Publications

HEQCO conducts and commissions studies and evaluations, often in partnership with Ontario’s colleges and universities, on key issues in accessibility, quality and accountability. Various organizations and individuals have considerable and valuable expertise in postsecondary education research. The research publications below reflect this collaboration with some of the best thinkers on issues related to higher education. Join our mailing list and keep current with the latest HEQCO research.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

At HEQCO, we are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner, and will do so by preventing and removing barriers to accessibility and meeting requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. To request HEQCO material in alternate formats, please contact info@heqco.ca​​.

Barriers to Work-integrated Learning Opportunities

High demand exists for WIL programs, but barriers still keep certain students out Although much has been done to increase access to work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences in postsecondary education, there are still many opportunities to make WIL programs more accessible to students, argues a new report by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO). […]

Integrating Pedagogy and Technology to Measure Program and Institutional Learning Outcomes at the University of Guelph

University of Guelph Evaluates Online Outcomes Assessment Tool The University of Guelph was one of the first institutions to define the skills students would learn in their programs. This evolved into a list of five institutional learning outcomes that were approved in 2012. As a next step, researchers worked in collaboration with Desire2Learn (D2L), a […]

The Sustainability of the Ontario Public Postsecondary System: Putting Together the Pieces of the Puzzle

Visit our sustainability page to read more of HEQCO’s research on this topic. Sustaining the quality of higher education goes beyond simply balancing the books As Ontario universities and colleges struggle to deal with rising expenses and stagnant revenues, academic quality risks being compromised, argues a new report by the Higher Education Quality Council of […]

University Sustainability: Expenditures

As labour costs grow faster than revenues, Ontario universities face sustainability challenges With no significant growth in student enrolment projected in coming years, Ontario universities face a future where labour costs outpace revenues. This may create a challenge for sustaining academic quality, according to a new report from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario […]

Differentiation within the Ontario College System: Options and Opportunities

Degree granting distinctions are important, but regional factors are also driving differentiation among Ontario colleges In contrast to Ontario’s university sector, colleges in the province are difficult to cluster into groups as they tend to have individually defining characteristics based on local factors such as geography, demographic demand for programs/credentials and regional labour market needs, […]

The Impact of Incentives, Communications and Task Demand on Postsecondary Student Participation in Online Research

Monetary incentives effective in boosting student participation in research studies When it comes to persuading postsecondary students to participate in voluntary research studies, monetary incentives work best, according to a new study commissioned and published by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HECQO). Encouraging participation in research is an ongoing challenge across sectors, but […]