DOCUMENT RESUME HE 034 172 ED 455 718 Lang, Daniel W.; House, Dawn; Young, Stacey; Jones, Glen A. AUTHOR University Finance in Ontario. Research Monographs in Higher TITLE Education, Number 5. Manitoba Univ., Winnipeg. Centre for Higher Education INSTITUTION Research and Development. Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, SPONS AGENCY Toronto. ISBN-1-896732-22-4 ISBN PUB DATE 2000-00-00 NOTE 140p. PUB TYPE Reports Research (143) MF01/PC06 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE *Colleges; Economic Factors; *Educational Finance; DESCRIPTORS Educational Policy; *Financial Support; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; *Public Policy; Trend Analysis *Ontario IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT This study was an attempt to examine and discuss university finance issues in Ontario, Canada, within the broader context of higher education policy and to present data on trends and the impact of recent changes on Ontario universities. Multiple sources of data were used for the analyses. Higher education policy in Ontario has become increasingly viewed as a subset of provincial economic policy rather than a component of social policy or broad educational policy. Major policy initiatives for higher education seem to have become component parts of macro-level (cabinet-level) approaches to economic development. Ontario is characterized by limited capacity or organizational responsibility for policy development on the part of the government ministry responsible for postsecondary education, and Ontario appears to lack a systematic approach to higher education policy. Tuition fees in Ontario are among the highest in the country, and recent government policies have divided academic programs into those with fee levels regulated by the government and another category in which the institution has much greater discretion in establishing fees. There is some evidence that students are beginning to consider costs, rather than the academic reputation of the university, when they choose a university. In Ontario, privatization of universities sometimes means the transformation of a publicly funded program to a self-funding program, and it sometimes refers to the establishment of new institutions to provide greater access to education. Allocations from the province's SuperBuild fund suggest that the government expects public institutions to accommodate the expansion of student demand in Canada and that the government is encouraging the restructuring of existing public institutions. An appendix contains a glossary. (Contains 7 graphs, 5 tables, and 150 references.) (SLD) L () 00 r- kr) kr) .4 RESEARCH MONOGRAPHS IN HIGHER EDUCATION Number 5 czE UNIVERSITY FINANCE IN ONTARIO Resemrdn lamoivilt OeMeo U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND 1-1 Office of Educational Research and Improvement DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) 0 This document has been reproduced as fi.6-RG-oR received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions stated in this INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) a document do not necessarily represent 1 official OERI position or policy. () BLE BEST COPY AVA 1_A Tht rudvenkt &Nino kit %Mak and ikt 2 1 f RESEARCH MONOGRAPHS IN HIGHER EDUCATION Number 5 UNIVERSITY FINANCE IN ONTARIO COPYRIGHT O 2000 CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA 3 ISBN #1-896732-22-4 4 RESEARCH MONOGRAPHS IN HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH MONOGRAPHS IN HIGHER EDUCATION Number 5 UNIVERSITY FINANCE IN ONTARIO by DANIEL W. LANG DAWN HOUSE STACEY YOUNG GLEN A. JONES HIGHER EDUCATION GROUP DEPARTMENT OF THEORY AND POLICY STUDIES IN EDUCATION ONTARIO INSTITUTE FOR STUDIES IN EDUCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SERIES EDITOR ALEXANDER G. GREGOR CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA © 2000 UNIVERSITY FINANCE I N ONTARIO TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2 INTRODUCTION 3 WHAT IS POLICY AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? 5 TUITION FEES AND THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BENEFITS 24 OF HIGHER EDUCATION 49 PUBLIC FUNDING AND PUBLIC POLICY SELECTING PEERS AND MAKING COMPARISONS 72 FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS 106 REFERENCES 115 APPENDICES 127 7 UNIVERSITY FINANCE IN ONTARIO Daniel W. Lang Dawn House Stacey Young Glen A. Jones Higher Education Group Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto November 2000 8 Dawn House Daniel W. Lang Glen A. Jones Stacey House FOREWORD reflects a central mandate The Research Monographs in Higher Education series Development, that of fostering and of the Centre for Higher Education Research and A chorus of commission disseminating research related to postsecondary education. has lamented the dearth of solid research reports and policy statements in recent years enormously expensive and available to those attempting to study and manage the Centre for Higher Education complex enterprise of Canadian higher education. The briefs to such commissions; and Research and Development ha made this case itself in its do what it can to remedy the it is attempting in its own programs and activities to national need. situation and to respond to what has so clearly been identified as a able to play a part in the In that respect, we are particularly pleased to be Stacey Young, and dissemination of this study undertaken by Dan Lang, Dawn House, of the University of Toronto. Glen Jones of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and to policy There is no postsecondary issue of greater urgency to university systems in part because finance makers and governments, provincial and federal, that that of technology virtually all of the other issues with which they are grappling from access to Despite the seeming geographic focus of revert in part at least to questions of finance. interest to anyone interested the study, University Finance in Ontario will be of use and of synthesizing the extensive in the general issue. The author have done an excellent job that may be used for formulae to tuition structures and so provide a theoretical base application of this theory thinking through policy and strategy in any setting. The specific study will be of use and value is ultimately made to Ontario; but the main structure of the writing style that puts anywhere. The writers are to be further commended on a collective of theory into a form easily understood by a general a potentially impenetrable body inform and readership. Given the critical importance of the issues involved, that ability to affected parties is of particular value. University engage the full range of interested and development and Finance in Ontario will not only help those engaged in policy understanding implementation, but will also make a significant contribution to the public and discussion of a topic that affects every citizen. Alexander D. Gregor, PhD Series Editor 9 2 University Finance In Ontario AKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study initially was supported by a grant from the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations. OCUFA did not influence the findings of the study, nor did it seek to do so. The authors are wholly responsible for the content of the report. Mr. Derek Jamieson and Ms. Jeevan Kempson provided intelligent and valuable assistance in statistical analysis. 1 0