Colleges and Modern Society

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The importance and benefits of Post Secondary Education (PSE) cannot be disputed. Education opens the door to more employment opportunities and greater personal fulfilment for many people. An educated and skilled workforce supports and sustains the economy and benefits society as a whole. However, there is a growing crisis faced by colleges in the delivery of post secondary education (PSE) that simply cannot be ignored.

The original mandate of the Colleges, envisioned back in 1965 by then Minister of Education, Bill Davis, was the development of an institutional framework designed to bring education to the masses of people who were not university bound. This system would provide solid hands on educational experiences for a specific segment of the population and meet the growing labour market demands for a skilled workforce that would support the growing Ontario economy for years to come.

Much has changed in the years since the Colleges were established. Student demographics alone show a very different student profile today than that of yesteryear. A typical student is anything but typical - presenting with diverse and complex needs. This is confirmed by information contained in the 2009 Applicant Survey conducted by Academica Group and the MTCU Student Satisfaction Survey “60% of college students have high school or less, 17% report neither French nor English as their first language and 12% use “Special Needs/Disability Services” (Summers, 2012).

The diverse requirements of these students have resulted in the growing need for an expanded and more multifaceted network of support services to support them academically, socially and emotionally putting an even greater strain on resources, faculty and the institution.

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... (2012). Tuition: Ontario Tuition Framework Submission. Retrieved from College Student Alliance: http://www.collegestudentalliance.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2012-Ontario-Tuition-Framework-Submission.pdf

Colleges - A Popular Choice for the Hands on Learner. (2012). Retrieved from Student Awards: http://www.studentawards.com/~/media/Documents/EducatorEssentials/Handouts%20and%20Links/Colleges-A-Popular-Choice-for-the-Hands-On-Learner-EN.ashx

Fedderson, K. (2008, Fall). What's Ailing Ontario's Colleges and What Can Faculty Do About it. Retrieved from The College Quarterly: http://www.senecac.on.ca/quarterly/2008-vol11-num04-fall/fedderson.html

Mior, J. D. (2012, February). Lecture. CMU Lecutre. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Summers, B. (2012, February). Colleges Ontario. Retrieved 2012, from Drjoe.ca: http://gaia.flemingc.on.ca/~jmior/EDU655GBC2010/EDU655JM_gbc.htm

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