Ontario’s higher learning

Re: Ontario must revamp colleges, universities, Ken Cuthbertson, Feb. 18

Ken Cuthbertson’s column makes a number of baseless assertions about college spending and the colleges’ mandate and draws false conclusions about the impact on students. The reality is Ontario’s college sector has found significant efficiencies through collaboration and is a leader within the broader public sector when it comes to managing costs. Students have benefited from these efforts as tuition fees at Ontario’s colleges continue to be among the lowest in Canada.

Linda Franklin, President and CEO, Colleges Ontario

First, a correction: UOIT (renamed Ontario Tech university) and durham College are not a “top-flight hybrid” but rather, a partnership of two top-flight, individual organizations.

Secondly, Key Performance Indicators (KPIS) were introduced for Ontario’s colleges many years ago and I assure readers that colleges took/take them very seriously. Speaking personally, I was at the fax machine every April 1 at midnight to see where we stood and more importantly, to inform our system of continuous improvement (durham was Canada’s first college to be ISO 9000 registered).

Thirdly, with regards to merging universities and colleges, I disagree for many reasons, e.g.: a) their respective mandates and cultures are so different in so many ways (i.e. Phd research and trades training); b) college and university students now have ample opportunity to combine the best of hands-on and higher-ordered learning; and c) college and university administrations earn huge net revenue annually in hardearned philanthropy.

Gary Polonsky, President Emeritus, Durham College and Ontario Tech University