Today is budget day in Ottawa. Tonight, you’ll get our full budget coverage (replacing tomorrow’s morning blog), and if you’re of the twitter persuasion, you can follow my analysis from 4PM, on, at @AlexUsherHESA. But for now, let’s think about what a good Canadian federal budget would look like for higher education.
In keeping with the times, this will be a completely cost-neutral budget. We’ll start with some obvious places to cut: the elimination of the education amount and textbook tax credits (pure middle-class giveaways), and of in-school interest subsidies on Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP). Together, those two should give us about $900 million/year to play with.
Now, where to spend it?
Let’s start with CSLP. Using the money we’ve just taken-out of the program, let’s give it back to students in the form of a concessionary loan rate after graduation. Instead of paying kids to borrow while they’re in school, and then hitting them with rates 400 basis points above the price at which government borrows, we could give them one even rate across their entire loan. Winners: students who take a long-time to repay; Losers: those whose parents currently pay off their loans. Cost: $300 million (or so).
Let’s take another $300 million and give it to Aboriginal Affairs, to double the size of the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP). If you want to expand access to PSE in Canada, there’s no better way to spend marginal dollars. At the same time, rules should be amended so as to take program administration out of bands’ hands, and transfer it to aboriginal organizations, which have more administrative capacity (see: my 2009 paper on this, here).
Next, let’s go with $100 million, more or less unfettered, to the granting councils in the usual 40/40/20 configuration. Then maybe $50 million to do something snazzy on university-research interaction. As I noted a few weeks ago, traditional tech transfer just ain’t working in most places, and it’s time to come up with a new model. I have no idea what that is, exactly, but I know I’d probably ask the guys at the UBC Industry Liaison Office to design it.
Then, another $125 million to some kind of new fund that would modernize and improve teaching at universities and colleges in Canada. Let’s get scientific about improving pedagogy, and let’s get serious about helping institutions open themselves up to experiential learning, and get students involved in applied research. Done well, this could be a huge branding opportunity for Canadian education as a whole.
Last, take $25 million and send it to Statscan so we can get a decent educational statistical system in this country. Finally.
Chances of this being implemented: zero. But I guarantee it’s a better and cheaper package than anything Flaherty announces this afternoon.
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Hi Alex,
I agree wholeheartedly with everything you’ve said, but my “dream budget” for PSE would also include some sort of policy lever to help get employers involved in the experiential learning process. As anyone working in the field knows, finding work placements, internships, co-op placements, project opportunities, etc., for our students can be an overwhelming task. It shouldn’t be so difficult to get employers on board, but I’ve been on that side of the table as well, and know that, to do it properly, taking on a student intern or co-op placement requires significant investment of time and energy on the employer’s part as well. I’m not sure what would work best, but something in addition to the current tax credit (Ontario) for taking on a paid co-op student is needed. We currently have a supportive and engaged employer community participating with us a partners in the Ontario college system, but we need to grow our partnerships even further to fully realize the benefits of experiential learning for students, employers and society at large.
Lisa