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Harvey P. Weingarten – Postsecondary education and jobs: It’s a question of skills

This week, we released a study examining the relationship between the supply of graduates from six regulated professions – medicine, law, teaching, architecture, engineering, nursing – and the labour demand for these graduates.  The historical evidence provided in that analysis is clear – we never get it right! We either oversupply or undersupply. This conclusion […]

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EduData – The landscape of learning outcomes assessment in Canada

To gain a better understanding of current learning outcomes assessment practices used across Canada, we surveyed provosts and VP academics in colleges and universities. This infographic highlights some of our key findings. Click here for the full report. University | College

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Sarah Brumwell – Resilience, transferable skills and higher ed

One of HEQCO’s keynotes from the recent Transitions conference, Paul Tough, has a great piece in the June issue of The Atlantic on how kids learn resilience. This is familiar ground for him—Tough’s bestselling book, How Children Succeed, explains how qualities like perseverance, curiosity and self-control are just as crucial to a child’s success as […]

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Nicholas Dion – Numeracy is not math

While the terms math and numeracy are often used interchangeably, they refer to quite different things, and the distinction plays an important – if often implicit – role in defining the scope of the conversations we have about numeracy skills. In brief, while math is conceptual and abstract, numeracy is the practical application of mathematical […]

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Lauren Hudak and Greg Moran – Learning outcomes assessment is no second stringer

Learning outcomes assessment is no longer a sad substitute standing on the sidelines hoping for a chance to play when the game is out of reach. It is now a key member of the starting line up. Today, you can see its footprint in virtually every space of the education sector, from the rarefied heights […]

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Greg Moran – No change for no change’s sake

One of the benefits of working at HEQCO (and let’s face it, there are many) is that staying abreast of postsecondary education literature is part of the job.  Although the volume can be overwhelming, much of this writing is provocative and helpful. Occasionally I run across something that simply provokes. In a recent opinion piece […]

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HEQCO – A triumph of evidence-based decision-making

In last Thursday’s budget, the Ontario government announced significant changes to the way student financial aid will be packaged to encourage greater participation of students from low income families.  These changes come after years of research from HEQCO, and other organizations, about the inhibitory effects of a high tuition sticker price and loan aversion on […]

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Jill Scott – Data collection on student learning, or why I can’t paint that door

There is a door in my house – maybe you have one of these too – that cannot be painted. In recent renovations, I had to explain to the workmen that the data on the door is too valuable and must be preserved. You may have guessed that the door in question is where we’ve […]

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Tania Sterling – When it comes to learning, K-12 and higher ed more alike than different

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 […]