Time to say no to university growth, yes to quality

By Harvey P. Weingarten. For more than 20 years, the Canadian higher education system has organized and managed itself to improve access: to increase participation rates and to grow. The results of this policy imperative have been spectacular. Over the last 20 years, enrolment in Canada’s postsecondary institutions has grown from 1.3 million to 2.0 million. The results have been particularly impressive in Ontario. From 2003-2008, for example, enrolments in Ontario universities grew 29 per cent from 302,000 to 389,000 and in colleges 11 per cent from 181,000 to 201,000. Postsecondary participation rates in Ontario rose from 33 per cent to 36 per cent and Ontario can boast one of the highest postsecondary attainment rates in Canada, if not the world. More...