Guest peachy Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 The real level of government support for postsecondary education is down an average of 20 percent across Canada since 1993. It was well under $7,000 per student in 1998, down from a high of $11,500 per student in 1978. ... There are currently 11 percent fewer professors at Canadian universities than there were in 1992.I think, though I don't have stats handy to back me up here, that things have changed a LOT since 1999. Funding has been creeping back up, and most universities in Canada are in the midst of huge hiring booms. We're not necessarily in good shape, but things are improving, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lcloh Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 www.aucc.ca/publications/...ack_e.html 2002: Snapshot of Canadian universities As this edition of Trends suggests, by 2011 universities in Canada will collectively need to address a number of issues in response to increasing public interest and expectations. These include: growing enrolment; the need to hire additional faculty members; increasing the amount of university research. The following chart provides an overview of the status of universities in 2001 with respect to enrolment, degrees granted, faculty, research and funding, along with a perspective of potential changes by the year 2011: 2001 2011* Full-time enrolment 645,000 845,000 Bachelor's degrees 129,000 173,000 Master's degrees 23,400 33,300 Doctoral degrees 4,100 5,300 Full-time faculty 34,500 54,000 Sponsored research $3.2 billion $9.6 billion Operating support $10.7 billion $16.9 billion *The 2011 snapshot is based on the upper limits of the projections in Trends. Trends: Enrolment The major factors influencing university enrolment levels are population demographics, perceptions of the value and utility of a university education, and the resources available to universities to meet enrolment demand. Over the last three years, full-time university enrolment has increased by almost 45,000 students to reach an all-time high of 645,000 students. More than 85 percent of all full-time students are enrolled in undergraduate programs. Six out of seven of these undergraduate students are under the age of 25 and the majority are 21 or younger. After declining in the mid-1990s, part-time enrolment is beginning to rebound. In 2001, there were 275,000 part-time students. Unlike their full-time counterparts, the vast majority of part-time students are over the age of 24. Women accounted for 75 percent of the growth in full-time enrolment since 1981 and for more than 90 percent of this growth over the past decade. Female undergraduate students first outnumbered their male counterparts on Canadian campuses in 1986, and by the fall of 2001 represented 57 percent of undergraduates. Canada's university participation rate for full-time students in the 18 to 21 age group, at roughly 19 percent, is well behind the world's top 10 nations, all of which have surpassed or are rapidly approaching 25 percent participation rates. Over the next decade, increased demand for a university education will be fuelled both by a population surge of 18- to 24-year-olds - the children of the baby boomers - and by increases in participation rates. Rising participation rates are being triggered by a growing number of university-educated parents influencing their children to attend university, and students responding to signals from the marketplace that they can earn more money and have a more rewarding career with a university education. Overall, full-time enrolment is expected to increase 20 to 30 percent by 2011, resulting in an additional 125,000 to 200,000 students seeking access to a university education. Universities' ability to meet this enrolment surge, while at the same time maintaining the quality of the educational experience, will not be possible without additional funds from governments and other sources to increase faculty numbers and to maintain and enlarge campus facilities. Trends: Faculty University faculty spend about one-third of their time on teaching-related activities, another third on research, and the remaining third on community service, institutional and other professional activities. In 2001, there were an estimated 34,500 full-time faculty members employed by Canadian universities, of which 10,000 were women. Although there were 800 more full-time faculty positions in 2001 than in 1998, faculty growth did not keep pace with enrolment, which increased by almost 45,000 full-time students over the same period. One-third of today's university professors are over the age of 54. Over the next decade, due to retirements and normal attrition, universities will need to replace about 20,000 of these faculty members. Universities also will need to hire up to 20,000 new faculty by 2011 to respond to a projected 20 to 30 percent increase in student enrolment, as well as to respond to demands for greater quality and rising research requirements. Given these hiring requirements, Canada will need to train more PhD graduates and increase the share of PhDs who remain in academia after graduation. Canadian universities currently award about 4,100 doctoral degrees a year, but roughly one-quarter of these are to foreign students. A majority of PhD holders in Canada occupy positions outside academe. Trends: Research University research is increasingly being seen as an essential component of a productive and innovative Canadian economy. Research also contributes to the student experience by stimulating the spirit of enquiry. Canadian universities perform one-third of the country's research and development. External investment in university research - from governments and other sources - has grown significantly in Canada in the last five years, with an estimated 35 percent increase in real terms since 1997. In 2001, total R&D expenditures in the university sector, including universities' own investments, are estimated to have exceeded $6.8 billion. Funding increases have been driven in large measure by new investments in research personnel, research infrastructure and health research. Federal and provincial governments are the main sources of external research funding. Despite these recent gains, Canada continues to lag behind several of its key competitor nations in R&D investment. In 1998-99, Canada's gross national expenditures on R&D as a percentage of gross national product, at 1.7 percent, was well below the OECD average of 2.2 percent. Over the next decade, demand for research will continue to grow as a result of a strong public policy emphasis on research and innovation as drivers of social and economic development. Universities' ability to meet this increased demand will depend largely on their ability to secure additional funds from governments and elsewhere to maintain an internationally competitive research environment. In 1999, Canadian universities generated more than $22.6 million in revenue from intellectual property and held $55 million in equity through the 454 spin-off companies they created. Trends: Finances Canadian universities are a major contributor to Canadian economic activity. However, funding has not kept pace with demands, putting pressure on university finances. The combined annual revenue of Canadian universities is $16 billion. In recent years, growth in university revenues has been driven by increases in tuition fees and by public and private sector support of sponsored research. Despite increases in government operating support in the last few years, per student government operating support in 2001-02 was 17 percent lower than in 1992-93. In real terms, universities are now receiving $4,000 less support per student than the $12,000 per student provided by governments at the beginning of the 1980s. Scholarships and needs-based aid provided to students by universities have more than tripled, from $150 million in 1990-91 to well over $500 million in 2001-02. As a result of strong increases in state and federal support, U.S. governments provided almost 30 percent more support per student in 2001-02 than they did in 1980-81, while Canadian governments provided 20 percent less per student support over the same period. - 30 - Information: Léo Charbonneau Media Relations Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada Tel.: (613) 563-3961, ext. 323 E-mail: lcharbon@aucc.ca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peachy Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 Thanks, lcloh. I think we are indeed in generally much better shape than four or five years ago, although our government, especially in Ontario, still doesn't invest enough in eduation. A statistic I've heard occasionally is that if you rank all the US states and Canadian provinces together in terms of percentage of their budget that they devote to education, Ontario ranks second last... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 Hi there lcloh and thanks for posting all that info. Increased public funding to UK universities is interesting; however it does not necessarily mean that this funding is streaming down to the student level resulting in decreased or no tuition, as it was a few years back. As to funding at Canadian universities, I hear that UofT is in a big hole of debt at the moment, and the hole is apparently deepening. I've been speaking to some folks who work for UofT and they're saying that what's going on is apparently quite incredible. I'd mentioned that UofT certainly seems to have healthy coffers given all the construction and new projects that seem to be underway, however, apparently some of these projects are leaning heavily on financing and debt, not coffers of cash. Hopefully all will be well! Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lcloh Posted July 22, 2003 Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 peachy - you are indeed correct, that statistic is well known... rather disappointing, in my opinion. the government came in and slashed health care and education, the two pillars of our society... and embarked on a massive roadworks project. i mean what's the point? how can we enjoy our beautiful roads (which they government also screwed up downloading to the cities, etc.) when we're coughing, febrile and uneducated? doesn't make sense. kirsteen - very true; unfortunately i don't have any stats as to real-time tuition fee funding in the UK, but your point is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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