Michael L. Skolnik

A Comparative Analysis of Arrangements for State Coordination of Higher Education in Canada and the United States.

This article examines differences between Canada and the United States with respect to the relationship between state/ provincial governments and universities, particularly in regard to arrangements for state coordination of public universities. In attempting to relate such differences in higher education coordination to salient cultural and political differences between the two countries, the article employs the analytical framework developed by Seymour Lipset [14] in his comprehensive study, Continental Divide: The Values and Institutions of the United States and Canada. Given the close economic, political, and geographic relationship between Canada and the United States, one might expect that educational researchers in each country would take some note of the practices and developments on the other side of the border. In fact, however, there have been few comparative studies in education that focus on these two nations. American educational researchers have tended to take a parochial outlook, and they seldom cite works of scholars in other countries [29]. Though it is more difficult for Canadian researchers to ignore the United States than the reverse, Brym [6] notes that Canadian social scientists have been quite ambivalent about comparisons with the United States, oscillating between the thesis that English Canadians are just like Americans and the antithesis that they are fundamentally different.

Theorizing about the Emergence of the Community College Baccalaureate.

In the period of more than a decade since community colleges began awarding baccalaureate degrees in North America there has been little in the way of theoretical exploration of this development. This paper applies a theoretical framework that was originally developed to explain the vocationalization of the American community college to the emergence of the community college baccalaureate in Canadas largest province, Ontario. In Ontario, as of September 2008, 15 community colleges were offering 51 baccalaureate programs. It was found that Doughertys state relative autonomy model was very helpful for understanding the behavior of the provincial government in empowering the community colleges to award baccalaureate degrees, particularly in focusing on the role of ideology. The theories considered in this paper were less helpful in explaining institutional behavior. It was found that they did not support a sufficiently complex understanding of institutional motivation, and there were methodological problems involved in using such theories to disentangle various possible institutional motives for seeking to award baccalaureate degrees.

Re-conceptualizing the Relationship Between Community Colleges and Universities Using a Conceptual Framework Drawn From the Study of Jurisdictional Conflict Between Professions:

This article examines the relationship between community colleges and universities in Canada and the United States based on increased involvement of community colleges in offering baccalaureate programs. The article employs a theoretical framework borrowed from the study of jurisdictional conflict between professions. After considering the types of possible and occurring jurisdiction settlement over baccalaureate preparation between universities and community colleges, the author concludes that the older, simplistic criterion—based on credentials awarded—that defined the division of labor between postsecondary sectors should be replaced with newer, more complex and multifaceted criteria that relate to program and client characteristics.

Arrangements for co-ordination between university and college sectors in Canadian Provinces: 1990–1996

A policy question that arises in any jurisdiction where there is some diversity of postsecondary institutional types is whether there should be formal arrangements for co-ordination among groupings of different type institutions, and if so, what form these arrangements should take. This paper examines questions related to co-ordination between postsecondary sectors in Canada. We conclude that the Canadian provinces, with one important exception, seem to be content to maintain the center of gravity for co-ordination at levels below the system, by either facilitating voluntary inter-sectoral arrangements and encouraging interaction between sectors, or leaving these matters largely at the discretion of institutions.

If the Cut Is So Deep, Where Is the Blood?: Problems in Research on the Effects of Financial Restraint

Publicly funded universities in North America claim that budget restrictions of varying severity and duration have invariably adverse consequences for their academic programs. However, research studies have largely failed to demonstrate such deterioration, and evidence provided by universities has not been persuasive to government funding agencies. This paper examines the methodological problems involved in research on the impact of financial restraint and factors which limit the effectiveness of university briefs which attempt to determine their own financial needs. The paper emphasizes the role of “academic quality” in the public debate on higher education funding, especially in Ontario, and the problems resulting from its elusive nature. The author concludes that probably the best hope for progress in studying the impact of financial restraint on universities lies in the practice of program review, then linking that information—with all of its weaknesses—with financial information.

Evolution of Relations between Community Colleges and Universities in Ontario.

Community colleges in Ontario, Canada, formally known as colleges of applied arts and technology, were established in the late 1960s. Since their inception, these colleges have emphasized occupatio...

