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The Roles, State, and Impact of PSE in Canada.

Carl AmrheinVisiting Executive, The Conference Board of CanadaNovember 5, 2013

Where we are, where we need to go, and why.

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1. The Purpose of Higher Education and Graduate Studies.

2. Demands and Challenges Facing PSE.

3. Research Agenda Overview.

4. Preliminary Findings: Skills—Where Are We Today?: Post-Secondary Education and the State of Skills Production in Canada.

5. Next Steps.

Presentation Overview.

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• In The Idea of a University (1891), John Henry Newman argued that the university’s function is to develop an individual’s intellectual culture in a broad way.

• “It educates the intellect to reason well in all matters, to reach out towards truth, and to grasp it.”

 

Value of Higher Education.

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• Wilhelm von Humboldt envisioned a "Universitas litterarum" which would aim at a “unity of teaching and research.”

• “The teacher no longer exists for the sake of the student; both exist for the sake of knowledge.”

 

Value of Higher Education.

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• The roles defined by Cardinal Newman and Humboldt remain relevant.

• In addition to pursuing knowledge “as its own end,” universities educate individuals for the responsibilities of citizenship, as future leaders and contributors to all aspects of government, society, culture, and the economy.  

Value of Higher Education.

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• Canada’s array and diversity of graduate programs are essential to fulfilling these roles.

• Graduate education mentors students in the ways of thinking and investigating that provide a foundation for advancing human knowledge and contributing to the economic, social, cultural, and aesthetic well-being of Canada and the world.

Value of Graduate Studies.

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The Centre for Skills and Post-Secondary Education addresses the advanced skills and education challenges facing Canada today.

Centre for Skills and Post-Secondary Education.

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A skilled person is a person who, through education, training and experience, makes a useful contribution to the economy and society.

Skills Are Broadly Defined.

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• Broaden the PSE mission.

• Develop a Skills and PSE Strategy for Canada.

• Foster shared understanding and sense of purpose leading to action by stakeholders.

• Improve instructional quality, technology and pedagogy, skills of graduates.

Goals of SPSE.

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• Clarify the mix of structures, investments, and pathways for learners

• Enhance and demonstrate relevance to innovation, productivity, health, infrastructure, cities and urban agendas.

• Track and report on PSE performance.

• Raise public awareness of PSE and importance.

Goals of SPSE.

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PSE Facts.Facts and Figures

2009 annual PSE expenditures $37 billion

Current estimated expenditures $40 billion

PSE employees

(includes administrators, instructors, etc.; does not include supply chain and service institutions)

250,000

Percentage of population who have completed either university or college (2011) 51 per cent.

Higher Education R&D (2011) $11.3 billion

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• Discovery and innovation.

• Learning and skills development.

• Expert advice and capacity building.

PSE Roles and Impact.

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Stakeholders and Their Roles.

The stakeholders involved in PSE include:

• Universities

• Polytechnics and colleges

• Apprenticeship Systems

• Skilled Trades Systems

• Specialized Adult Education and Training Institutions

• Federal Government

• Provincial Governments

• Municipal Governments

• Business

• Granting Bodies and Agencies

• Accrediting Bodies

• Communities

• Aboriginal Groups

• Faculty/Students

Stakeholders can have an impact on teaching, research, business and the economy, and community.

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1. Preparation for employment. Growing demand for more highly skilled graduates.

2. Societal Role. Continuous need for educated citizens, leaders, and contributors.

3. Labour Force. Changing needs for workers with updated skills and training.

4. Immigrants and Non-Traditional Learners. Need for global credential recognition and new pathways to education.

Current Demands on PSE.

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Operating Environment.

• Student demographic and socio-economic diversity—many more demands, niches.

• Demography and changing enrollment levels.

• International competition for students and resources, fueled by globalization.

• Multiple communities with learning needs.

Challenges Facing the PSE Sector.

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Goals and Changing Expectations.

• Calls to broaden the skills and PSE mission and build a shared “systemic perspective” on values and outcomes—but how, with so many interests and jurisdictions?

• Demand rising for better instructional quality (technology and pedagogy), and more skilled graduates—but what skills, for what purposes?

• Increasing expectations to enhance and demonstrate relevance to other “agendas”—innovation, productivity and competitiveness; health; infrastructure; cities and urban agendas.

Challenges Facing the PSE Sector.

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Processes.

• Limited ability of administrators to authorize and direct institutional change.

• Conflicting interests/claims of employee groups and stakeholders, including unions, professors, staff, students, communities, business, governments.

• Inhibiting impact of government funding models on change processes.

Challenges Facing the PSE Sector.

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Resources.

• PSE viability and performance threatened by funding freezes/cuts, competition, and caps on tuition increases.

• Research funding limitations.

• Rising infrastructure and overhead costs; indirect costs of research—not fully funded in long-term.

Challenges Facing the PSE Sector.

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Professoriate in Demand.

• Intense global competition for top talent results in spiraling costs to attract/retain leading experts.

• Many institutions lack the financial capacity to compete against top international universities and private, strongly endowed institutions.

Challenges Facing the PSE Sector.

