Details on University Issues in this Election

September 24, 2008

Find out why funding for research, access to university, and international connections matter in this election.

University research and graduate education

Access to quality postsecondary education

Universities’ connections to the world

PSE Announcements recap: Weeks 1 and 2

September 19, 2008

Since the start of the campaign, the major parties have made a number of announcements related to funding for postsecondary education and research. Here’s a round-up.

Conservatives

  • No related announcements yet.

Liberals

Bloc Québecois

New Democratic Party

Green Party

Questions to Federal Party Leaders on Investing in Higher Education and University Research

September 10, 2008

 

University research and graduate education

 

Question 1

Context: Universities are major producers of research that fuels economic development. They are the only sector to perform research for all other sectors, across the full range of disciplines and with a significant presence in all regions. In 2007, Canadian universities conducted more than $10 billion worth of research – approximately one third of Canada’s annual research effort. Canada currently leads the G-7 in investments in public sector research. Canada’s leadership in this area is due in large part to a number of key federal investments in discovery and creation; in developing, attracting and retaining research talent; in state-of-the-art infrastructure; and in the institutional costs of supporting research excellence. However, in the face of growing international competition, more needs to be done if Canada is to stay internationally competitive.

  • If your party forms the next government, will you commit to maintaining Canada’s G-7 leadership in public sector research investments?

 

Question 2

Context: Canada’s universities conduct research that benefits Canada and Canadians in a wide range of disciplines. These include social science, humanities and fine arts disciplines that produce excellent research and highly skilled graduates essential to Canada’s social, cultural and artistic, as well as economic, development.

  • If your party forms the next government, will you commit to support more research in a broad range of disciplines, including the social sciences, humanities and fine arts?

 

Question 3

Context: Currently, the federal Indirect Costs program provides support for institutional costs of federally sponsored research (such as the general costs associated with managing the research process and ensuring compliance with health, safety, environmental and other regulatory requirements) at an overall rate equivalent to 25 percent of direct costs funding. This falls well short of the minimum 40 percent rate required to ensure the competitiveness of Canada’s university research effort. Crucially, increased federal investment will also ensure that universities do not have to cover these costs from their existing operating budgets.

  • If your party forms the next government, will you fund the institutional costs of supporting research excellence at internationally competitive levels?

 

Question 4

Context: From 1996 to 2006, Canadian universities awarded approximately 245,000 master’s degrees and over 35,000 PhDs. It is primarily through their graduates that universities transfer knowledge to other sectors of society. Graduates – particularly those with advanced degrees – are essential to the development of research capacity in the private sector and the receptor capacity required for the successful commercialization of university research discoveries. However, many business leaders and analysts have identified the relative underproduction of graduate degrees in Canada as a barrier to increasing this country’s international competitiveness and productivity. The United States produces more than twice as many master’s graduates and 50 percent more PhD graduates on a per capita basis than Canada.

  • If your party forms the next government, will you undertake the necessary investments to close the gap between Canada and the U.S. in the number of master’s and PhD graduates produced, by supporting more students to pursue graduate studies and ensuring that universities have the faculty and infrastructure necessary to educate more graduate students?

 

Question 5

Context: Competing effectively in an internationalized R&D environment requires ongoing support for cutting-edge university research infrastructure and research networks across Canada. Since 1997, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, in partnership with provinces, universities and the private sector, has been the major funder of new university research infrastructure in Canada. Since 1989, the Networks of Centres of Excellence program, and more recently, the Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research program, have created many networking opportunities to mobilize scientific excellence between academia, federal and provincial departments and agencies, and the private sector.

  • If your party forms the next government, what will you do to ensure the long term sustainability of Canada’s university research infrastructure, including its major research facilities, and research networks?

 

Access to quality postsecondary education

 

Question 6

Context: U.S. public universities have a funding advantage over Canadian universities – which has implications for the quality of education for students. U.S. public universities and four-year colleges received $29,000 CAD per student in 2006 compared to Canadian universities with revenue (including tuition) of just $21,000 CAD per student in 2006. One way for the federal government to help close this gap and to ensure that universities can offer high-quality education to growing numbers of students is to work with the provinces to improve overall government support.

