Who would have ever predicted that a career as an elementary French teacher would eventually lead me to working for an educational publisher as a researcher and change agent? However, as someone who was nearing the completion of her doctoral studies, conducting research as opposed to teaching in the classroom did seem like the next […]
In any policy initiative, it is important to distinguish between goals and strategies. Goals are things you are trying to achieve – the outcomes you are seeking. Strategies are processes and actions that can be employed to achieve these desired outcomes. Strategies are not ends in themselves. Rather, they are tools. Strategies have no inherent […]
Higher education in the United States is at a tipping point. The cost of a college education has spiraled out of control, leaving deserving students priced out of a bright future and putting the nation at risk of losing much-needed talent. Many states are reducing funding for publicly supported colleges, driving the price of securing […]
Learning outcomes have been a key part of my professional life in higher education for the past 25 years. I completed a degree in social work at McGill University way back in the 80’s and haven’t been a social worker for a very long time. While I still can remember some content I learned (remembering […]
Young people aged 15 to 24 experience the highest incidence of mental illnesses, according to Statistics Canada. Specific to higher education, the National College Health Survey—completed in 2013 by more than 34,000 Canadian postsecondary students—found an increase in almost all types of mental health concerns including depression, anxiety, attentional related concerns, addiction related concerns and […]
In a recent report from The Conference Board of Canada, Inside and Outside the Academy: Valuing and Preparing PhDs for Careers, the authors employ data from the 2011 census to assert that fewer than one in five (18.6%) of Canadians holding a PhD are employed as full-time university professors. The number drops to fewer than […]
Higher education graduates need to be prepared with the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to be leaders and contributors at all levels of society. What stands in the way of this outcome? One barrier is the grading systems we employ, contributing to the problem of graduates who are not well prepared for a global 21st […]
Occupations of college graduates in Ontario College University All 18-29 years 30-44 years 45-64 years Field of Study Occupation Graphic by Carrie Smith. Last month, we published a well-received visualization that shows the mapping of Ontario university graduates from fields of study to occupations. Many readers expressed surprise to discover fewer clear pathways than they […]
“We call it the Student Learning Centre because we learn from students and they learn from one another.” When we began planning Ryerson’s new Student Learning Centre (SLC) in 2008, we’d done a lot of research on students’ study behaviour, gathered from many different sources. We tested assumptions with students in many ways. Even our […]