The current model of post-secondary education is unsustainable, according to a new book proposing a greater focus on teaching, three-year undergraduate degrees and creation of an ‘open university’.
Academic Transformation: The Forces Reshaping Higher Education in Ontario was written by four Ontario experts on the post-secondary system, including Greg Moran, a professor of developmental and clinical psychology at The University of Western Ontario.
Co-authored by Ian D. Clark (University of Toronto), Michael Skolnik (University of Toronto) and David Trick (consultant and former CEO and Vice Provost, University of Guelph-Humber), the book identifies key problems facing Ontario’s post-secondary institutions and proposes reforms that would dramatically alter the post-secondary landscape over the next 10 to 20 years.
“The government needs to take a step back and examine what its goals are with respect to university education,” says Moran, who served as Western’s Provost and Vice-President (Academic) from 1995 to 2005.
“In the absence of action, I fear we’re going to experience a decline of what I consider one of the best education systems in the world.”
University enrollment has grown from approximately 7 per cent of the population in 1965 to nearly 35 per cent today.
With post-secondary education considered the key to economic prosperity and competitiveness in the global economy, this high participation rate is expected to continue growing in the coming decade.
However, Ontario currently relies on research-focused universities – the most expensive type of post-secondary institution – to provide undergraduate education to this growing, increasingly diverse, student body.
“Besides being expensive, this model provides insufficient variety in the types of baccalaureate experiences available,” says Moran.
“Ontario has one of the most uniform university systems in the world, a system that doesn’t effectively address students’ unique backgrounds, situations, aspirations and learning styles.”
The solution?
The book proposes establishing post-secondary institutions dedicated exclusively to undergraduate education.
By encouraging faculty members to focus on teaching rather than research, these baccalaureate institutions could decrease class sizes; reduce their dependence on part-time instructors; deliver specialized programs; and more efficiently meet the needs of a diverse student population.
Within a teaching-focused model, universities could also potentially grant three-year baccalaureate degrees instead of four-year ones.
“Although the per-unit cost of carefully planned undergraduate programs representing diverse subjects would increase, the net cost to both individuals and institutions would decrease,” says Moran.
“And the pay-off would be immeasurably more valuable.”
The authors also suggest Ontario establish an ‘open university’. In an open university, admission to programs and courses is based on students’ needs and aspirations rather than previous academic achievements.
“In addition to providing flexible online and distance learning opportunities, open universities could enable more college graduates to complete university degrees.”
The book is available at Western’s Book Store and online from McGill-Queen’s University Press.