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Metrics.

• Performance needs to be measured in order to demonstrate value of investments made in the system and to attract funding.

• Most data are inputs/outputs: resource inputs, participation, graduation rates.

• Limited performance outcomes data: Research relevance/impact; innovation; successful careers.

• Few measures of ROI, value-added.

Challenges Facing the PSE Sector.

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Need for Diagnosis and Solutions.

• What are/should be the system’s objectives?

• How well is the system performing?

• What impact is it having on skills development, economy, society, health, and community?

• What explains good vs. weak performance?

• What can be done to improve performance?

Research and Dialogue.

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The Centre for Skills and Post-Secondary Education will help to provide the necessary diagnosis and facilitate discussion on solutions.

SPSE Activities.

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• Facilitates dialogue and collaboration among the investors, stakeholders to achieve its mission.

• Experience bringing together groups of like interest to build partnerships.

• A reputation for high impact research through our impartial and rigorous approach.

• Independently funded, non-partisan and not an advocacy organization.

• Proven track record of influencing the shape of national dialogue on key issues affecting Canada.

The Conference Board Advantage.

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The Board will bring stakeholders together through:

• National Summit on Skills and PSE (Toronto, Nov 6-7, 2013)

• Investors Meetings

• Regional, Institutional, and Expert Consultations

• Multiple Reference Groups Quality Network for Universities Leaders Roundtable on Immigration Roundtable on Indigenous Peoples’ Skills and PSE Youth and Student Entrepreneurs Council on Education and Training in the Digital Age

• Research-related Working Groups

Convening.

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Understanding the Operating EnvironmentPolicies, Laws, and Regulations Governing Skills and PSE.

• Identify and assess the main PLRs that shape objectives, major institutions, and affect PSE governance and operations.

• Examine the role of governing bodies/institutions in applying, and being accountable for PLRs (e.g., Boards, Senates, inter-institutional councils; accrediting bodies).

• Analyze the opportunities/constraints on PSE system change due to PLRs.

Foundational Research Underway.

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Understanding the Operating EnvironmentPolicies, Laws, and Regulations Governing Skills and PSE.

• Seeks to demonstrate differentiated impacts of PLR models in skills and PSE system.

• Background research currently underway (literature and data review).

• Extensive analysis of policy, legislative and regulatory documentation in progress.

• Interviews with PSE leaders and experts (November 2013).

Foundational Research Underway.

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The Economic Impact of PSE in Canada.

• Quantify economic impacts of the PSE sector at the individual, organizational, community, provincial, and economy-wide levels.

• Characterize the ROI of the PSE system as a whole (including successes and failures) and impacts generated by different parts or sub-sectors of the PSE system.

• Compare the impacts on different demographic groups (e.g., women vs. men; Aboriginal vs. non-aboriginal) and communities (e.g., urban vs. rural; differences by province).

Foundational Research Underway.

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The Economic Impact of PSE in Canada.

• Show differentiated impacts that are relevant to current strategies of institutions.

• Background research currently underway (literature and data review).

• Interviews with PSE leaders and experts (November 2013).

Foundational Research Underway.

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Skills—Where Are We Today?PSE and the State of Skills Production in Canada.

• Highlight the importance of skills for economic and social well-being of Canada and individuals.

• Map and characterize the PSE system in terms of major institutions and roles in skills development.

• Provide an overview and analysis of the state of skills in the adult Canadian population.

• Identify and discuss the weaknesses in, and challenges to, Canada’s PSE system and prospects for future skills development.

Foundational Research Underway.

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Skills—Where Are We Today?PSE and the State of Skills Production in Canada.

• Provide an initial baseline/foundation for understanding skills production performance.

• Background research currently underway (literature and data review).

• Extensive analysis of OECD’s Adult Skills Survey (October 2013) in progress.

• Interviews with PSE leaders and experts (November 2013).

Foundational Research Underway.

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Importance of Skills and PSE.

• Skills are critically important to the economic, social, political, and cultural well-being of Canada and Canadians.

• Attainment of advanced skills by a large proportion of a country’s population improves economic competitiveness, and political and community engagement.

• Also contributes to better employment prospects, income, and health for individuals and their families.

State of Skills and PSE—Preliminary Findings.

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Importance of Skills and PSE—Labour Market Outcomes.

• Before 2008, Canadians with higher education had unemployment rate of 4.1 per cent; those without had unemployment of 9.1 per cent.

• By 2011, unemployment was 5.0 per cent for those with higher education versus to 11.7 per cent for those without.

State of Skills and PSE—Preliminary Findings.

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Importance of Skills and PSE—Labour Market Outcomes.

• Canadians with less than high school have an employment rate of 55 per cent; those with university or college credentials have employment rates of 82 and 81 per cent, respectively.

• There are differences across disciplines but, on average, those aged 25 to 64 who have a higher education credential earn 39 per cent more than those with only a high school education.

State of Skills and PSE—Preliminary Findings.

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Importance of Skills and PSE—Social/Political Outcomes.

• Higher education is correlated with:

• Better health.

75 per cent of those with higher ed versus 47 per cent of those with less than high school report excellent or very good health.

