Moratorium. Death-knell. Mothballed. Shelved. Suspended. Axed.
The provincial Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD) has put the brakes on a half-dozen partnerships between public and private colleges, with an ultimate aim of entirely eliminating this new postsecondary format.
Among the partnerships subject to a moratorium implemented in August is the three-year-old one between St. Clair College and the Ace Acumen Academy in Toronto.
BACKGROUND DETAILS
Ace Acumen is a private-sector school, that provides postsecondary education and English-language training to immigrants (chiefly from Asia).
In the early years of this decade, it began searching for a public college that it could partner with, in order to provide its students with some follow-up – and on-site – postsecondary education opportunities.
After months of negotiation, in early 2014, it launched such a partnership with St. Clair.
Initially, with abundant academic oversight and licensing its curriculum to the private school, St. Clair offered two Ontario college diploma programs at Acumen’s Toronto Campus: Business and Computer Systems Technician-Networking.
The on-site offerings proved so popular among Acumen’s students that the program options expanded to include International Business Management, Social Service Worker-Gerontology, and Freight Forwarding.
At approximately the same time (the past half-decade), five other public colleges established similar partnerships with immigrant-serving private schools in the Greater Toronto Area: Cambrian College of Sudbury, Canadore College of North Bay, Northern College of Timmins, St. Lawrence College of Kingston/Brockville/Cornwall, and Lambton College of Sarnia.
Why weren’t the Toronto-based public colleges (Sheridan, Seneca, Centennial, Humber, George Brown, etc.) involved? Everyone in the “postsecondary education industry” was well aware that these private colleges were seeking such partnerships, and the Toronto-based schools certainly could have offered to extend “satellite-like” service to them. But they didn’t, for whatever reason.
That left such MAESD-defined “small- and medium-sized” colleges as St. Clair, Cambrian, Canadore, Northern, St. Lawrence and Lambton to fill this unique servicing void …
… And they jumped at the opportunity – both as a means of boosting their province-wide and international “brand”, and to obtain curriculum-licensing and tuition revenues.
In the case of St. Clair/Acumen, and the other schools’ partnerships, it had been perceived a “win/win/win” scenario for all of the parties involved:
– the private schools retained enrolment and earned some additional revenues;
– the public colleges gained new enrolment and significant new revenues; and
– the students, themselves, obtained postsecondary opportunities in a geographically convenient and very familiar setting.
St. Clair’s 2017-18 budget had projected $5.85 million in revenue from the Ace Acumen partnership, up from $4.6 million in 2016-17.
The (eventual) loss of that revenue will be financially difficult for St. Clair, as the Toronto-based students represent a substantial percentage of the school’s international enrolment.
DISAPPOINTMENT FOR COLLEGES AND STUDENTS
In a recent memo to staff about the imposition of the moratorium, St. Clair President Patti France noted:
“Over the course of our partnership, St. Clair College’s overall international enrolment – including enrolment through Ace Acumen at the North York campus – has increased steadily. In fact, this year, we are expecting over 2,300 international students from 56 countries. Approximately 1,400 of those students are enrolled at the Toronto campus …
“… As a result (of the imposition of the moratorium), the last recruitment intake for St. Clair College at Ace Acumen will be in September of 2018. Our priority will be to ensure the support of our students at Ace Acumen, through to completion of their chosen St. Clair College credential (the graduation of those who are currently enrolled), and to work with Ace Acumen staff through this multi-year transition.
“St. Clair College will continue to pursue numerous opportunities to help mitigate the financial impact of this decision. Our current Strategic Directions highlight the importance of attracting and increasing our international student population in both Windsor and Chatham.”
Although disappointed, France added, “I respect the ministry’s position and decision. We are working proactively with the college administration and Ace Acumen to mitigate the financial impact of the decision.”
MINISTRY’S RATIONALE AND PLANS
After France’s memo to staff announced the moratorium, The Scene dispatched the following questions to the MAESD (via email). Here are the responses from a ministry spokesperson:
1. If the partnerships (several of them having existed for a number of years) have proven to be so problematic, why did the ministry – as the overseer or public colleges, and the regulator of private ones – allow them to be created in the first place?
MAESD ANSWER: While some partnership agreements have been under way for some time, others are newer. Over time, enrolment in these activities has grown substantially. Accordingly, this prompted the ministry to undertake a review of these activities.
2. What reasons led to the Ministry’s decision to implement the moratorium/wind-down directive?
MAESD ANSWER: The government is supportive of college efforts to attract international students. Recruitment of international students helps strengthen Ontario’s postsecondary education system, and supports Ontario’s reputation as a welcoming destination for students from around the world.
The government’s decision was based on the following principles:
When international students choose to attend one of Ontario’s postsecondary institutions, they should become part of a community, learning alongside Canadian students, as well as those from around the world. When this integration occurs, international students benefit, but also enrich the learning environment for domestic students, helping them to develop the intercultural competencies critical for the global workplace.
The ministry actively supports the objectives of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada’s Student Visa and Post-Graduation Work Permit programs. Partnerships should be consistent with the intent of federal policies applicable to either partner.
The ministry supports the efforts of colleges to attract international students. International student enrolment is an economic driver for the province, and supports both immigration goals of attracting and retaining a highly skilled workforce. Colleges have a mandate to support the economic development of their diverse local communities, and should endeavour to draw international students to their home campuses (Scene’s added emphasis).
Colleges are public institutions, primarily created to design and deliver postsecondary programs. Colleges must ensure that any partner adds a real and distinguishable benefit for students that the college cannot offer on its own, while colleges continue to deliver on their core educational mandate.
3. If the problems identified by the ministry (in answer to Number 2 above) could be satisfactorily addressed in some manner by the partnered colleges during the moratorium period, is it be possible that the partnerships might be allowed to continue in some amended fashion?
MAESD ANSWER: The ministry carefully considered the issue for some time, and determined that the activities do not align with the principles outlined above.
The ministry is committed to working collaboratively with colleges and affected private providers as current partnership arrangements are wound down over time to ensure that impacts to students are minimized.
4. In St. Clair’s case, its partnership had been providing an essential new source of revenue for its financial sustainability. Does the ministry intend to, somehow, compensate the college(s) for those lost revenues?
MAESD ANSWER: Financial sustainability is a critical concern for many colleges, and these partnerships have become an important source of revenue for some colleges. The government is implementing a new college funding model, and has committed to working with institutions to build a financially sustainable, high-quality postsecondary education sector in both the short- and long-term.
The ministry provides support through the Small, Northern and Rural (SNR) Grants to colleges that experience challenges achieving economies of scale in program delivery due to their small size and/or geographic location. The ministry committed to reviewing the Small, Northern and Rural Grant as part of the new funding formula consultations. This will include the allocation of the new funding resources of $16.5 million for 2018-19 onwards.
As an interim measure, an additional $10 million will be invested towards college financial sustainability in 2017-18.
5. The partnerships seemed to be a convenient and effective (and innovative) way to train the immigrants that both the provincial and federal governments are purportedly attempting to attract. Doesn’t that particular advantage of this educational format outweigh whatever problems may exist in the partnerships?
MAESD ANSWER: As noted earlier, the decision to wind down these activities was based on a set of key principles, including wanting to support the efforts of colleges to attract international students. As noted earlier, when international students choose to attend one of Ontario’s postsecondary institutions, they should become part of a community, learning alongside Canadian students as well as those from around the world. When this integration occurs, international students benefit but also enrich the learning environment for domestic students, helping them to develop the intercultural competencies critical for the global workplace.
This benefit to both international and domestic students, along with the other principles stated earlier, drive the government’s decision to wind down these activities.
