Public Support for University Funding: Trends and Determinants in Ontario, 1980-1990 (original) (raw)
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2011
There is a tenuous link between government intentions and funding for higher education institutions during recessions. Sorting out this puzzle involves developing a better understanding of the influences on government policy choices for funding. This study uses theoretical frameworks from political science to guide the design and selection of measures to interpret economic and political variables associated with government expenditures on higher education institutions in Canada between 1963 and 1997. The general model builds on current variables used in the literature by adding measures of voters’ economic discomfort, policy feedback through prior period expenditures, and constructing a measure of policy mood of federal voters as a proxy for public opinion. In general, federal funding for universities tends to decrease with policy feedback, community college funding increases with economic discomfort, and vocational funding decrease as federal GDP increases. At the same time, provincial funding for universities tends to increase with provincial GDP and community college funding increases with provincial GDP and Employment Insurance applications. In summary, there is a statistically significant trend of federal government expenditures shifting funds between institutional types during recessions. In the Maritimes, federal funding creates a net shift from community colleges to vocational institutes. Outside of the Maritimes, federal funding tends to shift from community colleges to universities and vocational institutes.
1969
After years of under funding in Ontario’s post-secondary education sector, the public is growing anxious. A recent IPSOS-Reid poll commissioned by the Canadian Union of Public Employees and other members of the Ontario-based Post-secondary Education Coalition shows that 70 per cent of Ontario parents are concerned (43 per cent very concerned) that their children may not be able to attend university or college, even if they are qualified and wish to do so. For the vast majority (79%) of parents, cost is the over-riding factor as to why they are concerned. Two thirds (64%) of Ontario parents would rather the government increase provincial government funding for universities and colleges, even though this may result in a cancellation of planned tax cuts or reduced government spending in other areas. These findings came on the heels of an Ipsos-Reid poll showing that education ranks as the second most important issue on the public agenda, only 1% behind the health care issue (CUPE 2001a...
HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PUBLIC POLICY FUNDING MECHANISMS IN CANADA
2018
This research analyzes the effectiveness of public policy funding mechanisms for higher education in Canada in the period from 2003 to 2012, assuming a gap to be explored concerning the proposition of new public policies that contribute to financing higher education worldwide. When it comes to the methodological procedures, this study was designed as exploratory and quantitative. A group of public policies were statistically analyzed, using as a reference the compound annual growth rate (CAGR), which was in turn based on the investments made and the number of students attended in the period. The results showed that Canada has proven to be a country of solid and well-defined public policies, which had an impact on its good performance, with an emphasis on: the CESG policy, which presents the proactive way to ensure access to, and presence of, young people in higher education; CSGP/CSLP, which was statistically significant in relation to the percentage of students attended; and OSAP / Reaching Higher policy, which was more sensitive to the needs of the context in which it is inserted (Ontario province).
The Political Economy of Tuition Policy Formation in Canada
2014
This study develops a conceptual understanding of the process by which provincial tuition policies undergo major change in Canada. The first research question is whether, and to what extent, two alternative theories of policy change advocacy coalition (ACF) and multiple streams of problems, policies, and politics (MSM) can explain policy change. The second research question examines how these policy processes compare to each other. This research builds upon an emerging international field of enquiry, policy and politics of higher education, and contributes important empirical, descriptive and conceptual findings to the Canadian literature on post-secondary policy. The methodology was a comparative case study of three episodes of significant policy change, selected using purposive sampling (British Columbia, Ontario, and Manitoba) and employing an analytical framework based on Ness (2008). Data were collected through systematic investigation using two key research tools: content analysis of relevant documentary materials and 59 interviews of policy actors. The research found that each of the theories provides important and relevant conceptual understanding of policy change. There are five factors associated with policy change: changing financial conditions, changing concerns about accessibility, a changing government mandate with a strong premier, changing public mood, and changing political and policy alliances. The practice of politics is central to tuition policy formation; these politics include political differentiation, brokerage politics, and retail politics. Individual universities, their presidents, and their membership organizations play an influential role in policy formation. Senior leaders within cabinet function as policy entrepreneurs, most frequently the premier. Student organizations are successful in agenda-setting. Successful influence strategies can be characterized as insider tactics, and successful agenda-setting activities include softening up. The conditions for student lobby success appear to be increased in cases where brokerage politics is occurring in an electoral contest. Research itself is not a key factor in policy change. Tuition policy choices are made with consideration of the available research; a more direct influence on policy change is political and policy learning. Regardless of policy choices and contexts, governments describe their overall policy goal as the provision of quality and accessible post-secondary education. A new conceptual model for tuition policy change is proposed.
