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ISSUES WATCH

November 11, 2011

 

Canada Not-For-Profit Corporations Act

 

CCAE encourages all members to visit the Corporations Canada section of the Industry Canada website to familiarize themselves with the new Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (NFP Act) legislation, check their Corporations Canada status and determine if this legislation may affect them. The Corporations Canada website section includes a Transition Guide and details of both the new and old (dating to 1917) legislation.

 

The new NFP Act will affect organizations such as CCAE, and may require action by some of the educational institutions or related foundations among CCAE members.

 

The legislation, which came into effect on October 17, 2011, will have an impact on how nonprofit organizations are structured, causing concern especially among smaller nonprofits, according to a recent article in the Globe & Mail.

 

Writes Bill Curry: “The law requires all federally registered non-profits to file new governing bylaws and other legal documents to Industry Canada by Oct. 17, 2014. It also gives members of non-profits new rights that are akin to the rights of shareholders of private corporations, including the ability to force motions for a vote, demand certain documents or trigger legal proceedings.”

 

CCAE is considering hosting a webinar on the new NFP Act, if there is sufficient interest among members. If you would be interested in this webinar topic, please send an e-mail to CCAE Executive Director, Mark Hazlett.

 

 

ISSUES WATCH

October 21, 2011

 

Millennials Face a Gloomy Future

 

The Financial Post, in an October 14, 2011 article, tags newly minted university graduates as Generation Unlucky, "leaving the comforts of campus for what seems, by historical standards, the bleakest of futures: limited job prospects, prohibitive housing prices, schizophrenic financial markets, the ravages of a global recession and one giant bill from decades of excess."

 

With today's tight job market, a glut of older workers hanging onto top-level jobs and dwindling prospects for pensions, the article claims that even young adults graduating with advanced degrees in this recessionary era face "an average initial income shortfall of almost 10%. It takes an average of ten years after graduation to overcome the initial damages."

 

The article paints a bleak picture of the fate awaiting Millennials who counted on a university education to ensure their career and financial futures, now dealing with heavy student-debt loads and limited employment prospects.

 

 

Pressure on Universities to Prove Value

Recent pieces in the Globe & Mail – including an editorial on October 10, 2011 – question Canada's "big bet on undergraduate education as the path to prosperity" and insist on the need to reform Canada's universities.

 

The editorial cites growing teacher-student ratios, deterioration of the undergraduate experience, skills shortages and high debt among recent grads, and inflated faculty incomes. "Overemphasis" on research at the expense of teaching ability and an unbalanced granting structure are also in the editorial's sights.

 

In the same issue of the Globe & Mail, an article by James Bradshaw claims that "Canadian universities can offer no firm guarantee of a return on investment in that expensive piece of paper", with nearly one in five Canadian university graduates falling "at the low end of the income scale."

 

The so-called "million-dollar bonus" conferred by a university degree over an average grad’s lifetime applies unevenly, according to the major area of study, and while education is still recognized as "the best investment you can make," the article states that "many students are skeptical that the bachelor’s degree is worth what it once was."

 

 

Counseling Students to Look at University Alternatives

Canadian guidance counselors increasingly advise some students to consider alternative paths to post-secondary education, such as trades, according to an October 17 article in the Globe & Mail.

 

"Counsellors and education officials have rewritten the handbook and are reaching out to students for whom university may not be a realistic or attractive option. Those seeking a career in the trades are receiving more attention," says the article by Sunny Dhillon. Calgary, Alberta's Board of Education has developed agreements with professional associations representing engineers and geologists, as well as those for trades-people such as plumbers and pipe-fitters, to create apprenticeship programs.

 

 

ISSUES WATCH

May 30, 2011

 

Ontario universities becoming more efficient and innovative

 

The Council of Ontario Universities has issued a report (May 25, 2011) that claims "Ontario universities are improving administrative efficiencies that result in innovative ways of employing public funds for the benefit of students."

 

The report, called Innovative Ideas: Improving Efficiency at Ontario Universities, covers five areas: Streamlining Operational Processes, Innovation and Partnerships, Managing Facilities Efficiently, Making Smart Purchasing Decisions, and Planning for Safety. It finds that process, technological, partnership and environmental improvements are yielding results in times of fiscal constraint. Said COU President Bonnie Patterson: "Innovative partnerships at universities across Ontario are lowering costs, optimizing space and stretching our resources."

