Good piece in The Local on York University (in Toronto): "How York University Lost the Trust of Its Community."
https://thelocal.to/york-university-markham-campus-finances/
10,000 workers (full-time support staff, in accessibility services, the registrar's office, IT, facilities, etc.) at Ontario colleges started on strike today. They're #OPSEU members, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. JP Hornick, the OPSEU president, is rock solid and very impressive.
The situation in Ontario post-secondary education is grim all over.
https://opseu.org/news/college-full-time-support-staff-bargaining-update-20/279658/
the Ontario government has just made a flashy announcement of $750 million to boost spots for science, technology, engineering & mathematics (STEM) students by 20,500 at colleges & universities across the province, as part of its response to Trump2 tariffs.
The subtext: there's *zero* extra resources for humanities, social sciences, & arts programmes at Ontario universities and colleges.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ont-stem-funding-universities-colleges-1.7515730
Ontario still ranks dead last among Canadian provinces on the league table of how much per-student post-secondary education operating funding is provided to Colleges and Universities. and now the federal government slashing international student visa numbers has produced a double whammy.
Steve Orsini, president and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities:
"You're going to see hiring freezes and layoffs.”
The federal government has said the cap is necessary to reduce the number of Canada's temporary residents and ensure schools can adequately support their foreign students. But schools say it's impacting enrolment, revenue, hiring and course offerings.
I am thrilled to share a major report that I am proud to have co-authored with Oya Pakkal, Catherine Lachaîne, and Robert Luke on the capacity of Ontario's post-secondary institutions to support open educational practices:
https://www.ecampusontario.ca/on-a-path-to-open/
https://www.ecampusontario.ca/fr/sur-la-voie-de-louverture/
eCampusOntario and Brock University’s Inclusive Research Lab have released On a Path to Open, a new report detailing key results from a study conducted with Ontario’s publically-supported colleges, universities, and Indigenous institutes about their capacity to support open educational practices (OEP).
Ontario is investing $9M to support the planning of York University’s new School of Medicine. This new medical school will ensure Ontario residents continue to have access to the care they need, closer to home. #YorkU #ONpse Learn more: https://t.co/BpBP8gxg4r
Marit Stiles
William Denton
A-Dub 🥝
BUFA
Rajiv Jhangiani
Ontario News Watcher Bot