Leone visits Western, Wilfrid Laurier

We must deliver a higher quality of education.

That’s the message that Cambridge MPP Rob Leone brought to students Thursday after the launch of his party’s white paper: Paths to Prosperity – Higher Learning for Better Jobs.

The 11th in a series of discussion papers released by Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC Caucus focuses on University and College improvement, and aims to spark discussion on how we can best provide the highest quality education for students.

Leone, who serves as the PC party’s critic for Training, Colleges and Universities and is a former professor at Wilfrid Laurier, says there are many factors that have contributed to the problems we see in our post-secondary institutions today.

“Tuition has gone up, while class sizes have increased in lock-step, so too has the number of part time professors.  Quality has been slowly eroding for years and students are no longer getting value for their money.”

The paper says that quality will be born out of things students have long been calling for, like more full time professors, and improved teacher-student ratios.  Leone quoted a recent Auditor General’s report that found that 1 in 3 university students fail to find a job in their area of study.

The paper also recommends doing away with the mandatory 40% teaching, 40% research formula, and 20% university service formula.

“Let the teachers who are good at teaching, teach.” said Leone. “We need to tailor our system to what students want and what the economy needs, and that can’t happen by imposing out-of-date teaching formulas.”

The paper was crafted after a very thorough process and meetings with key stakeholders – students, faculty, administrators, but also parents and employers.  Leone says the message is clear: changes need to be made and the status quo of the past ten years is failing the current crop of students.

“We want Ontario to be home to the best students, the best professors, and the best schools.  Parents want their children to succeed, graduates want to get good jobs, and employers want the province to harness the full economic potential of our universities and colleges.  In Higher Learning for Better Jobs, the PC Caucus has laid out a bold vision for achieving these goals.”

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