Colleges seek degree programs

St. Clair College is joining its counterparts across Ontario in demanding the province allow them to replace diploma programs with three-year degrees.

“Long overdue,” said St. Clair president John Strasser. “It would certainly mean increased enrolment, it would certainly provide students with more options. There’s no question that, moving forward, the more pathways we can give students to compete out there in the world the better off the students are. I think it’s all about better serving the students.”

The 26-page report, Empowering Ontario: Transforming Higher Education in the 21st Century, was released Thursday. It calls on the province to give colleges the authority to offer new three-year degrees and convert some of the existing three-year diploma programs into degrees.

According to the report, tabled by Ontario’s 24 colleges, many of their three-year programs already meet the province’s standards for baccalaureate education. The report also calls for colleges to have the authority to rename four-year college degree programs as honours programs. The report states that despite the “career focused” college diploma programs, research has shown that employers generally put a higher value on degrees.

University of Windsor president Alan Wildeman said he didn’t have enough details about the recommendations to comment on them.

Strasser said colleges, with their focus on applied skills, would make students an even bigger threat in the job market by giving them degrees as well.

“It’s all about jobs,” said Strasser. “You can’t get away from the fact that most people go to post-secondary education with the expectation at the end of it that it will land them a good job.”

He added that three-year degrees are not unheard of elsewhere in Canada.

“We get caught up with his fouryear degree,” said Strasser. “If you go to many places in this country and come out of high school, you can get a degree in three years. You go to Nova Scotia and graduate out of high school, you can get a BA in three years.”

Other recommendations include increasing the availability of online college courses offered through Ontario Learn by 50 per cent, and requiring colleges and universities to publicly report on strategies for helping students transfer among post-secondary institutions.

Another important one, said Strasser, is allowing colleges to offer standalone nursing degree programs.

“We’ve got to do all that we can to make the pathway for students better and less expensive,” said Strasser. “In the end, it’s all about jobs.”