 

Is the perceived value of a university degree declining?

 

An article in the May 9, 2011 issue of The Globe & Mail states:

 

"The bachelor of arts was once a distinction that opened the gates to myriad options and rewarding jobs. But the BA's sheen has worn away, to the point where even many of those who choose to complete one see it only as a stepping stone to the degree they really need."

 

Author James Bradshaw contends that employers seeking "specific skills and ever-more-advanced degrees" are driving university graduates to pursue graduate degrees, college credentials and professional programs to ensure they have the requisite skills for today's highly competitive workplace. Yet, concludes Bradshaw, "the financial benefits of a university degree have only risen."

 

As echoed by The Chronicle of Higher Education's May 20, 2011 issue (available by paid subscription), growing questions about the cost and value of a degree indicate a need to re-examine the quality and delivery of university education across North America.

 

Some University–College partnerships show strains

 

With a decades-long history of collaboration, sharing of course credits and even joint degree programs, Canadian universities and colleges have eased many barriers to cross-sector education. Yet some such partnerships are fraying due to questions about value for tuition money, facilities, extracurricular options and academic freedom, according to a May 15, 2011 Globe & Mail article.

 

Citing the 10-year-old collaboration between Ontario's Laurentian University (based in Sudbury) and Georgian College (in Barrie), the article explores differing cultural expectations and faculty concerns in this collaborative model. “Many joint programs are hailed as successes,” states the article, “but what sets the Laurentian-Georgian model apart is Georgian's deep involvement in academic decision-making and teaching on Laurentian's behalf.”

 

 

ISSUES WATCH

November 10, 2010

 

Donor influence alleged in removal of inaugural director

 

Dr. Ramesh Thakur, a former United Nations diplomat named the first Director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Ontario, was dismissed from his position in May 2010 after two years at the helm of the School, founded through a $33- million gift from BlackBerry entrepreneur Jim Balsillie. A report by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), cited in an October 29 article in the Globe & Mail, alleged academic interference by Balsillie in the dismissal.

 

The CAUT inquiry demanded that Dr. Thakur receive apologies from Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Waterloo - then led by current Governor General David Johnston - and the private think-tank created by Mr. Balsillie, the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). Both universities, which jointly run the Balsillie school, and Mr. Balsillie dispute CAUT’s allegations.

 

Adjusting admissions criteria to ease the gender gap

 

Some Canadian graduate schools, including McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, are adjusting or at least scrutinizing their admissions criteria to address a significant gender gap. Between 60% and 70% of current medical school applicants are women, reflecting not a decrease in male applicants but a surge in females seeking admission.

 

According to an October 21, 2010 article in the Globe and Mail:

 

"Dr. Paul Cappon, president and CEO of the Canadian Council on Learning, says that for the past five to eight years, some universities across the country have been tinkering with admissions to boost the number of men in medical school – looking beyond marks to give male applicants, in particular, credit for things like community service."

 

Although Canadian women applicants to medical school outnumber men by 38%, men are more likely than women to be accepted at several schools. A number of medical school scholarships exist exclusively for women, a relic of the days when Canadian med schools sought to overturn the opposite gender imbalance.

 

The article terms the trend to changes to admissions policies a "stealth policy of affirmative action for men".

 

United Kingdom plans to slash PSE budgets, triple some tuition fees

 

The UK, in response to Lord Browne of Madingley's review of higher education fees and finance, announced in its Comprehensive Spending Review a 40% cut in the higher education budget of £2.9 billion – from £7.1 billion to £4.2 billion – by 2014-15.

 

An article in the October 20, 2010 Times Higher Education (UK) stated: “Government funding for higher education is to be cut by 40 per cent over four years, suggesting that public funding for teaching in the arts, humanities and social sciences may come to an end.

 

"The Treasury says in a statement that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which oversees higher education, will 'continue to fund teaching for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.' However, no mention is made of other subjects."

 

In a subsequent article on November 3, the Times Higher Education said that by 2012, universities will be authorized to charge nearly triple the current tuition fee of £3,290. "Universities will be able to charge tuition fees of up to £9,000 and higher-earning graduates will face interest rates on their loans of 3 per cent above inflation under proposals unveiled today."

 

 

 

      

 

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