• Greater political engagement.

78 per cent of people with a university degree versus 60 per cent for those with high school or less voted in the 2011 federal election.

• Higher rates of volunteerism.

58 per cent among university graduates, 45 per cent among other PSE graduates, 43 per cent for high school graduates, and 37 per cent for those with less than high school.

State of Skills and PSE—Preliminary Findings.

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Higher Education Attainment and Skills in Canada.

• More than 51 per cent of Canadian adults hold a university or college degree, diploma, or certificate.

• Well above the OECD average of 32 per cent.

• 12 per cent of Canadians held trades cert. in 2011.

• Tertiary education attainment in Canada has increased 11 percentage points since 2000.

State of Skills and PSE – Preliminary Findings.

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Higher Education Attainment and Skills in Canada.

• But OECD Adult Skills Survey (2013) shows that skills attainment among Canadian adults is middling.

• Canadians rank: at the OECD average in literacy.

below the OECD average in numeracy.

above the OECD average in using technology to solve problems.

• Given our leading rate of higher education attainment, we should be doing much better.

State of Skills and PSE – Preliminary Findings.

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Higher Education Attainment and Skills in Canada.

• Canadians with higher education have weaker skills scores than OECD average among those with higher education:

Canadians with tertiary credentials score 290 in literacy—versus OECD average of 297.

Only 3 countries had lower scores—Italy, Spain, Cyprus.

Japanese high school graduates scored 289!

State of Skills and PSE – Preliminary Findings.

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Higher Education Attainment and Skills in Canada.

• Canadians with higher education have weaker skills scores than OECD average among those with higher education:

47 per cent of Canadians with tertiary credentials score at Level 3 or higher using technology to solve problems

OECD average is 52 per cent.

Canada ranks 15th of 19 countries on this metric.

State of Skills and PSE – Preliminary Findings.

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Graduate Student Outcomes.

• Canadian universities produce thousands of well-educated, well-trained masters and doctoral students each year.

• Many doctoral graduates hope to find employment in academia.

• Yet, almost 70 per cent of graduates with doctorates do not find full employment in traditional academic jobs. (StatsCan).

• North America alone produces almost fifty thousand doctoral graduates a year, and competition for the relatively small number of academic vacancies is global.

State of Skills and PSE – Preliminary Findings.

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Implications for Graduate Studies.

• If Canada’s universities continue to produce PhDs at such high rates—and we believe they should—they need to come to terms with the reality that the most will need preparation for non-academic employment settings.  

State of Skills and PSE – Preliminary Findings.

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“There have always been fewer jobs [in academia] than there are PhDs, so PhD students have always had to

adapt themselves. Where we have been slow as institutions is in recognizing what we can do to help them adapt, and I think it is a role that more and more of us are

taking on.”

Dr. Douglas Peers, Professor of History, Dean of Arts

University of WaterlooPast President of the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies

State of Skills and PSE – Preliminary Findings.

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• Traditional delivery.

• Technology and pedagogy.

• Institutional and jurisdictional silos.

• Sustaining research as a priority.

• From teaching to learning.

• Credential recognition / accreditation.

• Skills and learning roadmaps.

PSE Needs Systemic Changes.

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• Skills and PSE Strategy for Canada.

• Skills and Learning Pathways Planning Tool.

• Rethinking Universities: New Forms for New Functions.

• Learning in the Digital Age.

• University and Colleges: Pathways to Skills & Careers.

• Advanced Skills for the New Economy.

• Productivity and PSE.

• PSE Pathways to Innovation and Commercialization.

• Capitalizing the PSE Sector: Funding Reform Options.

• International Best Practices in PSE Reform.

SPSE Research Deliverables.

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Multiple Stakeholders Should Care Deeply.

• PSE institutions need to show leadership on issues where their own futures are at stake.

• Employers need talented employees and the PSE system to deliver world-class results.

• Professors, students, and families all make essential investments in the system.

• Governments and other investors in PSE institutions need to help shape and manage system enhancements.

Who Should Invest?

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• Foundational Investors $100,000 / Year.

• Champion Investors$50,000 / Year.

• Partner Investors $25,000 / Year.

• Participant Investors $10,000 / Year.

• Associate Investors $5,000 / Year.

Investment Levels.

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Current Investors.

Alberta Ministry of Enterprise and Advanced Education

Association of Canadian Community Colleges

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

Athabasca University

Brandon University

Canadian Association for Graduate Studies

Canadian Alliance of Student Associations

Concordia University

Dalhousie University

Dawson College

Inspire Nanaimo (Vancouver Island University/Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce/City of Nanaimo)

Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Memorial University

Nova Scotia Dept of Labour & Advanced Education

Ontario College of Art & Design University (OCADU)

Red Deer College

Royal Roads University

Ryerson University

Saint Mary’s University

SAIT

University of Alberta

University of British Columbia

University of Ottawa/Université d’Ottawa

York University

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• National Skills and PSE Summit (Toronto, Nov 6-7).

• Research.

• Your Turn! (We’d like to hear your thoughts in the Working Session).

Next Steps.

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