Canada’s Self-Imposed Crisis in Post-Secondary Education
On June 7, I gave a keynote address to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees Education Sector Conference. My PowerPoint presentation (with full references) can be found at this link.…
post-secondary education
Seven reasons why you should support the Quebec students’ call for low tuition fees
Despite the remarkably poor media coverage of the early days of the protests (especially in English Canada), it seems that the Quebec student protestors have finally succeeded in sparking a…
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Linda McQuaig is hopeful that Quebec’s student protests against tuition hikes might remind many Canadians that we can do more than just…
“Differentiation:” The à-la-carte Way to Hire More Course Instructors
I’ve written before about attempts in Canada to create more separation between university teaching, on the one hand, and university research, on the other. In 2009, I wrote this opinion…
A Merger That’ll Never Happen
The left in the province of Alberta will never merge. There are four core reasons for this to be the case. Firstly, the NDP is directly tied, through its organization,…
Quebec Tuition: Between a Rock and Hard Place?
In the context of student protests over Quebec tuition fees, my friend Luan Ngo has just written a very informative blog post on Quebec’s fiscal situation. While I encourage readers…
The Quebec Student Protests: ‘Going International’
A recent article by Stefani Forster, of the Canadian Press, suggests that the Quebec student protests may be starting a larger social movement outside of Quebec. According to the article:…
Quebec Students: “Faire Leur Juste Part”
Simon Tremblay-Pepin, an emerging social policy scholar, has recently blogged here (in French) about Quebec tuition fees. He points out that, when one adjusts for inflation, Quebec tuition fees are…
Discussing Quebec Student Protests on Talk Radio
Last Friday, I blogged here about the Quebec student protests. Subsequently, I was invited to appear on 580 CFRA News Talk Radio, with hosts Rob Snow and Lowell Green. I…
Rex Murphy’s Naive Take on the Quebec Student Protests
On CBC’s The National last night, Rex Murphy weighed in on Quebec’s student protests; the transcript can be found here, and the three-minute video here. He calls the protests “short…
When a University Recruits Abroad, Who’s in Charge?
A few years ago, I wrote an opinion piece on “pathway colleges”—i.e. private companies that recruit students from other countries and then ‘bridge’ them into Canadian universities by providing pre-university…
Why do the Progressive Conservatives exist?
If you wanted a honest conservative choice it’s obviously the Wildrose you should vote for. They’re forthright in their view on conscience rights, creating competition in the health care industry…
Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – The revelations just keep on coming in Robocon, to the point where the news of an offensively-named burner cellphone account used to leave…
The Affordability of Post-Secondary Education
Carleton University’s Ted Jackson teaches a graduate seminar course on post-secondary education in Carleton’s School of Public Policy and Administration. Earlier this month, I was invited to give a guest…
The Universal Student Transit Pass
I have an opinion piece out on the City of Ottawa’s universal, student transit pass–also known as “the U-Pass.” Points raised in the op-ed include the following: -U-Pass programs exist…
Tips on Recruiting International Students
It’s no secret that a major priority of Canadian universities is to recruit substantial numbers of international students, who in turn pay very high tuition fees once they arrive in…
Impact of Increased Health Privatization on PSE
An article in yesterday’s Village Voice looks at the rising costs of post-secondary education (PSE) in the United States. It points to research suggesting that the “biggest single factor” contributing…
Parliament In Review: October 31, 2011
Monday, October 31 saw a study in contrasts as two matters were debated in the House of Commons: a private member’s bill which understandably saw broad agreement, and an opposition…
Parliament In Review: October 25, 2011
Tuesday, October 25 saw another day of discussion about the Canadian Wheat Board. But this time, the topic of debate was set on the opposition's terms, as the proceedings focused…
Federal Post-Secondary Education Act
Last month, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) released a document entitled Public Education for the Public Good: A National Vision for Canada’s Post-Secondary Education System. I found the document…