Transcript Harvey P. Weingarten`s Presentation

Harvey Weingarten
President
Higher Education Quality
Council of Ontario
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THE IMPORTANCE OF A
ROBUST CREDIT TRANSFER
POLICY: NATIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL TRENDS
STUDENT PATHWAYS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
CONFERENCE
TORONTO, SUTTON PLACE HOTEL
HARVEY P. WEINGARTEN
PRESIDENT
HIGHER EDUCATION QUALITY COUNCIL OF ONTARIO
JANUARY 26 2012
Informing the Future of Higher Education
THE WORLD HAS CHANGED!!
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Informing the Future of Higher Education
QUESTIONS
• Why is a robust credit transfer policy
important?
• How robust is Ontario’s current credit transfer
system?
• What steps would improve Ontario’s credit
transfer system?
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Informing the Future of Higher Education
IS TRANSFER COST EFFECTIVE?
“Improved student
mobility and postsecondary pathways
will result in reduced
costs for learners,
institutions and
governments…”
Informing the Future of Higher Education
Transferability and Post-Secondary Pathways. Association of
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Canadian Community Colleges, April 2011.
COST SAVINGS OF TRANSFER TO STUDENT
• A modelling exercise to estimate impact of
increasing the average amount of credit
recognition from about 40% to 65%.
– Average benefit to each student about $26,000.
– Substantial annual benefit to Ontario economy and
GDP.
Informing the Future of Higher Education
The Financial benefits of enhanced college credential and credit
recognition in Ontario. Centre for Spatial Economics. Ontario, 72009.
CAN GOVERNMENTS SAVE MONEY WITH A
BETTER TRANSFER CREDIT SYSTEM?
• University System of Ohio:
In 2010-11, about 43,000 students transferred from
less to more expensive institutions saving about
$37M.
Also, about 12,500 students transferred some credit
taken in lower cost institutions to more expensive
institutions, saving another about $9M.
YES!
But it depends on how the postsecondary
system is designed and the existence of
lower cost programs and/or institutions!
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Informing the Future of Higher Education
OTHER BENEFITS OF A ROBUST CREDIT
TRANSFER SYSTEM
• Fairness and equity.
• Encourages the participation of lifelong
learners.
• Effective strategy for increasing participation of
under-represented groups.
• Minimizes the “embarrassment factor”.
– 2011 alliance between Colleges Ontario and the
Institutes of Technology Ireland
• 2 years at a CAAT + 2 years at an IOTI = degree, in select
programs.
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Informing the Future of Higher Education
ONTARIO’S CREDIT TRANSFER SYSTEM
• Minister William Davis: “…no able and qualified student should be
prevented from going on from a College of Applied Arts and Technology to
a university”.
• College University Consortium Council (Ontario College University Transfer
Guide), 1996.
• Ontario College-University Degree Completion “Port Hope” Accord, 1999.
• Rae Report, 2005.
• Ontario’s Credit Transfer Initiative, 2010.
• More than 300 existing transfer agreements of various types: bilateral;
multilateral; block transfer; degree completion; laddering; collaborative
programs)
• Students navigate the system and express general satisfaction in surveys
but with numerous anecdotes of dis-satisfaction.
• Students and institutions are pushing the system well beyond current
policies.
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Informing the Future of Higher Education
ONTARIO’S CURRENT CREDIT
TRANSFER SYSTEM
• 20% of CAAT applicants indicate a desire for degree
preparation; 33% indicate that the degree is the
ultimate credential sought.
• 9% of college graduates pursue university, the great
majority stay in Ontario.
• 17% of college students have university experience.
• Average transfer student receives about ½
university credit for a college credential.
• York & Ryerson account for about 38% of all
transfers.
Informing the Future of Higher Education
Student mobility between Ontario’s colleges and11
universities. Colleges Ontario, May 2009.
DRIVERS OF CHANGE
• Low transfer rates compared to other provinces.
• Desire to “bend the cost curve”, increase system
productivity and increase efficiency of operations.
• Institutional aspirations coupled with institutional
financial sustainability imperatives.
• Labour markets.
• NOTE: If student dis-satisfaction was enough to
motivate change, we would have improved the
system already.
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Informing the Future of Higher Education
WHAT INHIBITS THE DEVELOPMENT OF
MORE ROBUST CREDIT TRANSFER?
• University’s “defence” of their academic
standards.
• Degree of autonomy in Ontario’s university
sector.
• Ambivalence in colleges.
• Lack of funding incentives.
• etc etc etc
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Informing the Future of Higher Education
STEPS FOR IMPROVEMENT
• A renewed policy statement for colleges from government.
• Aligning the transfer credit solution to differentiation and institutional
mandate agreements.
• A focus on students, not on institutions.
• Acknowledgement that transfer does not graduate inferior students.
• Losing the “F” word [“fair”].
• Consistency, disclosure, current and reliable information.
• Recognition that institutions, not governments, set academic
standards.
• Start with the GTA.
• Take lessons form the successes, not the failures.1
• The game changer – link to learning outcomes!
A. Boggs & D. Trick . Making college-university 14
cooperation work. HEQCO, 2009.
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Informing the Future of Higher Education
THANKS FOR LISTENING
WWW.HEQCO.CA
Informing the Future of Higher Education