Higher education in Ontario

The western colony became Upper Canada with John Graves Simcoe as its first head of state by fulfilling the role of Lieutenant Governor.

Governor Simcoe was the first advocate for establishing educational institutions in the new colony to increase citizens' connection to Britain and prevent the incursion of influence from post-revolutionary schools in the United States.

[8] In 1797, the Duke of Portland agreed, on behalf of the British King, to the request from the Legislative Council and House of Assembly of Upper Canada for a portion of Crown Land to support the foundation of grammar schools and a college or university.

[9] Higher education preceded Canadian confederation with the establishment of private and sectarian universities in Ontario during the early 19th century.

[11] Established in 1827, King's College was associated with the Church of England through its first president John Strachan, which was later secularized by the government of Upper Canada to become the University of Toronto.

[11] In 1866, the College of Bytown completed its conversion to the University of Ottawa through incorporation by Royal charter from the government in London, England.

[11] In 1874, the Canadian government established the first federal institution of higher education in Kingston, Ontario, the Royal Military College of Canada.

[21] In 1960, the government of Ontario established Laurentian University as a bilingual federation representing Roman Catholic, United, and Anglican religious affiliations.

After 1995, the provincial government undertook actions that led to increased privatization within higher education, blurred boundaries in the binary structure, institutional differentiation, and the overall system's expansion.

Within four months of its release, the provincial government of Premier Dalton McGuinty implemented an investment plan for postsecondary education called "Reaching Higher" outlining its strategy until 2010.

[33] As part of this plan, the provincial government accepted a recommendation of the Rae Report to establish the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario as an independent advisory agency.

[41] The Ministry of Colleges and Universities also works with several external advisory bodies to assist the governance of the higher education system in Ontario.

[5] A program run by ServiceOntario enables students to search for career colleges providing vocational training in their field of interest.

[62] Ontario boasts the highest postsecondary participation and attainment rates among Canadian provinces, ranking high in international comparisons as well.

[65] Despite these comparatively strong participation and attainment rates, under-represented groups in Ontario face access issues that are common around the world.

[70] Ontario has a binary postsecondary education system consisting essentially of universities on one hand and colleges on the other (see Structure for details).

This binary structure has been long-standing and intentional with little mobility between the two sides; a characteristic that has been maintained through formidable resistance from universities to develop a more articulated system.

[71] In the decade following, a collection of laddering and degree-completion agreements had begun to accumulate on the Ontario College University Transfer Guide (OCUTG).

The Honourable Bob Rae's 2005 report, Ontario: A Leader in Learning, makes the most recent call for improvements to student mobility and institutional cooperation.

This brings into question the design of a college system discrete from universities and has led to Ontario's Ministry of Finance's formal recommendation to increase differentiation through establishing mandate agreements.

On November 29, 2013, Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities released the final version of Differentiation Policy Framework for Postsecondary Education.

The framework contains six components including jobs, innovation & economy, teaching and learning, student population, research and graduate education, program, and institutional collaboration; and two directions, namely strategic enrolment and financial sustainability with an associated set of metrics.

Very limited information regarding how the components and metrics are to be used is available as the framework intends to provide a "vocabulary" for institutions to construct Strategic Mandate Agreements (SMAs).

Institutions were required to submit SMA proposals in 2012 followed review by a committee appointed by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.

Consultations will include students, university leadership and faculty, as well as important partners such as employers, colleges, the elementary and secondary sector, and professional associations.

[81] The top five source countries of international students at Ontario universities are China, India, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Nigeria.

[83] According to the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario's predictions, the future of postsecondary education in Ontario will include increased diversity among students (due to continued immigration, growth in the number of adult learners, and efforts to increase participation by currently underrepresented groups); continued enrolment growth; greater student mobility between institutions; and technology-enabled changes to program delivery.

[85] Ontario's Ministry of Finance identified five significant pressures currently faced by the postsecondary sector in Ontario: educating a growing share of the population; helping equalize economic and social outcomes across the population; providing an important component of lifelong learning; functioning as an engine of innovation; and delivering quality education with a constrained provincial fiscal situation.

[67] Following the October 2011 provincial election which resulted in a Liberal minority, the government re-affirmed its commitment to the reaching higher plan by announcing that 3 new undergraduate campuses will be established to serve increasing demand.

Academic Reform: Policy Options for Improving the Quality and Cost-Effectiveness of Undergraduate Education in Ontario, written by Ian D. Clark, David Trick and Richard J.