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Jennifer Han – Shifting the Access Framework of Higher Education: Benefits of a Strength-based Lens

Our perceptions are shaped by the way information is presented to us. This applies everywhere, including postsecondary education (PSE) where the dominant perspective often positions certain groups of students through a deficit framework. Deficit thinking uses a blame-the-victim way of attributing student failures to individual, family or community traits and approaches student difficulty through a […]

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Janice Deakin and Julia Colyar — Introducing the new HEQCO Research Roadmap

Our appointments as CEO and Vice President just over a year ago turned out to be coincident with many things, some anticipated and others not! The need to develop a new strategic research framework to guide HEQCO’s activities for the next three years was top of mind for us; however the path to completion was […]

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Making Sense of Microcredentials

Making Sense of Microcredentials was written by Jackie Pichette, Sarah Brumwell, Jessica Rizk and Steven Han, Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. New HEQCO report brings clarity to the confusing world of microcredentials Making Sense of Microcredentials, a new report from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO), provides a clear definition for microcredentials […]

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Jessica Rizk and Jennifer Han — Improving the Accessibility of Higher Education with Universal Design for Learning: An Example from One Ontario College

In September 2020, HEQCO released a report aimed at improving the accessibility of remote learning in higher education. At that point, we were six months into the COVID-19 pandemic in North America and dealing with the onset of a new academic year. Among the lessons we learned from postsecondary students, faculty and staff, as well […]

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Janice Deakin, Julia Colyar & Jackie Pichette — Microcredentials: Short, focused learning that responds to emerging demands

The microcredential landscape is evolving quickly. Since HEQCO began researching the topic in early 2020, the Ontario government has  dedicated close to $60 million for a micro-credential strategy that includes new programs, an online portal and a public awareness campaign. In March, the government announced that it was expanding eligibility for Ontario student loans and […]

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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 […]

The Journey of Ontario Apprentices: From High School to the Workforce and Diving into the Trades: An In-depth Look at 10 Apprenticeship Programs in Ontario

The Journey of Ontario Apprentices: From High School to the Workforce was written by Ken Chatoor and Amy Kaufman; Diving into the Trades: An In-depth Look at 10 Apprenticeship Programs in Ontario was written by Ken Chatoor and Sarah Brumwell ​The Journey of Ontario Apprentices: From High School to the Workforce Diving into the Trades: […]

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Jackie Pichette – Survey of Canadians reinforces need for clear, standard definition of “microcredential”

Micro mania — that’s what we called the mix of excitement and uncertainty brewing around microcredentials in Ontario last Spring. Since then, HEQCO partnered with the Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) to help address some of the uncertainty surrounding microcredentials.  We’re building an evidence base that anyone from the college, university or government sectors can draw from […]