Ontario universities, such as the University of Waterloo, have two primary sources of revenue – tuition and grant payments from the provincial government.Nicole Osborne/The Canadian Press
Jeffrey Casello is a professor of planning and engineering at the University of Waterloo.
As a university professor, and former administrator, I believe unequivocally in the value of postsecondary education. Students and alumni from the University of Waterloo have produced companies valued at more than US$40-billion, creating jobs and prosperity. Faculty members at Waterloo have built this culture of transformation and innovation. Strengthened by nearly $300-million in annual externally funded research, nearly all my colleagues are committed to creating and sharing knowledge, mentoring students, and preparing them for rewarding careers and futures.
But Waterloo, and other Ontario universities, are in an intractable financial situation, and a politically viable solution is badly needed – not to protect our institutions but to maintain opportunities for our students. Ontario universities have two primary sources of revenue – tuition and grant payments from the provincial government. In 2019, the government cut tuition by 10 per cent and has since held it constant. Grant funding per student hasn’t increased for two decades. Combined, university revenues (when adjusting for inflation) have decreased by 25 per cent in the past decade. With budget deficits ranging from 10 to 20 per cent, there is a real chance of a university, or universities, in the province failing.
Ontario says it is unwilling to “reach into the pockets of students,” arguing that universities could adapt instead to these lost revenues by increasing their efficiencies. But what has motivated this current provincial government’s approach to university funding?
The economy is the key backdrop. For many Ontarians, real wages have been decreasing; families struggle to enter the housing market and to purchase essentials. Education is difficult to afford and the perceived value of postsecondary education is declining. According to research by Environics, society’s trust in “experts” declined precipitously from 2006 to 2023 across all sectors – governments, business and the media. This combination of forces makes Mr. Ford’s approach not only acceptable, but politically popular at the moment.
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Our university leaders haven’t yet fully understood society’s changing perceptions. As the academy, we have failed to address the widely held perceptions, reinforced by government, that faculty members’ salary increases have risen faster than inflation, and that faculty enjoy unmatched job security. The existing stalemate is inherently bad for Ontario, its families and its economic future.
To demonstrate universities’ awareness of Ontarians’ economic circumstances, and to confirm their commitment to education, faculty members should take a pay cut that is indexed to their current earning levels. If faculty members at the University of Waterloo who earn more than the median income in Ontario – about $80,000 per year – had their salary reduced by a scaled percentage based on their current pay (1 per cent for $100,000, 4 per cent for $400,000, etc.) the university would save about $6.5-million. This wouldn’t solve the university’s budget deficit, but the message to society and to government would be that we aren’t reaching into the pockets of Ontarians; instead, we would be sacrificing our own incomes for the good of our students, the province’s taxpayers and Canada’s economy.
We have also heard concerns about the tenure process. The perception is that once faculty members achieve tenure, their productivity declines because their job is secure. That doesn’t match my observations. Tenure allows professors to teach and research in their areas of interest – this is so-called “academic freedom.” What tenure doesn’t do is allow faculty members to fail to perform without fear of job loss.
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Like any workplace, universities evaluate faculty performances – both tenured and untenured – usually on an annual basis. Those who excel and exceed expectations are rewarded. Those who are not meeting expectations, regardless of their tenure status, are given direction on how to improve. Candidly, universities can and must be more diligent and transparent about this process. Given the scrutiny from government and changing societal perceptions, universities have an obligation to demonstrate that they are operating as a true meritocracy, worthy of public funding.
The government may also wish to examine the number of Ontario universities. Currently, there are 11 English-language universities within about a 200-kilometre radius from the University of Toronto. A review of the differentiating factors among these universities may reveal redundancies that, if eliminated, would decrease the provincial burden, without reducing student opportunities.
If these changes were enacted, Mr. Ford and his government could, quite correctly, make the case to their constituents that the pressure the government placed on universities has achieved the desired outcome – greater efficiencies with public funds. With this outcome, perhaps Mr. Ford could then contemplate the two key reforms his own blue-ribbon panel suggested – tying domestic tuition and government grants to inflation – thereby re-establishing the financial viability of Ontario universities, for the well-being of our students and our future.