inter-institutional diversity in the ontario college system (2002-2012): a comparison of three...
TRANSCRIPT
Inter-Institutional Diversity in the Ontario College System (2002-2012): A Comparison of Three Colleges
Kevin Ramdas
Ph.D. Candidate, Higher Education
Changes in Legislation
Post-Secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act (2000)- Degree granting
Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act (2002)- Shift in accountability structure- Addition of research into mandate- Created ‘Institutes of Technology and Advanced
Learning’ (ITALs)
The Ontario College System
• 23 Colleges, spread over geographic region
• Responsive to local community needs• Range of programs/credentials:
apprenticeship, 2- and 3- year diplomas, grad certificates, degrees, continuing ed, new immigrant
• All colleges are different, but the same
Drivers of Change
• Resource Management
• Students (Enrolment Growth and Demographics)
• Government
The Effect of College Size and Growth• Larger colleges have more leeway to
absorb start-up costs for new initiative
• Greater enrolment growth allows a college to hire more personnel
Two main changes
• Degree offering
• Research activity
Findings: Degrees
College Response to Degree-Granting Capability
General Findings: Degrees
Why do colleges want to offer more degrees?1) Serving student population, pathways for students
2) Key to enrolment growth
3) Need to cluster programs to make financially viable (The mid-size colleges will need to surpass the 5% cap to make degree offering a financially sustainable activity)
General Findings: Degrees
PEQAB Faculty requirement• All faculty teaching in degree programs must have one
credential higher than the program offered• 50% of faculty teaching core and breadth courses must
have terminal credential
Effect• In all potential degree areas, Ph.D. applicants are
preferred faculty hires• requirements will lead to slower, but sustained
differentiation
General Findings: Research Activity• All colleges lacked experience and a research track
record• Research capacity takes long to develop
– Internal mechanisms: policies, procedures, release time, support for grant writing, internal-funding,
– External funding needed to create programs to focused on colleges
• Colleges established the CONII research network to develop a track record and promote research at all colleges
Comparison of Colleges
College Enrollment Annual Budget
# of campuses
Large >15000 $300M 10
Medium 5000<15000 $120M 2
Small <5000 $60M 1
Program Distribution comparisonCollege Ontario
certificatesAPP diploma Advanced
diplomaGraduate certificates
Degrees
Large 19 0 59 29 27 10
Medium 12 13 66 14 13 2
Small 48 9 35 12 11 0
Research Activity Comparison
College Year Research Office Established
CONII
FedDev
CFI NSERC Other Total Grants since 2002
Large 2004 Yes Yes Yes No Yes $1.5M
Medium 2010 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes $6.5M
Small 2007 Yes Yes No Yes Yes $2.5M
Other Activities
College
Large Large-scale university partnershipsInternational campusInternational PartnershipsLocal partnerships
Medium Small-scale university partnershipLocal partnerships
Small International campusSmall-scale university partnershipLocal partnerships
Summary
• The differentiation process has only been happening for 10 years
• There is a divide between colleges that offer degree and those that do not offer degrees
• All colleges are trying to do research
Future Research
• Does differentiation aid students and increase choices in Ontario?
• Effect of Funding Framework on College program decision-making
• The effect of Inter-institutional diversity on individual institutions
THANK YOU