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A policy sociology approach is taken to examine the connections between neo-liberalism, post-secondary provincial education (PSE) policy in Canada and the impact of those policies. Our thesis regarding the broad political economy of PSE is that over the last two decades the adoption of this ideology has been a major cause of some dramatic changes in these policies and has brought about a fundamental transformation of PSE in Canada. The discussion builds on a comparative, multiple, nested case study conducted at the provincial (Québec, Ontario and British Columbia) and national level. Through the analysis of key provincial and federal documents, the team concludes that five themes dominated the PSE policy-making process. These themes are Accessibility, Accountability, Marketization, Labour Force Development and Research and Development. In discussing these themes, we illustrate their impact on and within the three provincial PSE systems: BC, Ontario and Québec. In the conclusion, we place the changes in their political and economic contexts and explicate the intended and unintended consequences of these policy priorities. We argue that the pressure for access has led to the emergence of new institutional types, raising new questions about differentiation, mandate and identity and new lines of stratification. A trend toward vocationalism in the university sector has coincided with 'academic drift' in the community college sector, leading to convergences in programming and institutional functions across the system, as well as competition for resources, students, and external partners. Unprecedented demand has made education a viable industry, sustaining both a proliferation of private providers and a range of new entrepreneurial activities within public institutions. Levels and objectives of public funding have swung dramatically

In this paper we review the major historical developments in the evolution of Canadian university governance arrangements and synthesise data from two important national studies in order to provide an overview of university governance in Canadian higher education. We provide an analysis of university governance structures and arrangements, and conclude by reviewing a number of important contemporary issues. University Governance in Canada Canadian universities are autonomous, non-profit corporations created by provincial Acts or charters. Following a long period of experimentation with internal governance mechanisms and university-government relations, a number of Canadian universities, including Dalhousie, McGill and Queen's, adopted structures involving two legislative bodies, known as bicameralism. It was the Flavelle Commission of 1906 which clearly articulated the rationale and framework for bicameralism (University of Toronto 1906). The Commission, which reviewed the issue of governance at the University of Toronto, argued that the process by which universities make Tudivor, N.

This study examines the academic senate within the context of university governance in Canada. Data were obtained from a survey of university senate secretaries on senate structure, composition, and operation, and from a survey of senate members on their perceptions of the senate, their role as senate members, and the nature of their work. The study raises concerns over the effectiveness of the senate and suggests a need to review the senate and its role in contemporary university governance within the context of the current Canadian higher education environment.

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