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Electronic commerce protection regulations: AUCC submission OTTAWA – Today Canada’s universities launched a new online tool to provide Aboriginal students with better access to information on programs and services on campuses across Canada. The comprehensive, searchable database of resources designed to meet the needs of Aboriginal students was developed by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.
Prospective students and their families can use the tool to find information on the 286 different academic programs designed for Aboriginal students and other helpful resources available at Canadian universities, such as financial assistance, housing, cultural activities, counselling, availability of Elders, gathering spaces and mentoring.
Aboriginal youth are one of the fastest growing segments of the Canadian population. There are more than 560,000 Aboriginals under the age of 25 across Canada, yet the university completion rate for the Aboriginal population overall is eight percent — a third of the national average.
“The education gap in this country is large and growing. This needs to change,” said AUCC President Paul Davidson. “Canada’s universities recognize this and have significantly boosted the culturally relevant curricula, support programs and financial aid available to Aboriginal students. With this database, it’s easier than ever to locate and access these services.”
This new online resource is part of universities’ ongoing efforts to improve access to university for Aboriginal students and help them achieve success in higher education. Fifty-five institutions now have gathering spaces for Aboriginal students, and more than 60 organize social and cultural activities. In addition to supports on campus, many universities have successful outreach programs in Aboriginal communities, providing educational support and mentoring opportunities to students starting as early as the elementary level.
“I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the AUCC for creating an online directory to assist students in finding and accessing the programs and services that are reflective of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit languages and cultures, as well as those resources that will assist them in the achievement of their university goals,” said Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Canada.
The web-based directory is an enhanced update of a print version that AUCC produced in 2006 and 2010. It will be regularly updated to reflect new and enhanced services for Aboriginal students at Canada’s universities. The database complements information in the Directory of Canadian Universities, published every year by AUCC.
Aboriginal education is an ongoing priority for Canada’s universities. AUCC’s 2013 pre-budget submission to the federal government calls for increased postsecondary scholarships for Aboriginal students, with funding to be matched by the private sector. AUCC has also undertaken significant steps in recent years to help universities identify, develop and share ideas on best practices for services aimed at Aboriginal youth.
The new directory of programs and services for Aboriginal students can be found here: www.aucc.ca/Aboriginal-directory.
AUCC is the national voice of Canada’s universities, representing 95 Canadian public and private not-for-profit universities.
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Media Contacts
Helen Murphy
Communications Manager
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
hmurphy@aucc.ca
613-563-1236 ext. 238
Nadine Robitaille
AUCC Communications Officer
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613-563-3961 ext. 306
This op-ed was published in Embassy magazine on December 18, 2012.
By Paul Davidson
President
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
As part of the Governor General’s delegation to Mexico this month, I heard His Excellency David Johnston’s call for “the diplomacy of knowledge.” He describes this as the willingness and ability to work together—across disciplines and across borders.
That diplomacy, making people-to-people connections, is powerful. Reaching around the world to connect and collaborate on ideas will move us forward as a country. But instead of global competition for talent, we should think about global collaboration for talent.
We travelled to Mexico to promote further co-operation in innovation, technology, education and local development. It’s a start. Real change will come from developing more hands-on working relationships – those people-to-people connections.
On the academic front, there are compelling reasons to increase co-operation through student and faculty mobility and international research, not just with Mexico, but globally. China, India and Brazil, in particular, offer a growing wealth of opportunities on many fronts. And there is a certain urgency around our need to seize those opportunities.
Our workforce is aging. During the next 20 years, six million Canadians, the baby boomers, will be poised for retirement. But the working world they are leaving is vastly different from the one they entered. Our new entrants must have skills and knowledge far beyond the local markets we once served. The generation we are educating now must develop global skills. Their preparation will determine Canada’s prosperity for the next 50 years.
Part of the solution lies in attracting more international students. They enhance the educational experience of Canadian students by bringing global perspectives, languages and cultures to our campuses. They also have a tremendous economic impact on communities across Canada. While our country has plenty to offer, the lure of the United States is strong. So our efforts to attract people from around the world have to be bolder and louder.
Mexico, for instance, should be a natural recruiting ground. Geographically, it’s close. We have enjoyed nearly 70 years of diplomatic relations and cooperation in higher education. About 44,000 Mexican students pursued higher education abroad in 2008-09. The lion’s share of them, more than 14,000, went to the U.S. Fewer than 2,000 came to Canada, ranking us sixth, behind countries as far away as Germany and France. And even Australia is ramping up its efforts there.
I encouraged the students we met in Mexico to consider Canada. We offer an excellent education, coast to coast. Our universities and student living costs are affordable. And we welcome diversity on campus.