  • If your party forms the next government, how will you work with the provinces to address the per-student funding gap in postsecondary education?

 

Question 7

Context: Changes are occurring in who is employed, where they are employed and what skills they need to do their jobs. On top of this, the baby boomers will be leaving the labour market in ever greater numbers over the next decade and replacement demand for knowledge workers will increase substantially. Simply put, Canada will need more workers with higher levels of education. Student assistance is important to ensure that no academically qualified individuals are unable to pursue postsecondary education opportunities because they lack the necessary financial resources. The federal government, the provinces, and universities deliver student assistance through a mix of grants, loans and tax measures. While both levels of government and institutions themselves have increased the amount of student assistance available in recent years, there remain financial barriers to access for students from groups who are underrepresented in Canada’s postsecondary education systems.

  • If your party forms the next government, what will you do to ensure that money invested in student financial aid is going to those students most in need and that it is sufficient to meet the need?

 

Question 8

Context: By any measure, Aboriginal Canadians remain far behind the majority of Canadians in higher education attainment and socio-economic status. This country can ill-afford to under-develop the potential and under-utilize the skills, knowledge and creativity of important segments of Canadian society. Aboriginal Canadians with postsecondary education have similar social and economic outcomes to those of their non-Aboriginal peers. However, Aboriginal Canadians have the lowest high school completion rate of any demographic group in Canada, and recent Aboriginal high school graduates are 23 percent less likely than their non-Aboriginal peers to go on to postsecondary education within two years after high school graduation.

  • If your party forms the next government, what measures will you take to ensure that more Aboriginal Canadians are academically qualified for university, that they have the necessary financial aid and that universities can provide outreach and support services required to increase graduation rates among Aboriginal Canadians?

 

Question 9

Context: A large amount of campus infrastructure, much of it dating to the 1960s and 1970s or earlier, is in need of renewal and, in many cases, expansion to meet enrolment demands and today’s requirements for state-of-the-art educational infrastructure. As well, campuses across Canada are “going green” as they strive to incorporate the latest environmentally sustainable technologies and processes into the design and use of buildings on campus.

  • If your party forms the next government, will you commit to investing in green and smart campus infrastructure to enhance quality and sustainability?

 

Universities’ connections to the world

 

Question 10

Context: Solving complex challenges requires relationships that cut not only across traditionally separate spheres of social and economic interaction, but also international boundaries. Many issues and research challenges require international partnerships that involve working across borders. Canada lacks a national framework to support international research activities comparable to key collaborators/competitors such as the United Kingdom and the European Union. Existing funding for international research collaboration is limited and fragmented among the three research granting agencies, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and other departments and agencies.

  • If your party forms the next government, will you invest in international research collaboration to increase Canadian researchers’ opportunities to work with their global peers?

 

Question 11

Context: Opportunities for students from other countries to study in Canadian universities create important linkages between Canada and the rest of the world. Attracting the best and brightest international students to study in our universities benefits Canada whether they choose to return home upon graduation or put their expertise and knowledge to work in Canada. The federal government recently provided an investment of $2 million over two years to support the establishment of a brand for Canadian education abroad.

  • If your party forms the next government, will you expand Canada’s international marketing effort to attract more of the best foreign students to study in Canada?

 

Question 12

Context: International education opportunities for Canadian students help them to develop the global skills and perspectives that are in high demand in the labour market and Canadian society. Currently, just over two percent of Canadian university students participate in short-term, for-credit study, internship, or research experiences abroad each year – far less than in other key OECD countries. AUCC research shows that lack of financial support is the top barrier for students to pursue study abroad.

  • If your party forms the next government, will you take the necessary measures to increase opportunities for Canadian students to pursue an international education experience as part of their university education?

 

An Open Letter to Party Leaders

September 10, 2008

 

Open Letter from the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada to

Stephen Harper, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
Stéphane Dion, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
Jack Layton, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada
Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Québécois
Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada

After a relatively stable period of strong economic growth, Canada is entering a period of economic uncertainty. The global knowledge economy has led to a race for the top, a race that Canada cannot afford to lose. In this economy, the most valuable resources are people and knowledge.

