Despite the Ontario government’s promise “to ensure that all willing and qualified students are able to continue at the college or university level,” many organizations, including the University of Toronto, are concerned that without more funding, the government’s assurance will not be a reality in the days of the dreaded double cohort.
Dr. Sheldon Levy, Vice-President, government and institutional relations, said that U of T has been speaking with the government over the past six months about the need for additional funding for new students. Initial projected enrolment increases, determined by post-secondary institutions, are “significantly higher,” said Levy.
The double cohort is the result of the elimination of Grade 13, causing two high school classes to both graduate in 2003.
It is not only the approaching double cohort that has universities financially strapped. The number of students wanting to attend a post-secondary institution is increasing as well.
According to the Ministry of Education, the number of students attending university or college is expected to increase by 78,000 students (in the 18-24 age range) or 21 per cent by 2005-2006. There are approximately 420,000 students currently attending post-secondary institutions. Levy points out that enrolment applications for fall 2002 at U of T are already up 20 per cent. “I think it will be closer to 30 per cent,” he added.
In addition to significant enrolment increases, the government, according to Levy, needs to provide funding for changes in rates of inflation and changes in energy costs. “If they don’t provide funding for the inflation, then the only choice we have is to take the money that is supposed to be for new students and cover it to keep the lights on,” said Levy.
In the 2001 budget, the provincial government committed funding of up to $293 million in increased operating grants by 2003-2004, and funding this year went up to $71.9 million, in addition to the SuperBuild fund. But the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) feels this is not enough.
OCUFA has accused the government of ignoring enrolment numbers and providing insufficient funding to hire new faculty members in order to address large-scale faculty retirements.
“The government has been consistently understating the extent of the problem, just simply as a way of trying to put as little money as possible into the university system,” said Henry Mandelbaum, OCUFA’s executive director. He added that the government is “hoping that fewer students would come in than anyone was predicting.”
The Ministry of Education maintains that they are continually assessing the situation.
“[The ministry] has many initiatives underway that are analyzing what the challenges are, what the specific challenges might be, and they’re continuing to work with that,” said Tanya Cholakov, senior media relations co-ordinator. “At this point the 293 million dollars has been projected and that’s the government’s position.
“They are definitely making sure that there is the resources, the capital, the spaces, the funding in order to make sure that the kids have the opportunity.”
OCUFA recently released a report by the People for Education, a group of parents who are working to preserve fully publicly-funded education in Ontario, which stated that one out of every three students may not find a place at a university. But the government maintains that they have a commitment to ensure that “every willing and qualified student will be able to attend a college or a university,” said Cholakov. She also added that the ministry is “taking all necessary steps” and “working co-operatively” with the universities and colleges representatives.
Levy thinks the government must do three things to solve the crisis in funding: “They have to provide a reasonable level of inflation to the university, they have to fund the students, and they have to provide a reasonable amount of capital.”
Joel Duff, Ontario Chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) said that with the current amount of funding “effectively what we’re seeing is that students aren’t going to have the same types of opportunities or options” as earlier generations.
If the government does not increase its current level of funding, U of T will limit the amount of increased enrolments, according to Levy. “One of our plans is not to take in so many students that the quality of what we provide them isn’t worth coming for.”
In addition to funding issues, current secondary students graduating in the double cohort fear they will have less of a chance to get into the programs they want. Some, like Geoffrey Wylde, transferred to a private school to fast track.
“If I stayed in the public system, I would have had to graduate with double as many people, not double as many spots in universities. It just would have made it harder to get into the program that I wanted,” he said. Wylde also questions the government’s guarantee that all who qualify will get a spot. “I don’t think they can guarantee everyone a spot,” said Wylde. “I don’t see how they can open up their doors for double the many people just for one year.”
Marcus Uran, a grade 12 student at Northern Secondary School, feels the pressure of graduating in the double cohort. Uran feels that school has become “much more competitive” and that “everything’s a lot harder than it should be.”
Although Cholakov said she is “not in a position to speculate what the government is going to be announcing in the coming budget,” she did say, “It’s not finalized… things continue to develop.”
