MUFA GRAPHS FOR FEB 23/24 DAYS of PROTEST
McMaster University Faculty Association has produced a brochure for distribution during the Days of Protest
in Hamilton.
The brochure looks something like the following:
We want your kids to get a good education!
Unemployment rates in Ont. , Dec. 1995
University Graduates and all others
Universities are an Investment
Studying at university is an opportunity for intellectual and cultural
development. It also helps in getting a job. And an educated workforce
helps our economy to thrive.
Universities are also centres for the growth and preservation of
human knowledge. University-based research is a source of new ideas and
discoveries which foster technological development and help create jobs.
Grants to Universities per Student, 1995-96
Ontario's universities are efficient
Ontario's universities now rank eighth among the 10 provinces in
government operating grants per student. They rank 10th in government
operating grants per capita. In the past 15 years, Ontario's universities
and colleges have got less and less money per "client served" while other
sectors in Ontario got more and more.
Changes in costs per client served, 1977-78 to 1993-94
Despite all this, the cuts announced for 1996-97 hit colleges and
universities harder than any other sector.
Cuts to Transfer Partners for 1996/97
Universities should be accessible.
The only barrier to a university education should be the admission
standards.
Tuition Fees at McMaster over the decade
University tuition fees in Ontario are now the fourth highest among the ten
provinces. They have increased dramatically in the last five years.
Tuition Fees by Province
University students need and deserve more financial support than they are
getting. If some of that support is in government-sponsored loans, the
debt must be manageable later, and not so high as to discourage qualified
students from attending university.
Quality is important.
In the last 10 years, two Ontario university professors have won the Nobel
prize, one in physics, the other in chemistry. Their achievement is an
indication of the stature of Ontario's universities and of its professors.
But Ontario's universities are getting crowded. Average undergraduate
class sizes are now over 100 in some departments. That means less
individual attention for students, a bigger instructional burden for
professors, and less time for research.
Students per Professor at Ontario Universities
Professors who spend all their time working on their classes don't win
Nobel prizes. And they don't do the research that can lead to productivity
growth and more jobs.
Ontario needs
quality university research
quality university education
financially accessible universities
This leaflet was produced in February 1996 by the McMaster University
Faculty Association using members' dues. Membership in the association is
open to McMaster professors and librarians, and is voluntary.
For further information, phone (905)525-9140, ext. 24682, or e-mail
"mufa@mcmaster.ca".
Sources and notes
Unemployment in Ontario December 1995: Statistics Canada, The Labour
Force, December 1995
Grants to universities per student, 1995-96: Council of Ontario
Universities, interim estimates
Changes in cost per client served: Council of Ontario Universities, The
Financial Position of Universities in Ontario: 1995 (Changes are in constant
dollars, adjusted for inflation. "Off" are adult offenders, "Pub. S" is
Ontario public service spending per capita.)
Cuts to transfer partners, 1996-97: Ontario Finance Minister Ernie Eves,
1995 Fiscal and Economic Statement, Nov. 29, 1995 (The 7% cut to colleges
and universities is a net reduction after tuition increases.)
Tuition fees at McMaster: McMaster undergraduate calendars, tuition fees
for undergraduate arts programmes, not including ancillary fees (in actual
dollars, not adjusted for inflation)
Tuition fees by province, 1995-96: Undergraduate calendars or the
registrar's office of the major provincial university, tuition fees for
undergraduate arts programmes, not including ancillary fees
Students per professor in Ontario universities: Council of Ontario
Universities, The Financial Position of Universities in Ontario: 1995 (FTE
students per FTE faculty), updated by COU. Data for 1978 through 1982 are
interpolated.