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Jeffrey Napierala and Shakira Leslie: On International Women’s Day let’s not forget the ever-present gender wage gap

International Women’s Day is a good time to once again take stock of gender inequality in earnings. This is unfortunately not a new issue. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Canadian women continue to earn less than men. In 2019, women earned, on average, 18% less than men. The wage gap […]

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Ken Chatoor — No Excuses: Addressing the desperate need for data on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in postsecondary education

Data is important, both as a tool of research and as a tool of policy that can affect funding, government priorities and program development. In Ontario, as in other jurisdictions, there are major gaps in data collection for certain groups. We need to expand the pool of available data, but we must also pay careful […]

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Ken Chatoor — More research needed on Ontario’s Apprentices

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on people all over the world and Ontario is no exception. While some were able to shift to working from home, many people lost their jobs; the province’s unemployment rate more than doubled from 5.5% in February to 13.6% in May. As we continue to navigate life […]

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Amy Kaufman and Angela McAllister – In the digital environment of the COVID-era, cyber-security skills are essential

Researchers at HEQCO spend a lot of time thinking about the types of skills Canadians need and that postsecondary education should teach. We know that skills like literacy, numeracy, communication and critical thinking are necessary for success in work and life, and we have focused much of our work on understanding not only how to teach and assess these […]

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Jessica Rizk and Amy Kaufman – Lessons from COVID: What the PSE sector can learn from the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced postsecondary institutions, faculty, staff and students to adapt quickly and without an instruction manual. From the emergency shift from face-to-face to remote learning, to the financial vulnerability of some institutions, to concerns about mental and physical health in the face of prolonged physical distancing, this is a moment in history unlike anything we’ve seen […]

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Jeffrey Napierala – Caught in the middle: Many postsecondary students are struggling financially

While postsecondary students have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in numerous ways, they have been hit particularly hard in their ability to find work and earn wages over the summer. Roughly two-thirds report that their income will be disrupted by the pandemic compared to just one-third of other adults in Canada. While several federal aid programs have […]

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Jessica Rizk and Amy Kaufman – Revisiting the research: What does good online learning look like?

Faculty and staff at Ontario’s postsecondary institutions demonstrated Herculean dedication and diligence when they transitioned their face-to-face courses to online and remote delivery in only a matter of days this past March. Despite an impressive collective effort, the virtual learning experienced by many students did not reflect the best-case scenario of planned, intentional, universally designed […]

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Jackie Pichette and Jessica Rizk – Three recommendations for accessible remote learning

Adapting to the realities of remote schooling has been challenging. Since the COVID-19 pandemic sent our province into a state of emergency, many students have had to turn bedrooms into offices, kitchen tables into classrooms and parking lots into hotspots. While all Ontario learners have had to adapt to overcome barriers, those barriers have been […]

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Jeffrey Napierala and Amy Kaufman – For international students, postsecondary education is not just about academics

In the months since the pandemic forced all postsecondary education online, students have been concerned about getting the full value for their money. While most of the attention has focused on the challenges of delivering courses online, we should not forget that classroom learning is not the only reason people attend colleges and universities — students […]