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Martin Hicks — Postsecondary data and the public domain

We recently asked Ontario universities for some data that would allow us to calculate how much salaries paid to continuing full-time faculty have been increasing in recent years. We did not ask for individual records, of course, — we understand personal privacy — but only aggregations at the institutional and provincial level. The universities said […]

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Amy Kaufman — Ontario colleges at 50: Vive la différence

In 1967, then Minister of Education Bill Davis launched a network of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology. It was kind of a radical idea. He envisioned a set of comprehensive institutions that would offer a wide variety of programs focused on skill development through hands-on training. The colleges would provide flexible learning options — […]

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Harvey P. Weingarten — The evolution of learning outcomes: Now comes the exciting part

I have experienced three phases in the evolution of the learning outcomes concept. Learning outcomes refers to what students should know and be able to do as a result of the education they get in their postsecondary programs. The first phase of the learning outcomes concept was already underway when I started at HEQCO in […]

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It’sNotAcademic – The podcast: Episode six with Hamish Coates

Welcome to the latest episode of It’sNotAcademic: the podcast – education conversations from HEQCO. Last month, HEQCO invited experts from across Canada and the world to take part in a two-day workshop examining a big question: “How do you assess qualiy in higher education?” One of the participants was Hamish Coates, professor of higher education […]

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Jackie Pichette — Rethinking Access: What we heard and what comes next

By 2025: Every Ontario student has an equitable opportunity to attend and succeed in postsecondary education. HEQCO’s long-term goal for access to higher education was front and centre at our 2017 conference, Rethinking Access: When non-traditional is the new normal. It was also the focus of a conference first for us: a hands-on, interactive workshop, […]

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Joe Henry — Experiential Learning: It’s been happening for years

There has been much discussion in the postsecondary education community about the importance of experiential learning as an innovative pedagogy and key path to smoothing the transition to the job market for graduates. Research indicates that when students can connect their experiences in the classroom to outside the classroom, engagement increases and the transition to […]

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Fiona Deller and Martin Hicks — Spoiler alert: It’s the Ontario Education Number

With Thursday’s unveiling of the 2017 provincial budget, we’re reminded that last year’s budget included an announcement (with great fanfare) of reforms to the Ontario Student Assistance Program, or OSAP. Those reforms were designed to encourage and support more low-income youth to attend postsecondary education, and, as HEQCO has said before, that’s a really great […]

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It’sNotAcademic – The podcast: Episode five with Bobby Watt

Welcome to the latest episode of ItsNotAcademic – the podcast, education conversations from HEQCO. In anticipation of our Rethinking Access conference we have explored many dimensions of access on this podcast, but one area we have not yet discussed is the skilled trades. The trades are often left out of conversations about postsecondary education, despite […]

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It’sNotAcademic – The podcast: Episode four with Jay Gosselin

Welcome to the latest episode of ItsNotAcademic – the podcast, education conversations from HEQCO. The importance of mentorship and positive role models is often discussed in conversations around promoting access to higher education. Obviously these concepts are important, but why? What need do mentors serve and how do you identify and connect with students who […]