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Category: Policy

How Performance-Based Funding in Ontario Incentivizes Arts Enrolments

I have noted over the years that there is a strain of thought in the humanities which absolutely revels in its own demise.  I call it “humanities disaster porn”, in which pretty much any tale of atrocities being committed on the humanities must be true because we can conceive of it being true.  Remember the rumour about Japan closing down all humanities faculties that even big outlets like the Times Higher fell for?  That turned out, on a close read,

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May 13, 2019 2 Comments

Performance-Based Funding 101: Alternatives and Next Steps

Yesterday, I explained how the distribution of funds might occur in a single-envelope PBF system (that is, the dominant system in North America, where indicators generate scores for each institution which then govern the distribution of a pre-set amount of money).  And while that is the likely way a PBF system will work in Ontario, it’s not the only possible way and indeed the government has left some hints that it is thinking about an alternative method.  The way the

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April 26, 2019 No Comments

Performance-Based Funding 101: The Algorithm

The biggest missing piece in the Ontario government’s proposed performance-funding system is any discussion of the algorithm by which data on various indicators gets turned into an actual allocation to institutions.  The lack of such a piece is what leads most observers to conclude that the government has no idea what it’s doing at the moment; however I am a glass-half-full kind of guy and take this as an opportunity to  start a discussion that might impact the government’s thinking

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April 25, 2019 No Comments

Performance-Based Funding 101: Measuring Skills

Yesterday,  I critiqued most of the indicators being suggested for the new Ontario PBF system.  But I left one out because I thought it was worth a blog all on its own, and that is the indicator related to “skills and competencies”.  It’s the indicator that is likely to draw the most heat from the higher education traditionalists, and so it is worth drilling into. In principle, measuring the ability of institutions to provide students more of the skills that allow

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April 24, 2019 7 Comments

Performance-Based Funding 101: The Indicators

Ok guys, I’m going to take the rest of the week to nerd out about performance-based funding (PBF) indicators, since clearly this is all anyone here in Ontario is going to be talking about for the next few months.  I’m going to start with the issue of what indicators are going to be used—and fair warning: this is going to be long. (Reminder to readers: I actually do this stuff for a living.  If you think your institution needs help

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April 23, 2019 5 Comments

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One Thought to Start Your Day is our founder and CEO Alex Usher’s popular daily blog, brimming with up-to-the-minute insights and informed opinions on today’s higher education industry.

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