There is also plenty to commend in Canadian university faculties. Half of our faculty members were hired in the last decade. They are highly qualified, young and have fresh approaches to teaching and research. They are collaborative and globally oriented. Many have international experience. Meld that with the hands-on approach of co-op, internship and work placements that have become a distinguishing characteristic of the Canadian university experience, and the opportunities for innovative research and teaching are tremendous.
Businesses around the world would also do well to look to Canada as they recruit for internships. In addition to providing practical experience for a student on the cusp of a career choice, businesses benefit from a ready source of new ideas, approaches and energy. The soon-to-be-employed graduate either leaves with a knowledgeable understanding of the strengths of the business or becomes a job-ready, pre-screened recruit.
As a case in point, I met with a vice president of Bombardier Transportation based in Querétaro, Mexico. A graduate of Université de Sherbrooke, she started with Bombardier as an intern in the mid-1990s and never left the company.
Bombardier has established partnerships with leading Mexican universities, including Tecnológico de Monterrey. For its part, TEC Monterrey has networking agreements with 24 Canadian universities, illustrating the international appeal of Canadian university talent and expertise.
These kinds of people connections create opportunities for our students and researchers, and drive bilateral economic growth. Our federal government can help make more of them happen through a sustained, sophisticated and resourced strategy; a strategy that is sector-led and linked to national goals.
To dream big we must go beyond incremental improvements. Change will come not just from the number of agreements signed or visits made, but through a transformed relationship that is matched to the challenge and opportunity before us, in both scope and scale.
This letter to the editor was published in the Toronto Star on December 14, 2012
Paul Davidson
President
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
TD’s report on early learning is commendable (Early learning is a better bargain, Dec. 7). Carol Goar’s suggestion that funding be taken from universities is preposterous.
Today’s universities are doing more with less. Per student government funding for postsecondary education is half of what it was in 1977. Despite the related pressures, universities are producing the graduates in demand by today’s workforce and developing global citizens.
Goar incorrectly claims the value of a university degree is in decline. Each census report shows the value of a degree is growing.
From 1990 to 2011, the number of jobs filled by university graduates in Canada more than doubled from 1.9 million to 4.5 million while jobs in the skilled trades grew by only 31 percent. Professional and management jobs grew by 1.7 million during this time, with 1.4 million filled by university graduates.
For new graduates, both employment and the relevancy to studies increase over time. In Ontario, according to a 2010 study, 92 percent of university graduates are employed six months after graduation. That increases to 94 percent two years after graduation. Six months after graduation 78 percent of graduates work in an area related to their field of study. That figure jumps to 84 percent two years after graduation.
Goar implies that many employers require a university degree for jobs such as retail sales. In fact only 1.7 percent of retail jobs are occupied by university graduates, and their average income is $49,807. Twice as many university graduates in sales are in fields such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, technical equipment and communications technology, with an average salary of $75,000 to $91,000. The vast majority of university graduates – more than 80 percent – work in professional, managerial, technological and administrative positions.
It is not surprising that university enrollments are growing. But Canada still needs more graduates. According to federal government estimates, 75 percent of new jobs in the coming decade will require postsecondary education. With a huge demographic shift already underway and increasing global competition, Canada needs to mobilize all of its resources and talents to secure the high quality of life Canadians expect and deserve – and that includes enhanced opportunities in early childhood education.
This letter to the editor was published in the Ottawa Citizen, December 7, 2012.
Paul Davidson
President and CEO, Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
Re: McGuinty delivered on education, December 3.
L. Ian MacDonald’s opinion piece praises the outgoing Ontario premier for his achievements in education. It is unfortunate, however, that MacDonald digresses into misinformation about job prospects for today’s university graduates, particularly in comparison with demand for skilled trades.
From 1990 to 2011 the number of jobs filled by university graduates in Canada more than doubled to 4.5 million from 1.9 million, while the growth in jobs in the skilled trades grew by only a third. Since 2000, job growth for university graduates has well outpaced that for all other levels of education. Even in booming Alberta, jobs filled by university graduates over the past decade exceed those filled by people with trade certificates by a factor of four to one.
Canada’s universities are doing a very good job of preparing graduates for rewarding careers. More than 50 percent of undergraduates have a co-op or internship experience in the workforce. But there is much more to a university experience than job preparation. Universities develop global citizens. They produce lifelong learners; young people who think critically, solve problems and develop new knowledge. Graduates are adaptable to the changes in our labour market.
Canada needs more university graduates. The combination of a huge demographic shift and an increasingly competitive global economy means we need to mobilize all of our resources – including more graduates at all levels of post-secondary education – to build prosperity and secure a high quality of life for the future.
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