Private Universities in the Spotlight

For years a common mantra has been that we are in a knowledge based economy and people with post-secondary education (PSE) earn more money then people that only have a high school education. With this in mind it should not come as a surprise that demand for PSE has grown considerably. This sequence of events presents opportunities for business and some, like University of Phoenix, are taking full advantage.

It was about ten years ago that the Mike Harris government opened the door to private universities in Ontario. While this Wikipedia listing of universities in Canada states that BC, Alberta and New Brunswick are the only provinces with private universities it would not be difficult to take online courses from from anywhere in Canada from a private school.

Private post-secondary education has been receiving some attention recently. In Ontario, this CBC report points out that the provincial government was taking action against questionable behaviour associated with private universities.  In the US private universities have also been receiving some attention by the federal government of late. Frontline recently aired College, Inc. which showcases some of the issues that have become prevalent in recent years, such as large student debt.  The Frontline program is generating some discussion as outlined here in a blog post by Keith Hampson.

Gaining a solid university or college education is more important now than at any point in history. Providing options on where students can access education is healthy as long schools are held accountable. The media and government seem to be doing just that.

Ontario Gov't Takes Action for International Students

Here is an announcement made recently by the Ontario government to strengthen Ontario as a destination for international students: Ontario Attracting International Students. This action is meant to encourage highly educated students from outside Canada to remain here after they graduate. Furthermore, the hope is that changes like this will attract future international students. The government hopes to increase the number of international students by 50%.  You can read my May 8th post, Student Affairs to Benefit from Immigration Changes, to see how Student Affairs can benefit from these changes to Ontario government policy.

The Benefits of Relationships in the Information Age

An emerging line of thinking for me revolves around how we analyze information. It is no secret that society is accumulating more and more information at faster and faster rates. Thanks to some colleagues I learned recently that I could download material from iTunes, including audio books, to my Blackberry Bold. I quickly discovered that I could download Chris Anderson's Free for free. In the book, Anderson talks about how information wants to become free, but the trade-off is that the time we have available to view this information, our attention, becomes increasingly scarce. It is at this intersection of how we accumulate information and analyze it that I see an opportunity for student affairs.

Some of you may have seen the popular video called A Vision of Students Today that was created by Professor Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students in one of his classes at Kansas State University. Wesch recently gave a TEDTalk where he refers back to the video he created with his students.

In the TEDTalk Wesch uses his experience working with a group of people in New Guinea who were truly off the grid when it comes electricity, the internet and information from the wider world. What Wesch learns is how relationships form the basis of everything that happened for these people. The culture changed when new information was brought to the people because some members of the group became literate. The change that took place for these people in New Guinea illustrates a point that relates to student affairs because of the role we can, and do, play in fostering relationships.

At this point you might ask: How does the analysis of information and relationship development connect? In my mind an area where student affairs professionals excel is facilitating the development of relationships. Think about all of the training, team building activities and mentoring that flows from our work. The content of the relationships in our world is certainly different then for the people in New Guinea that Wesch studied, but the parallel is that they also excelled at developing relationships. 


In his TEDTalk Wesch shows how the villages in New Guinea were first organized in what may appear to be a hap hazard way and how they evolved to be neatly ordered.  While the structure helped provide answers for some, mainly in government, it caused problems for the people in the village.  He then illustrates a lecture hall setting with its rows upon rows of seats and states that it does not benefit students. It is efficient and provides order, which has some value, but he suggests that it causes students to focus on the things that do not matter as much.

A lecture hall has an efficient set up for disseminating information, which is needed, but that information needs to be understood for it to have real value. Student affairs can play a role here in helping students develop the skills to analyze the information. To effectively analyze information students should be able to identify themes, mixed messages, gaps in the information, and how the information is relevant now and in the future. Students can learn how to use all of this to make smart decisions.

Student affairs already excels in developing relationships and this can be leveraged to help our students learn the increasingly valuable skills of analysis and problem solving.  We already do this to a degree but with more and more information comes more opportunities that we can take advantage of.

Student Affairs to Benefit from Immigration Changes

A colleague has helped me understand how government immigration policy is evolving and it is becoming clear to me that it will greatly influence future international students.  In the past Canada viewed immigration as a way to bring people to the country to help meet a growing need.

In his book Urban Nation, Alan Broadbent points out that Canada's economy in the early 1900's required farmers so immigrants were sought who understood farming.  Not surprisingly, today the government seeks immigrants with a high level of education from their home country that have experience with the modern information economy.

Rather than continuing the focus on attracting immigrants that have already received their education the government now seems to be turning their attention to attracting students from abroad, educating them and enticing them to stay here. The advantage of this new approach from the government's perspective is that the type of education the student's receive is tailored more to Canadian needs.  Furthermore, a university or college student, being younger and more likely to be single, is in a place where it will be easier for them to adjust to Canadian society.

