Strategic Management Agreements (SMAs) released by the Ontario government on Friday, August 7, 2014 contain a blueprint for the future of education in our province. The OPSEU College Faculty Divisional Executive Committee (CAAT-A Divex) is calling on all of our College Faculty members to look carefully at their college’s SMA and communicate concerns with their local leadership to be forwarded to the CAAT-A Divex. This feedback will be important for further action.
Download your college’s SMA
The SMAs have rightly raised alarms among faculty at Ontario’s colleges. These are defining documents in the rollout of the new provincial strategy of “differentiation” of colleges and universities.
The CAAT-A Divex believes these SMAs are more about cost cutting than improving access to quality education. Differentiation of programming in post-secondary institutions will result in important programs being moved out of communities, and greater corporate decision-making power in what programs receive required funding.
The proposed differentiation will also result in students and their families incurring increased debt loads as students are forced to travel long distances or live in residence to access programs that were once offered in their communities. This will in turn mean that post-secondary education becomes more difficult to access for those families who have a lower income level.
Ontario Colleges and universities are investing heavily in infrastructure and administration. The CAAT-A Divex will continue to work hard in the coming months to ensure that this government understands classroom learning must be the priority.
The failure of the employer to properly consult with college faculty fails to appreciate the expertise in program development and delivery, which would have been an important contribution to this decision-making.
College Faculty have been critical of the government’s differentiation plan since its inception, and presented their concerns to the then Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU), Brad Duguid, in August 2013. The Ministry made no further effort to consult with faculty or to follow up on our report. Our recommendations were seemingly ignored. The newly appointed MTCU Minister, Reza Moridi, signed these SMAs and your CAAT-A Divex will be following up with him.
We look forward to hearing from the College Faculty local leadership regarding concerns specific to each of the colleges. Thanks in advance for your assistance with this important review process.
In solidarity
Jp Hornick, Chair
Jacques O’Sullivan, Vice-Chair
Lynn Dee Eason
Rod Bain
Jonathan Singer
Download your college’s SMA