Competency-based Education: Driving the Skills-measurement Agenda

Rise of competency-based education could help bridge ‘skills gap’ With increased pressure on the postsecondary education system to prepare students for a changing workforce, competency-based education (CBE) is emerging as a promising model for preparing graduates to meet employer demands. A new report published by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, Competency-based Education: Driving the […]

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 […]

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 […]

Skills, Competencies and Credentials

Current credential and accreditation system does not serve students well The current university system of credentials, accreditation and transcripts does not serve most undergraduate students well, according to a new report from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO). While the current system does an excellent job documenting students’ knowledge of content, it provides […]

Assessing Learning Outcomes: Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking and Written Communication Skills

Humber College examines the effectiveness of a new skills-assessment tool Students’ critical thinking and written communications skills show the most improvement when they are explicitly taught, according to a new study by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) that examines the effectiveness of a new skills-assessment tool developed at Humber College. While the […]

Student Success ePortfolio: Student, Faculty and Employer Perspectives on the Value of ePortfolios in Assessing the Development of Essential Employability Skills

Students, faculty and employers see potential value in ePortfolios By assembling a digital record of a student’s skills and academic accomplishments, ePortfolios have the potential to improve educators’ assessments of students and the ability of students to clearly communicate and connect with employers. But are they effective? A new study from the Higher Education Quality […]