The ability of Canadian universities to manage their own affairs is declining in the face of increasing government regulation, according to a new study by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and other researchers.
The study, “Provincial Oversight and University Autonomy in Canada: Findings of a Comparative Study of Canadian University Governance,” involved the collection of information about six major universities in five provinces, located in different regions of Canada.
The six universities in the study are Dalhousie University, Université de Montréal, Université du Québec à Montréal, University of Toronto, University of Alberta and University of British Columbia.
It found that the traditionally high level of institutional autonomy associated with Westernized systems appears to be declining, due to government surveillance of university finances.
However, the report says universities seem to have the relative autonomy necessary to control academic decision and have academic freedom.
Eighty-six interviewees in the report noted that the regular turnover of provincial leadership, combined with limited policy capacity within provincial ministries, led to an environment in which major government reforms were difficult to initiate. But, they also note that this autonomy is fragile since it can be shifted dramatically with a change in government.
“The nature of the relationships between governments and universities naturally varied between provinces,” the report said.
Depending on the province, governments can heavily supervise university finances, allowing the government to directly affect spending on university initiatives. For example, some universities are required to ask permission for infrastructure projects, the report said.
For example, in Nova Scotia and Ontario, universities were deemed to be outside of the control of government. In BC and Alberta, they were within, while in Quebec, universities were outside except for the University of Quebec.
Image by Jasmine Foong