Modest modifications and structural stability: higher education in Ontario
Higher Education, 1991
Policy change in Ontario higher education in the 1960s resulted in a series of structures designed to co-ordinate each of the two sectors in this binary system. Recent government initiatives may be characterized as attempts to initiate or stimulate change within the boundaries and constraints associated with a structure which has been relatively stable for twenty years. There has been some increase in regulation in the university sector through the establishment of targeted funding mechanisms, programme appraisal and approval mechanisms, and the government's legislated monopoly over degree-granting, but these changes have had little impact on the basic operations of the universities. Government initiatives in the community college sector have had some impact in terms of greater institutional differentiation, but little impact on institution stratification. The stability of the Ontario system can be attributed to the relative homogeneity of each of two clearly differentiated sectors, the limited role of the federal government in the policy arena, a structure which has deflected or rejected calls for structural change, and the failure of those who seek change to stimulate a public or political debate on higher education policy.
UNIVERSITY FINANCING POLICY IN QUÉBEC: THE TEST OF THE "PRINTEMPS ÉRABLE" 1 and Mamouna Kabore
2014
Our chapter focuses on the recent "postsecondary" education policy in Québec, which includes the Collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel 2 (CEGEPs), and universities. For several years, the Liberal government tried to increase the income of universities through a substantial tuition increase of 75% over five years. Students rallied against this decision in the spring of 2012. A strike movement developed and grew into a major conflict, known as the "printemps érable." 3 This became a significant political and social event as the strike lasted six months. It mobilized up to 400,000 individuals (students and beyond, citizens of all generations) and led to new elections and a change of government.
Higher Education, 2009
A policy sociology approach is taken to examine the connections between neo-liberalism, post-secondary provincial education (PSE) policy in Canada and the impact of those policies. Our thesis regarding the broad political economy of PSE is that over the last two decades the adoption of this ideology has been a major cause of some dramatic changes in these policies and has brought about a fundamental transformation of PSE in Canada. The discussion builds on a comparative, multiple, nested case study conducted at the provincial (Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia) and national level. Through the analysis of key provincial and federal documents, the team concludes that five themes dominated the PSE policy-making process. These themes are Accessibility, Accountability, Marketization, Labour Force Development and Research and Development. In discussing these themes, we illustrate their impact on and within the three provincial PSE systems: BC, Ontario and Quebec. In the conclusion, we place the changes in their political and economic contexts and explicate the intended and unintended consequences of these policy priorities. We argue that the pressure for access has led to the emergence of new institutional types, raising new questions about differentiation, mandate and identity and new lines of stratification. A trend toward vocationalism in the university sector has coincided with 'academic drift' in the community college sector, leading to convergences in programming and institutional functions across the system, as well as competition for resources, students, and external partners. Unprecedented demand has made education a viable industry, sustaining both a proliferation of private providers and a range of new entrepreneurial activities within public institutions. Levels and objectives of public funding have swung dramatically over the period. Public investments in PSE, in the form of capital grants and tuition subsidies, have alternately expanded and contracted, being at some times applied across the board and at others targeted to specific social groups or economic sectors. Likewise, policymakers have treated PSE at times as a mechanism for social inclusion and equality, at others as an instrument for labour force development, and at yet others as a market sector in its own right.
Obstacles to funding higher education for adults: An analysis of selected Pennsylvania voters
2013
The purpose was to gain an understanding of how selected registered voters in Pennsylvania consider funding higher education for adults. The strategy involved online sampling as well as controlling for political identity. The study asks three questions: Among selected Pennsylvanians, is there support for a proposal to alter public funding of higher education for adults? Do opinions about higher education funding for adults vary depending upon race, gender, age, ethnicity, education attainment, and other demographic indicators of selected Pennsylvanians? Does political party affiliation or political party orientation (using a scale of affiliation) affect attitudes toward funding adult higher education? The study population was persons of voting age in Pennsylvania with access to the Internet who participate on a listserv or blog. The results showed two-thirds of all respondents in the sample were supportive of the proposal in a fictitious news story regarding a funding change. Lower income participants and women were more supportive of the change. The three measures of political identity yielded similar numbers for each political party. The study results may not change adults access to education, but could begin to challenge current policy that neglects financial aid for adult students. The findings suggest a path of action for higher education institutions with a desire to create or enhance adult programs because the percentage of traditional-aged students is decreasing. The study may suggest steps for those who make programming decisions on campuses as well as state and federal legislators.