News & Events

In a Toronto Star article, President Sheldon Levy talks about the positive impact of additional funding, the real benefits for students, and what it means for the future.

Most people cannot afford to do home renovations all at once. They might fix up the kitchen first, and plan other improvements as their budget allows. But every upgrade makes a difference.

The metaphor is useful in the present discussions about post-secondary funding. Over time, Ontario had made its way to the basement in terms of per student funding, ranking 10th among the provinces of Canada. For years, there had been no major policy or funding decision making any improvements possible on a significant scale.

Until now. When the Ontario government introduced its Reaching Higher plan for post-secondary education in 2005, it committed an additional $6.2 billion over five years as a dedicated investment in higher learning.

It's true that the announcement was accompanied by lifting the two-year tuition freeze. The current protests are understandable, because they are based on a history of having to pay more and get less.
 
But now there is a difference. With government providing additional operating funds, and increased financial aid, students have the prospect of getting more for their money, with more supports in place.

The $6.2 billion included $1.5 billion for student financial assistance, $1. 9 billion for colleges, training, and apprenticeship, and $2.8 billion for universities. There are provisions for students who might not otherwise attend post-secondary; for example, those who are the first in their families to go to university or college, aboriginal peoples, francophones, and students with disabilities.

The effect was immediate. Here is what Ryerson University was able to achieve thanks to an increased operating budget, based on a combination of new funding and the end of the tuition freeze:

We hired 40 new faculty members to improve our teaching complement. Library hours were increased by an additional 26 hours per week.

Responding to priorities identified by the students themselves, we constructed 600 new study spaces at 45 locations across campus. We were able to provide 15 new and refurbished research labs, and 22 additional graduate research assistantships. Presentation technology was added to nine classrooms and equipment was updated with new installations in three more.

An unseen but critically important success was the acknowledgement by government that the funding formula would be updated to pay for student enrolments that had been unfunded for years, as a holdover from past formula provisions.
 
The return on the investment in these quality advances is high. Universities and government jointly calculated an estimated 60,000 additional students would have to be supported by the Reaching Higher Plan. In fact, the number is already 74,000 and climbing.

Applications for fall 2007 from secondary school students are up a further 5. 2 per cent across the university system, with first-choice applications at Ryerson up an unprecedented 17.5 per cent. The anticipated increase in enrolment by 2009-10 is 46,000 students more than assumptions.

The reasons for this growth in demand are clear.

The government made student success and investment in education a priority and Ontarians responded. Students and families who considered university beyond their reach saw that a much-improved financial aid program was now available. Universities promised places for students and a quality experience. Students, in their increasing numbers alone, are making a clear statement that government was right to invest in Ontario universities.

Resolving the challenges attendant upon these exceptional levels of participation is up to us.

As a matter of principle and fundamental social good, the aspirations of every student deserve to be encouraged.

At the same time, we have to continue the quality initiatives that attracted more student interest and contribute to a sustained environment of learning excellence.
 
We are encouraged to believe Reaching Higher means something more than the title of the government post-secondary strategy.

Student demand has to be a call to action, a spur to ingenuity and partnership. Universities and government worked together to crunch the numbers for an investment that yielded a return far beyond anyone's expectation.

All of us - government, universities, students, the public - need to keep talking about investment strategies and ideas that will continue to increase the value of an Ontario education.

Sheldon Levy is president and vice-chancellor of Ryerson University and chair of the Council of Ontario Universities Government and Community Relations Committee.