Feb. 20, 2007: Education

Memory Lane: Education

Frost Hits the Rhubarb Dec. 31, 2006

frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/
2006_12_31_frosthitstherhubarb_archive.html

Search: Jan. 2, 2007: Lansbridge U & Kingston College

Province orders probe of second university , J Steffenhagen, CanWest.com, Nov. 1, 06 -- Via PrimeTimeCrime.ca - Greed and Corruption , Vancouver Sun, November 01, 2006

www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.ht
ml?id=6129e670-ab43-4031-830b-551ccf201704&k=88044

Lansbridge , Kingson , education: Chinese in Vancouver -- check whether there are any updates



PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS IN CANADA
KELVIN K. OGILVIE
FROM PUBLIC U TO PRIVATE U:
An Atlantic Canadian Opportunity
September 2005 -- or here

[....] One of the first problems one encounters in examining the state of private educational institutions in Canada is the difficulty of counting and identifying them. [....]

Canadian academics and the general public make good use of private nurseries and K–12 institutions, which suggests that even though private educational facilities are strongly resisted at the university level, they appear to be acceptable from an early age through high school and in specialized postsecondary education training sectors. The main argument against private institutions is that great Canadian eliminator weapon, the supposed unacceptability of “two-tier-ism” and “elitism”: somehow Canadians must be protected against freedom of choice with regard to postsecondary education. [....]

At the same time, there are those who suspect that the real reason for the vigorous attacks on the private university concept is that such institutions might well provide a clearly identifiable advantage in quality and versatility relative to the public institutions, which would put pressure on the public institutions for higher standards of performance. 17 [....]


[....] Typically, a university’s Acts of Incorporation give its board the necessary powers to govern the institution within a private model. 19 Yet, it is amazing to see experienced business leaders behave meekly in the face of faculty, student, or alumni demands and operate in an “avoid-conflict-at-all-costs” mode. On university boards, business leaders rarely display the serious focus they bring to their own business organizations. Boards selected by constituencies — alumni, faculty, religious organizations, and so on — are usually well intentioned but often lack the experience needed to help make effective decisions about organizations of such size, even the relatively small universities examined in this study.

As for the management authority that has been bargained away in collective agreements, although the agreements cover issues that are entirely appropriate, the terms of individual articles in those agreements make it difficult for university administrations to make merit-based promotions and to deal effectively with discipline and workloads. Ultimately, local bargaining units are highly influenced by the Canadian Association of University Teachers, whose agenda seems to be to eliminate all accountability for faculty (management rights) and reduce their members’ workload as much as [18] possible. Nonetheless, it is my opinion that these collective agreements need not be an insurmountable obstacle to privatization: dedicated management, supported by a determined board, could easily re-establish sufficient accountability within one or two collective agreements. [....]


[Note:
Selected Publications from the AIMS Library
Other AIMS Work on Education ]

Grading Our Future 2: Atlantic Canada’s High Schools’
Accountability and Performance in Context, by Rick Audas
and Charles Cirtwill

Testing & Accountability: The Keys to Educational
Excellence in Atlantic Canada, by Charles Cirtwill,
Rod Clifton, and John D’Orsay

Charter Schools in Atlantic Canada, by Joe Freedman
(with Fred McMahon)

Students without Borders, Universities without Illusions:
Why International Mobility Will Cause a Quality
Revolution in Our Universities, by Brian Lee Crowley

What’s a Degree Worth? Who Pays and Who Benefits at
Atlantic Canada’s Universities, by John Philippe

Books
Retreat from Growth: Atlantic Canada and the Negative-
Sum Economy, by Fred McMahon

Road to Growth: How Lagging Economies Become
Prosperous, by Fred McMahon

Commentary Series

Locking Up the Pork Barrel: Reasoned Economic
Development Takes a Back Seat to Politics at ACOA, by
Brian Lee Crowley and Bruce Winchester

Following the Money Trail: Figuring Out Just How
Large Subsidies to Business Are in Atlantic Canada, by
David Murrell

First, Do No Harm: What Role for ACOA in Atlantic
Canada? by Brian Lee Crowley

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! The Numbers Game, ACOA Watch 1
Research Reports

Doing Business with the Devil: Land, Sovereignty, and
Corporate Partnerships in Membertou Inc., by Jacquelyn
Thayer Scott

Framing the Fish Farmers: The Impact of Activists on
Media and Public Opinion about the Aquaculture
Industry, by Jeff Chatterton

You Can Get There from Here: How Ottawa Can Put
Atlantic Canada on the Road to Prosperity, by Brian Lee
Crowley and Don McIver

The Atlantica Power Market: A Plan for Joint Action, by
Gordon L. Weil

Fencing the Last Frontier: The Case for Property Rights
in Canadian Aquaculture, by Robin Neill

Definitely Not the Romanow Report, by Brian Lee Crowley,
Brian Ferguson, David Zitner, and Brett J. Skinner

Rags to Riches: How “The Regions” Can and Should Be
Leading Canada’s Productivity Push, by Brian Lee Crowley

Taxing Incentives: How Equalization Distorts Tax Policy
in Recipient Provinces, by Kenneth J. Boessenkool

Fiscal Equalization Revisited, by Professor James M.
Buchanan, Nobel Laureate

Public Health, State Secret, by Dr. David Zitner and
Brian Lee Crowley

Taking Off the Shackles: Equalization and the
Development of Nonrenewable Resources in Atlantic
Canada, by Kenneth J. Boessenkool

Beyond a Hard Place: The Effects of Employment
Insurance Reform on Atlantic Canada’s Economic
Dependency, by Rick Audas and David Murrell

Conferences

“Smart Growth”: How Urban Planners Are Threatening
the Quality of Life in Our Cities, February 23, 2004,
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Nation States and Economic Regions in the Global
Network, May 13, 2004, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Atlantic Canada and the Canada-American Border of the
Future, November 22, 2002, Halifax, Nova Scotia

2000 Barrington St., Suite 1006
Halifax NS B3J 3K1
Telephone: (902) 429-1143
Facsimile: (902) 425-1393
E-mail: aims@aims.ca
Web site: www.aims.ca

There is another perspective out of Atlantic Canada; just don't check CBC or most of the MSM for it. Read it for yourself.