Web Articles

Contract faculty, Funding, International issues, Public policy, Universities and the academic mission

Universities have thrived despite past disruptions and could grow even stronger after COVID-19

Thomas Klassen, York University, Canada

This past century, universities have proven to be nimble and entrepreneurial even while adroitly portraying themselves as guardians of tradition. (Shutterstock) In […]

Academic freedom, Ethics, Free speech and expression rights

Academic freedom entails both individual and social responsibility

Stuart Chambers, University of Ottawa

Periodically, professors drop their commitment to objective truth to pursue political agendas. When this occurs, they become prisoners of their own ideologies. […]

Tuition and student fees, Universities and the academic mission

What’s the purpose of university? Your answer may depend on how much it costs you

Achala Gupta, University of Surrey

Rawpixel.com?Shutterstock The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the university sector under greater scrutiny. In some cases, this has prompted new conversations about the […]

Participation and enrolment, Students, Tuition and student fees, Universities and the academic mission

“And some, I assume, are good people”: US international student recruitment and neo-racist nativism

Dale Kirby, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of international students enrolled at Canadian colleges and universities had steadily increased in recent years. […]

Corporatization and commercialization, Funding, Universities and the academic mission

Half of Ontario’s medical schools are now named after wealthy donors

Najib Safieddine, University of Toronto

Defunding of universities has forced administrators to to seek and secure private donations from wealthy individuals or corporations. Pictured here, the Michael […]

Collective bargaining, Equity and social justice, Hiring, promotion, and tenure, Truth and Reconciliation and decolonization

Indigenization through collective bargaining: Lessons and ideas for academic staff associations

Spy Dénommé-Welch and Larry Savage, Brock University

Introduction In June 2020, members of the Brock University Faculty Association (BUFA) ratified a new collective agreement that contained important contract provisions […]

Health and safety, Teaching and learning

Outdoor education at universities can be a positive legacy of COVID-19

Jean-Philippe Ayotte-Beaudet, Université de Sherbrooke

An orientation week organizer wearing a shirt promoting physical distancing of two metres sits in a new outdoor ampitheatre at Université de […]

Academic freedom, Equity and social justice, Ethics, Public policy, Universities and the academic mission

Four reasons to deny university status to Canada Christian College

David Seljak, St. Jerome’s University

Ontarians have opposed the Ford government’s legislation to give Canada Christian College university status and the ability to offer Bachelor of Arts […]

Online education, Open learning, open access, and open source, Tuition and student fees

Students facing challenges coping with online education during the pandemic

Chantelle Cruzat-Whervin

For those attending and teaching post-secondary education, there has been significant adaptation required during the pandemic. With classes over videoconference being the […]

Ethics, Online education, Technology

Online exam monitoring can invade privacy and erode trust at universities

Bonnie Stewart, University of Windsor

Testing and exam proctoring methods that invade privacy and erode trust undermine the very integrity that institutions demand students uphold. (Shutterstock) The […]