attainment leads to improved outcomes for graduates, it is crucial that national policy choices ensure that public colleges remain affordable for
low- and moderate-income Americans and student-loan debt does not overly burdened graduates as they prepare for the workforce.
As they begin taking classes, most incoming adult learners express a strong desire to complete a degree, but many also harbor concerns and attitudes that reduce their motivation and put them at risk for attrition. This report explores a wide range of these noncognitive, motivational attributes that influence completion. The study is based on a national sample of 5,000 first-year adult learners who filled out a 74-item, college completion risk survey in 2014 or 2015 at 50 colleges and universities across the United States.
Academic institutions face countless pressures within a context of ongoing globalization,
societal change, and increased accountability measures. The use of organizational culture assessment can assist organizations to understand their current culture and, consequently, to inform strategies for change management.
This study examined the perceptions held by administrators at four Ontario colleges with above average Student Satisfaction (KPI) about their institution’s current and preferred organizational culture and their own management competencies. A descriptive research method was employed using a modified version of Cameron and Quinn’s (2006) Organizational Culture
Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and Management Skills Assessment Instrument (MSAI).
International Ph.D. students at U. of Western Ontario say their program can't be completed in four years, and that without fifth year of funding they risk having to leave empty-handed.
To be the most personally connected learning organization in Canada – a catalyst for individual, organizational, and community transformation. Through partnerships, we will connect people from all walks of life to extraordinary learning experiences that will inspire innovation and prepare them for life and career success. With a reputation for excellence, Georgian graduates
will be in demand by employers and will contribute to the economic vitality, sustainability, and quality of life in their communities. Our learners and employers will feel a lifelong connection to Georgian because of the positive difference we have made in their lives.
“One of the paradoxes of this time, however, is this: while the global economy lags, innovation continues to surge ahead at a staggering and unprecedented pace.”
2011 Ontario throne speech
“We [in Ontario] have a wide prosperity gap with other large North American jurisdictions. The source of this gap is our inability to be as innovative as we could be in our economic life.
“Our business leaders … must relentlessly pursue improved products, services, and processes.”
Roger Martin, Tenth Annual Report, Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic
Progress, November 2011
Because innovation is an inherently social process – requiring people to make connections, develop ideas, and orchestrate implementation – colleges have built relationships to help their clients increase their scope of innovative practices. Each college is directly involved with many local economic development and innovation networks.
“Centennial’s professors and students have provided a pool of talent that has proven invaluable to the development and validation of our cleantech solutions.”
John Tuerk, Blue Heron Systems
“The [Fanshawe College] students exceeded our expectations and not just from the content point of view, but in their professionalism ... the recommendation to track venture capital was a novel idea the company had not considered. 3M later
adopted a similar approach as a global business strategy.” 3M Canada
Because innovation is an inherently social process – requiring people to make connections, develop ideas, and orchestrate implementation – colleges have built relationships to help their clients increase their scope of innovative practices. Each college is directly involved with many local economic development and innovation networks.
ABSTRACT
This study examines the transformation of Manitoba’s post-secondary education system between 1967 and 2009 using legislative change to gauge structural change. The paper establishes the beginning of the contemporary post-secondary system with the 1967 decision of the Manitoba government to abandon the “one university” system model, a move akin to a “big bang,” redefining system norms and expectations, and setting direction which continues to be relevant today. The study revealed extensive structural change in Manitoba’s post-secondary system after 1997, the nature of which reflected the trends associated with globalization,but also reflecting the important influence that local forces have had in shaping the province’s post-secondary system.
RÉSUMÉ
Cette étude examine la transformation du système d’éducation post-secondaire manitobain entre 1967 et 2009, qui s’est faite par le biais de changements législatifs afin d’évaluer le changement structurel. Selon l’article, le système post-secondaire contemporain débute avec une décision prise en 1967 par le gouvernement du Manitoba, qui visait à abandonner le modèle systémique d’« une seule université »›. Semblable à un « big bang », cette décision redéfinissait les normes et les attentes du système d’éducation, en lui donnant une direction qui est encore pertinente à ce jour. L’étude a révélé la présence d’un changement structurel important dans le système d’éducation post-secondaire au Manitoba après 1997, dont la nature reflète non seulement les tendances associées à la mondialisation, mais aussi l’influence significative qu’ont eues les forces locales dans l’élaboration du système d’étude post-secondaire de cette province.
Dan Smith
Manitoba’s Council on Post-Secondary Education
Over the past decade, the Government of Ontario has increased investment in postsecondary education significantly, including
increasing operating grants by 80 per cent since 2002–03.
These investments helped to improve access to postsecondary education, supported significant enrolment growth at universities and colleges, and drove community and economic development.
The tremendous expansion of Ontario’s postsecondary education system was made possible thanks to the commitment of our
postsecondary education institutions to access, and their willingness to respond to the demand.
The 2008 economic downturn and the ensuing precarious state of the global economy have made Ontario’s fiscal environment
challenging. Substantial new investment by the government at levels comparable to the previous decade is not feasible. Also,
as enrolment growth is expected to slow in the near future so too will operating grant funding. With institutions’ costs outpacing
growth in revenues from operating grants and tuition, existing cost structures are under pressure. Measures that help to mitigate these pressures are needed in order to ensure the continued sustainability of our postsecondary education system.