UW Board of Governors

Environmental Scan

October 26, 2010

International Overview

Academic World Ranking of Universities

• Waterloo the 7th highest Canadian university, tied with the University of Calgary in the 151-200 ranking

• Waterloo was ranked 201-300 last year

• Methodology – number of alumni and faculty/staff who have won Nobel prizes or Fields medals, number of highly cited researchers in 21 subject areas, papers published in Nature and Science or the Social Science Citation Index as compared to the FTE count of academic staff.

Source: Academic World Ranking of Universities, http://www.arwu.org

International Overview

QS World University Rankings

• Formerly the Times Higher Education – QS World University Rankings

• Waterloo ranked 113th last year, is now ranked 145th • Rankings based on reputation for academic and research excellence, student quality and internationalization

• McGill is the top-ranked Canadian institution

• Methodology - 2010 data survey that asked questions about total counts of faculty, undergraduates and graduate students, as well as International faculty, undergraduates and graduate students.

Source: The Waterloo Region Record, September 9, 2010

International Overview

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

• Waterloo ranked 113th last year, is no longer in top 200

• Calgary, Western and Queen’s have also fallen out of the top 200 •The University of Toronto is the highest ranking Canadian institution at 17th in the world followed by UBC (30), McGill (35), and McMaster (93)

• Methodology - formerly heavily weighted toward reputation, is now based on 13 performance indicators including teaching, research, citations, industry income and international mix of faculty and students.

Source: The Globe and Mail, September 16, 2010/The Waterloo Region Record, September 17, 2010

International Overview

Canada slips in Global Competitiveness Index• World Economic Forum report ranks 139 global economies based on productivity and competitiveness

• Canada drops from 9th place last year to 10th place this year

• The United States has dropped to 4th after ceding the top spot to Switzerland in 2009

• “Improving the sophistication and innovative potential of the private sector, with greater R&D spending and producing higher on the value chain, would enhance Canada’s competitiveness and productive potential going into the future.” • Canada is behind Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Japan, Germany, the United States, Singapore, Sweden, and Switzerland

Source: Financial Post, September 9, 2010

International Overview

Education Indicators in Canada – Council of Education Ministers of Canada

• From 1998 to 2008, the number of adults without a high school education dropped from 21 to 13 per cent, while the number of adults (25-34) who completed high school rose to 92 per cent

• Half of Canadian adults have completed college or university, above the OECD average of one third

• Canada’s largest post-secondary advantage is in the college sector – 24 per cent of the adult population has a college degree, compared to 9 per cent across the OECD

Source: The Globe and Mail, September 7, 2010

National Overview

Statistics Canada – University Tuition Fees, 2010-2011

• Undergraduate tuition increased by an average of 4 per cent this year, while graduate tuition increased by 6.6 per cent

• The national average for 2010-2011 is $5,138, up from $4,942 in 2009-2010

• Ontario has the highest average undergraduate fees, at $6,307, an increase of 5.4 per cent last year. Graduate tuition fees increased by 10.6 per cent.

• Nova Scotia has the highest graduate tuition fees at $7,350, with Ontario in second place at $6,917

Source: Statistics Canada: University Tuition Fees, September 16, 2010

National Overview

Federal Update of Economic and Fiscal Projections

• $55.6 billion budget deficit for 2009, $1.8 billion more than expected•$5.6 billion in HST-related transfer payments to Ontario and British Columbia

• 423,000 jobs created since July 2009• GDP increased by 2 per cent in the second quarter of 2010

• Equalization and transfer payment agreements are set to expire in 2013 • Projections assume social transfer payments to provinces will continue to grow at the current rate

• Health transfer increases at 6 per cent, social transfer increases at 3 per cent• Inflation and economic growth may be tied to future health and social transfer agreements

Source: Update of Economic and Fiscal Projections, Ministry of Finance, October 2010

National Overview

Canada’s Vital Signs 2010

• In 2009, recent immigrants with a university education had a 13.9 per cent unemployment rate, compared to 3.4 per cent for Canadian-born workers with a university degree• The unemployment rate is 4.1 time higher for immigrants

• Waterloo Region’s immigrant unemployment rate was 17.5 percent in 1996, and dropped to 10.7 per cent in 2006, below the Ontario and Canadian averages

Source: Canada’s Vital Signs 2010, October 5, 2010

Provincial Overview

Council of Ontario Universities Online Institute Vision Paper

Benefits:

• Expand access to postsecondary education, helping meet the goal that 70% of the workforce will have credentials to support the knowledge economy• Confer digital literacy skills critical in the 21st-century workplace and support lifelong learning• Reduce the need to build new classroom facilities to accommodate enrolment growth• Advance the Open Ontario plan by allowing international students to take university courses before and after their stay in Canada • Provide an effective system for credit transfer among universities for students • Achieve international recognition of Ontario for delivering the highest-quality e-learning in the world

Source: The Ontario Online Institute: Achieving the Transformation, COU, August 2010

Provincial Overview

Council of Ontario Universities Online Institute Vision Paper

Benefits for students:

• Learners will have flexibility to balance studies with work and family responsibilities• Prospective students will have a user-friendly portal to a comprehensive inventory of online programs and courses• Students will have enhanced opportunities for recognition of both college and university credits and credentials• More distance learners will complete degrees entirely online • On-campus students can choose from a range of instructional formats, including onsite, blended delivery, and synchronous and asynchronous study online

Source: The Ontario Online Institute: Achieving the Transformation, COU, August 2010

Provincial Overview

Council of Ontario Universities Online Institute Vision Paper

Proposed Structure and Mandate:

• An association of participating institutions, not a new degree-granting body • Similar to OUAC, an advisory board populated by representatives from participating institutions and other stakeholders• COU to provide secretariat support

• Provide leadership and coordinate strategy• Work to leverage existing Scholars Portal• Work to ensure quality and develop standard e-learning platforms• Act as Ontario’s voice in national e-learning conversation

• The Institute will require $385,000 in funding for its first year

Source: The Ontario Online Institute: Achieving the Transformation, COU, August 2010

Provincial Overview

Council of Ontario Universities Pre-Budget Submission

• Investing in foundational architecture – co-operate with government of Ontario to fund operating and capital costs of high performance computing networks across the country.

• Expand FedDev Ontario to create the Ontario Innovation Fund (OIF) to strategically invest in innovation

COU supports the AUCC’s pre-budget submission and its recommendations:

• Increase the Indirect Costs Program funding by 40 cents per direct cost dollar

• Continue to invest in new master’s and PhD scholarships, both domestic and international

Source: COU Pre-Budget Submission, August 2010

Provincial Overview

COU/AUCC Pre-Budget Submissions• Seek measures to promote collaborative R&D partnerships and provide additional resources for university research engagements with target countries including India and China.

• Advance Canada’s India strategy and higher education co-operation with other countries by supporting two-way researcher mobility and enhanced education marketing activities.

• Increase support for international learning experiences that encourage Canadian students to go abroad for short-term study or work experiences through co-ops and internships.

• Work with the university community, Aboriginal groups and other stakeholders to invest in programs and services that will help more Aboriginal students graduate from university.

Source: COU Pre-Budget Submission, August 2010

Local Overview

Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative

• $15M FedDev pilot project to link small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with colleges and universities to bring ideas to the marketplace • Waterloo, Guelph, and Conestoga College are the first recipients

• Waterloo and Guelph receives $750,000, Conestoga receives $747,400Source: The Waterloo Region Record, October 13, 2010