Out here in Ontario, there’s a fair amount of buzz generating over the release of Academic Reform: Policy Options for Improving the Quality and Cost-effectiveness of Undergraduate Education in Ontario, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press. The book is a follow up to Academic Transformation (reviewed on CACUSS Reads last February), which provided a detailed account of why the research university as the singular model for the delivery of undergraduate education, is unsustainable. Academic Reform is written by three heavyweights in higher education: former Carleton President Richard Van Loon, Professor at U of T’s School of Public Policy Ian Clark and consultant and former Assistant Deputy Minister for post-secondary education in Ontario David Trick. Before the book has even been published, it’s clear their ideas are being listened to: Ontario’s recently re-elected Liberal government has promised to open three new undergraduate campuses, a model proposed by the authors of this book.
I haven’t yet read the book but just wanted to note its existence as it appears to be influencing policy. If anyone would like to provide a review to CACUSS Reads, let me know.