For Canada to stay competitive, Canadians must be equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.  This will require action on the part of governments, the private sector, the not-for-profit sector and educational institutions. Universities are prepared to do their part by producing more ideas and discoveries, graduates and international linkages than ever before.  That is why universities matter to Canada and to Canadians.

Canada’s universities acknowledge the progress made in the last Parliament in relation to higher education and university research issues.  As a federal election has now been called, AUCC and its 92 member institutions will be calling on all political parties to address these important issues during the election campaign.

On October 14, Canadians will vote to elect a government that best understands the issues that matter to them and to the future of the country.  Investing in people and ideas is essential to the future productivity, prosperity and quality of life of Canadians.  That is why AUCC is calling on all party candidates in the federal election campaign to commit to:

  • Strengthening universities’ ability to produce more ideas and discoveries that will fuel Canada’s 21st century knowledge economy.
  • Providing opportunities for all Canadians to obtain a quality postsecondary education, regardless of their social or economic background, so that universities are able to produce more of the highly educated graduates whose skills and knowledge will drive the knowledge economy.
  • Supporting universities’ efforts to establish more international linkages that create opportunities for Canadians in the global knowledge economy and strengthen Canada’s place in the world.

On behalf of the 92 members of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, we are submitting 12 questions for your consideration and response.  We ask that you provide your response to our questions by September 29.  On October 3, we will release your responses to the media, post them on our election web site – www.universitiesmatter.ca – and share them with our member institutions across Canada, in an effort to make sure that all parties’ views on these important questions reach as many voters as possible.

Universities matter to Canada and to Canadians and no doubt they matter to you and your party during this election campaign. Thank you in advance for responding to our questions and for making certain that higher education and university research are central to the issues discussed during this election campaign.

Sincerely,

Tom Traves
President, Dalhousie University and Chair, Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

Claire M. Morris
President and CEOAssociation of Universities and Colleges of Canada

cc.  Executive Heads of all AUCC Member Institutions

AUCC asks parties to demonstrate support for higher education and research

September 10, 2008

“If your party forms the next government, will you commit to maintaining Canada’s G-7 leadership in public sector research investment?”

This is one of the 12 questions asked by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada in a questionnaire sent today to the five main federal party leaders.

Universities matter to Canada and to Canadians. In uncertain economic times, strategic investment by governments can make a major impact on the well-being of their citizens. In this questionnaire to the federal party leaders, AUCC asks all parties in the 2008 election if they will commit to maintaining and improving the federal government’s support for higher education and university research.

“Our university participation rate is only middle of the pack compared to other developed countries,” says Claire Morris, President and CEO of AUCC. “This is not good enough.”

AUCC’s questionnaire asks the federal parties if they will commit to working with the provinces to increase per-student funding for Canadian universities to internationally competitive levels.

“As a country, we need to ensure that every young person, regardless of their social or economic status, has an opportunity to obtain a quality postsecondary education,” said Tom Traves, AUCC Board chair.

AUCC has created an election website to promote higher education and university research as an election issue for all Canadians – www.universitiesmatter.ca. Answers from the federal parties will be posted on the website October 3.

Successive federal governments have made major investments in research in the past decade with impressive results. The association, representing 92 member universities across the country, asks all party leaders to commit to continuing support for funding for research across a broad range of disciplines and to funding the institutional costs of supporting research at internationally competitive levels.

AUCC also asks all parties if they will increase funding for Aboriginal students and students from lower-income families as well as support for Canadian students seeking international study opportunities.

The website offers a short list of facts about universities’ contributions to the economy, trends in enrolment and funding, and Canada’s educational ranking in the world. It also provides useful statistics for journalists and voters and links to AUCC reports on trends in higher education.

To visit the AUCC election website go to www.universitiesmatter.ca.

For media inquiries or other information, please contact communications officer Leslie Cole at (613) 563-3961 ext. 330 or by email at lcole@aucc.ca.