Continued efforts to cope with declining resources: selected post-secondary education systems in the United States and Canada, an introductory essay

In the mid-1980s, the problems posed by declining resources continue to plague higher education. In this issue, these problems are again examined, this time by comparing patterns of public spending on higher education at the institutional as well as the system level in selected Canadian provinces and U.S. states. A comparative perspective is useful in such an enterprise because retrenchment is occurring throughout North America. Understanding commonalities as well as locating points of difference may illuminate the phenomenon with which we are grappling. Canada and the U.S. are well suited for comparison. The two countries share a common border, many of the same economic problems, and systems of government where authority for higher education is not located at a central or federal level, but rather in the several provinces or states. However, the two countries are dissimilar enough with regard to cultural, political and legal traditions for comparative work to yield new insights into the problems under consideration.

The shell game called system rationalization: the politics and economics of retrenchment in the Ontario university system

The paper examines the recent experience of the Ontario university system with financial retrenchment. It is noted that the policy of the Government which was in power until May 1985, was to distribute cutbacks proportionately among all universities through an enrolment based funding formula, and to resist calls from various agencies for more selective intervention in the system. It is suggested that more selective interventions may hold a certain political appeal, and the new Governments first attempt at what it calls rationalizing the university system is described.The paper argues that “rationalization” is a very ambiguous, and often misleading, term which conceals either changes in university spending patterns or reductions in particular activities, and that such changes or reductions should be the subject of public debate. Most likely, change in the structure of the university system, by itself, will not save money, and the attempts of any government to be seen as making efficiency gains through merely rearranging relationships among universities is characterized as a shell game. Only reducing the number of institutions or programs, with corresponding reductions in numbers of staff and students, will produce significant financial savings, and that is a road down which Ontario politicians have been reluctant to travel, at least until recently. The paper concludes by suggesting that, insofar as it deems that retrenchment in the universities is fiscally necessary, Government should restrict its intervention to the realm of determining publicly affordable and appropriate levels of operating grants. Individual universities themselves should determine the most efficient ways to allocate whatever level of public funding is provided. The policy of making modest annual reductions in total real operating grants, with occasional increases when deemed possible, is probably the most prudent, if least glamorous, of available strategies for retrenchment.

What does the decline in the international ranking of the United States in educational attainment mean for community colleges

ABSTRACT This article was written in response to concerns that have been expressed about the possible consequences of an increasing number of countries overtaking the United States in educational attainment. International statistics on educational attainment were analyzed, questions about comparability of data were discussed, and the impact of different approaches to the organization of higher education on attainment rates was examined. The author concluded that comparing the rate of attainment of subbaccalaureate credentials between the United States and other countries is problematic both because of definitional issues, and as a consequence of the major transfer function of American community colleges. The article explains how colleges that previously offered short term vocational training in many European countries have evolved into vocationally-oriented baccalaureate granting institutions that have enabled their nations to achieve rapidly rising levels of baccalaureate degree attainment. It suggests that the experience of these countries may provide useful lessons—and cautions—for policy makers and educational leaders with respect to expanding the role of community colleges in awarding baccalaureate degrees.

Exploring the potential contribution of college bachelor degree programs in Ontario to reducing social inequality

ABSTRACT During the past two decades community colleges and technical institutes in several jurisdictions, including parts of Canada, the United States and Australia, have been given the authority to award bachelor degrees. One of the motivations for this addition to the mandate of these institutions is to improve opportunities for bachelor degree attainment among groups that historically have been underserved by universities. This article addresses the equity implications of extending the authority to award baccalaureate degrees to an additional class of institutions in Canada’s largest province, Ontario. The article identifies the conditions that need to be met for reforms of this type to impact positively on social mobility and inequality, and it describes the kinds of data that are necessary to determine the extent to which those conditions are met. Based on interviews with students, faculty, and college leaders, it was found that regulatory restrictions on intra-college transfer from sub-baccalaureate to baccalaureate programs and lack of public awareness of a new type of bachelor degree may be limiting the social impact of this reform.