Student societies laid out their vision for the future of U of T—a future that includes a more diverse student body, a student centre on the downtown campus, and more housing for graduate students and families.
The suggestions were made by the Students’ Administrative Council (SAC) and the Graduate Student Union (GSU) as responses to the Green Papers produced by the administration under the provost, Shirley Neuman.
The Green Papers were designed to plan out the future of U of T, and were intended as general goals and aspirations for the university. In March, the provost will produce a series of White Papers that will outline the policies necessary to implement the ideas contained in the Green Papers.
For the GSU, the Green Papers were a good start. “We thought this planning process was a good one and a model for major planning processes in the future,” said Christopher Collins, president of the GSU.
But Collins added tuition is an area of concern for graduate students. “Stop calling for deregulation,” he said, criticizing U of T’s efforts to convince the provincial government to let the school charge market prices for degrees.
“We want to see a realignment of capital projects from student fees,” Collins added, echoing concerns that new buildings at U of T would be financed through student levies, and not through the university’s budget.
Collins added “the shift away from a focus on a Masters’ programme to a PhD programme” was another concern: “We think that a research-intensive Masters’ programme has some merit.”
He said the focus on equity and diversity issues was another positive aspect of the Green Papers, but “a programme with some concrete timelines on making this campus more accessible” would be more helpful than the current open-ended proposals.
Collins said another concern was the drop-out rate in graduate degrees. “The average time to complete a degree is the same as the average time to drop out, five years.”
SAC put a focus on accessibility, diversity and student services in its answer to the Green Papers. Authored primarily by university affairs commissioner Mohammed Hashim, the response criticised U of T administration for pursuing deregulation of tuition, noting “SAC held a referendum on the issue of deregulation where 84% of the students overwhelming voted against it.”
SAC was also critical of “the university’s apparent aim to increase the number and scope of corporate affiliations,” noting that it “believes that such arrangements place cherished ideals, such as academic freedom, integrity and responsibility in jeopardy.”
