Academic Reform provides realistic policy options for improving the quality and the cost-effectiveness of undergraduate education in Ontario.
Building on the 2009 book, Academic Transformation: The Forces Reshaping Higher Education in Ontario, the authors start with the premise
that the teacher-scholar ideal pursued by individual universities has led to a model for undergraduate education in Ontario that is financially
unsustainable and does not provide the best possible education for undergraduate students. They draw from the literature on higher
education reform and on recent policy initiatives in the United Kingdom, Australia, Europe and selected American states and Canadian
provinces to show that options are available for providing high-quality education to an ever-expanding number of students at a more
affordable cost to both students and governments.
Academic Reform explores ways to sharpen the universities’ focus on undergraduate teaching and to increase the number of students
attending institutions that focus on undergraduate education, without diminishing Ontario’s ability to attract and retain university
researchers of the highest calibre. The authors develop a model for teaching-oriented undergraduate institutions that would complement
traditional research universities. They present options for provincial funding and regulation to encourage the creation of such institutions
while supporting high-quality undergraduate teaching at existing universities.
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At the heart of this splendid book is the conviction that undergraduate teaching and learning is the core of the contract between universities and society, but that the prevailing model of undergraduate education is no longer sustainable and the time for action is urgently now. Books on academic reform are generally long on diagnosis and short on prescription. Not this one. Academic Reform: Policy Options for Improving the Quality and Cost-effectiveness of Undergraduate Education in Ontario is well titled, for it builds both a case and a framework for action by government and universities on a compelling scholarly analysis of the factors and forces affecting higher education at home and abroad. In doing so, the authors draw upon their impressive academic and public-service experience, exhibiting throughout a passionate commitment to higher education. All of us who care about higher education are greatly in their debt. The best way to show it would be to engage with the challenge they set out. | |
Having spent much of my career advancing innovations, I’ve developed a familiarity with the difficulties of calling for change. Needed change is often delayed by resistive forces that probably, in general, protect us. But occasionally, an insightful few perceive an impending situation in which failure to change will be disastrous. And yet, the disaster often occurs despite the warning. In other cases, the predictions are heard with sufficient clarity and intensity that we do avoid harm and embark on a better course. Often, the difference between such success and failure lies in the quality of communication. Academic Reform: Policy Options for Improving the Quality and Cost-effectiveness of Undergraduate Education in Ontario is written with crystal clarity, catches one’s attention, and presents a powerful, compelling analysis of changes that are inevitable in Ontario and indeed throughout Canada and much of the world. I hope and believe that this solid, inspiring work will play a key role in advancing the long overdue improvements it so insightfully describes. |
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Expanding graduate programs and renewing the professoriate: What’s the connection? Ian D. Clark, David Trick and Richard Van Loon, Academic Matters, March 22, 2012
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Comment by David Trick on “Ontario doesn’t need three new campuses” by George Fallis, Toronto Star, March 5, 2012
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Michael Enright of CBC's Sunday Edition talks with Academic Reform authors, February 18, 2012 [Minutes 31:36 to 44:30 in Hour 2]
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Author calls for academic reform, Stephanie Lowe, Ryersonian, February 15, 2012
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"They say high school; we say Mount A" CBC Ottawa interview of Richard Van Loon and Mark Langer on undergraduate universities, February 10, 2012
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Teaching-only universities would cut education costs, author says, Louise Brown, Toronto Star, February 7, 2012
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Establishing New Undergraduate Universities, Ian Clark and David Trick at OISE|U of T Symposium on Three New Campuses for Ontario, February 7, 2012
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Teaching-oriented universities and undergraduate participation in research, Ian Clark comment on University Affairs article by Alan Slavin, January 29, 2012
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How much is too much research on pedagogy? Alan Slavin with Comment by Ian Clark, University Affairs, January 25 and 29, 2012
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Clark presentation at Alberta-BC New Universities Program, January 16, 2012
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Academic reform: tread carefully, Peter Ricketts with Comments by Ian Clark and Richard Van Loon, University Affairs, January 9 and 12, 2012
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University differentiation should not mean 'two-tiered,' Maureen Mancuso with Comment by Ian Clark, University Affairs, December 5 and 13, 2011
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Where Ontario’s next university must be built, Josh Dehaas, Maclean's On Campus, November 23, 2011
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Improving undergraduate education in Canada – the good and not so good news, Ian Clark, The University Commons (AUCC), November 21, 2011
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No quick fix for universities, Constance Adamson, president of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, Toronto Star, November 14, 2011
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What can fiscally constrained governments do to improve undergraduate education? Ian Clark, Mowat Opinions, November 11, 2011
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A new book argues for substantial reform to Ontario’s higher-education system, including the introduction of a rare breed of institution in Canada: the teaching-oriented university. University Affairs, November 7, 2011
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Academic Reform Slides for Shifting Gears Symposium, Ian Clark, November 7, 2011
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It’s time to build better bridges between colleges and universities, Richard Van Loon, Ottawa Citizen, November 4, 2011
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Students report on spending at Ontario’s universities, urge quality improvements, Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, November 2, 2011
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