COMMENTARY

The Quality Challenge: the Case for More Faculty

April 30, 2010

Ken Snowdon, President, Snowdon & Associates Inc., Harrowsmith, Ontario

A few weeks ago (April 16th) I argued that it is the quality of our graduates that will set Canada apart in the 21st century and therefore a need to pay attention to the quality of the learning experience as we pursue increased access and participation goals.  The key characteristics of a quality learning experience are well understood. Years of research have boiled down to a few sets of key interactions. “What matters is the nature of the experiences students have after matriculation (admission): the courses they take, the instructional methods their teachers use, the interactions they have with their peers and faculty members outside the classroom, the variety of people and ideas they encounter, and the extent of their active involvement in the academic and social systems of their institution."¹ The emphasis on the important role of faculty, and interaction with faculty, is clear.

Over the past decade or so some progress has been made in developing ways to measure various aspects of the preceding interactions. One of the more robust measurement systems, the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE), is now used by many institutions in Canada and the United States. NSSE attempts to measure levels of student engagement in five areas: level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, the opportunity for enriching educational experiences, and the campus environment.  The NSSE engagement measures indicate that, on average, Canadian universities score below their U.S. peers and in some areas – student-faculty interaction – the difference is especially notable. READ MORE...

Looking at Canada as a whole, between 1999 and 2007, among the young adults who were followed by the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS),1 17% had interrupted their high school education at some point, mostly before the age of 18 to 20. This represents almost 210,000 high-school students who left high school somewhere along the way. By the ages of 26 to 28, only 6% of the YITS cohort still had not graduated from high school and had no further education. The remaining 11% had returned and either completed high school or entered postsecondary education.

Source: Education Indicators in Canada, Statistics Canada

THE NEWS

How do Alberta kindergarten students measure up?
By Sarah O’Donnell, Edmonton Journal
For the last two years, Graham-Greene and all Elk Island Catholic school kindergarten teachers have filled in detailed questionnaires about virtually all their students, as part of a major Alberta Education research project to measure how ready Alberta children are to start school and compare how that readiness matches up with programs available to children in their pre-kindergarten years. On Thursday, Education Minister Dave Hancock announced the study -- formally called the early child development mapping initiative -- will go province-wide. That means kindergarten teachers across the province will be asked to complete questionnaires about each of their students.

List of proposed school closures in Vancouver expected in June
By Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
The Vancouver school district plans to identify a number of schools for possible closure in a report to be released in June, sparking a year-long process that's intended to address problems of declining enrolments and rising costs, trustee Mike Lombardi said Thursday. He wouldn't speculate on how many schools might be on the list, suggesting the number could range from one to 10, and said he hopes they won't all be on the city's eastside, although those schools have the most excess space. "I can't think of any school on the west-side of the city that's not bursting at the seams," he said, but added that enrolment patterns can be changed by creating and relocating programs.

Girls warm to science and technology
By Denise Balkissoon, The Toronto Star
A group of Grade 8 girls sat giggling around a table on Tuesday, their bright blue and green nail polish flashing as they carefully wired electric circuits into ribbons. They were attending Gr8 Designs for Gr8 Girls, a full-day workshop at the University of Toronto that aims to introduce girls to careers in science and technology. The program was the brainchild of Michelle Craig, a U of T faculty member in the computer science department.

U of A researchers supported by $2.5 million in CFI funding
By ExpressNews Staff, University of Alberta Express News
The Canada Foundation for Innovation announced April 23 that it has awarded more than $2.5 million to the University of Alberta to support research ranging from the impact of prion diseases to potential new therapies for heart failure. The foundation announced a total of $27,871,219 in new funds to support 118 projects at 32 institutions across Canada, of which $21,439,399 was awarded under the Leaders Opportunity Fund. This fund provides infrastructure support to Canadian institutions so they can attract and retain the very best of today and tomorrow's leading researchers at a time of intense international competition for knowledge workers.

Rights group seeks probe of U of Ottawa
By Kenyon Wallace, National Post
A Canadian human rights group is accusing the University of Ottawa of "spying" and attempting to stifle free speech after top university administrators considered preventing a well-known Burmese activist from speaking on campus. Canadian Friends of Burma says it will ask the Ontario government to grant provincial ombudsman Andre Marin power to investigate the conduct of the University of Ottawa administrators in relation to the event.

Province to take over UBC land-use planning
By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun
Metro Vancouver will no longer be responsible for land-use decisions at the University of B.C. after the province introduced legislation to give the two groups an "amicable divorce." The proposed legislation will transfer land-use planning at UBC to the Ministry of Community and Rural Development, saying it's "important in developing a long-term governance solution that fits the area's unique nature." The move comes six months after Metro Vancouver warned UBC to take responsibility to govern itself or face contentious zoning bylaw. The two organizations then asked the province to come up with a solution.

Singapore Plans Postgraduate Accountancy Program
By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, The New York Times
Aiming to turn Singapore into a leading center for international accountancy and financial management by 2020, a government-appointed committee this month recommended the introduction of a new, postgraduate accountancy qualification program characterized by “global recognition, international portability and Asian market value.” Aiming to turn Singapore into a leading center for international accountancy and financial management by 2020, a government-appointed committee this month recommended the introduction of a new, postgraduate accountancy qualification program characterized by “global recognition, international portability and Asian market value.”

U. of Oxford raises $100-Million for its 21st century school
By Aisha Labi, The Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of Oxford said Wednesday that it had raised $100-million in the past year for its James Martin 21st Century School, thanks to a $50-million challenge grant from the school's namesake. Mr. Martin, a British computing pioneer and Oxford's most generous benefactor, said in March 2009 that he would match up to $50-million in donations of at least $1-million to the school, which he had established in 2005 with a $100-million endowment. When he set his fund-raising challenge, Mr. Martin said in a telephone interview on Tuesday, "most people said this is the biggest economic meltdown in history—you'll never get people to give." He was also warned that "people in England don't give money."

Plunge in Chinese university students coming to Australia
By Michael Sainbury and Guy Healy, The Australian
AUSTRALIA'S $18 billion-a-year foreign students business is under pressure, with applications from its biggest market, China, forecast to plunge by as much as half for some universities and colleges. The country's second-biggest export sector after resources is quickly losing market share to the US and Britain due to soaring costs and uncertain government policies, a situation that could trigger further closures by local tertiary institutions. "There is certainly a degree of panic about Australia in the market here, and I am not sure if Australian institutions understand that," said Thomas Wang, the manager of Australian education at education agent China Star in Beijing.

Register for EPI's upcoming book club webinar May 22, 2010.