The Ontario government's recent Throne speech endorsed this approach by indicating a desire to double the number of international students in the province. Another recent example is the change made by government to allow international students to work off-campus. Broadbent points out that "the biggest single factor in successful immigrant settlement is the ability to find a good job" and giving international students the opportunity to work beyond the campus borders exposes students to jobs and employers to talent. This mix is certain to promote understanding and help develop relationships that could serve everyone in Canada well.

In March StatsCan published a report predicating some changes in the diversity of the Canadian population over the next 20 years.  One point was that at least a quarter of the population will be foreign-born by 2031.  A second point is that our major cities will be much more diverse then elsewhere in the country. In fact, the reports says "By 2031, according to the reference scenario, more than 71% of all visible minority people would live in Canada's three largest census metropolitan areas: Toronto, Vancouver and Montréal."

Higher Education seems to be well placed to take advantage of these new opportunities. And within Higher Education an opportunity exists for Students Affairs to play an increasingly prominent role because international students will rely on international student advisors for assistance and career centres for employment.

Own the Podium Needed in Higher Ed

Being Canadian has been fun over the past couple of weeks as Vancouver hosted the world for the 2010 Winter Olympics. A popular topic of discussion was the Own the Podium program set up to help our athletes compete. Many people have interpreted "Own the Podium" to mean Canada had to finish with the most medals. Ken Read, former Olympian and one of the original Crazy Canucks, expanded on the real intent of the program in this Globe & Mail opinion piece.

Read explains that "from the get-go, it was clearly stated that [the Own the Podium Program] was a stretch goal – an ambitious target intended to galvanize our nation, inspire our athletes, focus our funding and build a foundation of partnership."

He goes on to say "Own The Podium is and must be the rallying point. It gives us the sense of mission, direction, pride, focus, energy, passion and determination to be the best we can be. It has worked brilliantly, building an attitude, a belief that we can compete."

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had an "Own The Podium" program to inspire those of us in higher education.

I believe the opportunity is before us now to have such a program.

Preston Manning, former Reform Party Founder and past leader of the Official Opposition in Ottawa, points out the importance of innovation in an opinion piece of his own. I'll forgive him for neglecting to highlight the vital role higher education can play in building the skills and knowledge in Canadians that make innovation possible - he is a conservative after all ;-)

Manning correctly points out that innovation is needed in many sectors. He could, and should, have gone farther though. Innovation can be more than a requirement. We have an opportunity to use innovation as a concept, or vision, to rally around.

Imagine a program which inspires our students to acquire knowledge and develop skills that promote innovative approaches. A program that sets ambitious targets which galvanize students, staff and faculty and cause all of us to stretch to new heights. It should be easy now - we just experienced it across Canada.

Incubating Ideas

What is the best way to learn? Its an extremely complex question, but a new and exciting approach has been adopted at two Ontario schools that provides a glimpse into the role universities can now play in the learning process. It involves creating an idea incubator dedicated to students.

Last year, the University of Waterloo's VeloCity received some attention for its innovative approach to helping student's collaborate and build on their ideas. VeloCity is a small 70 bed residence in the corner of the UW campus that was due for a renovation when a discussion took place between staff in residence and graphics that radically changed the normal approach to renewing a residence building. Those discussions lead to the creation of VeloCity which provides entrepreneurial students with a chance to innovative, collaborate and learn.

Staff at my school used VeloCity to help build on some discussions and ideas that had been happening around campus. The dialogue has lead to the creation of the Digital Media Zone or DMZ. Our video blogger recently posted a video of a tour she had of the DMZ that will help explain what happens there.

When learning is real to a student it can lead to powerful outcomes. And it does not get more real then seeing an idea grow from a thought to reality. By creating space for the purpose of incubating ideas Waterloo & Ryerson are creating extremely powerful learning opportunities for students.

Opportunity to Assess Out of Class Experience

Applying Knowledge is an article from Macleans OnCampus that talks about how schools are using NSSE results to improve student engagement. UBC Okanagan's approach to providing dedicated space to commuting students through their Collegia Program is cited as one way that Canadian schools have adapted to the knowledge gained through NSSE.

The article goes on to say "Canada needs 'a more systematic data sharing and analysis exercise' that breaks down information by school and then by faculty, making cross-institutional comparisons easy." Seeking a greater understanding through comparison and benchmarking of Canadian schools is needed.

However, it should not be limited to understanding the differences in student engagement by faculty. Understanding the role that services for students, student club involvement and all the other ways students get involved outside the classroom is needed as well. Achieving this end will be a little more challenging because data on student involvement in these types of activities is likely not captured in a central database. Nonetheless, if groups manage their own data then comparing that information to student engagement data is possible. At Ryerson we have been working with our planning office to do just that. Hopefully, we will have some results to share with you in the near future.

Assessment is increasing in importance and getting involved in how data is used to study student engagement presents a huge opportunity for everyone in higher education, especially those of us in student affairs.