Guiding Growth in Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education System
Province Committed to Sustainable Growth to Meet Demand
“We will ensure that future capacity expansion in post secondary education will be in areas where student demand is strong and where there are gaps in access to an undergraduate degree. This will give more students the opportunity to get a high-quality education while staying close to home. Our goal is to get the right spaces in the right places.” Brad Duguid, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities
The Major Capacity Expansion Policy Framework defines criteria for where new or expanded campuses should be located. Working in collaboration with municipalities, universities’ and colleges’ expansion proposals will be evaluated to determine how they:
- Increase spaces in underserved areas and align with provincial growth and economic development plans
- Align with their strategic mandate agreements and their priorities under the Differentiation Policy Framework
- Demonstrate value for money and provide regional and provincial economic benefits
- Improve quality, innovation and competitiveness
- Increase affordability for both students and tax payers
Decisions about future expansions will be made on the basis of a formal, transparent and competitive process that will begin with a call for proposals directed to institutions and their municipal partners in early 2014. Municipalities interested in being considered as host locations will be expected to work in collaboration with institutions that would be prepared to submit a proposal. Expanding the province’s world-class post-secondary education system is part of the Ontario government’s economic plan to invest in people, build modern infrastructure and support a dynamic and innovative business climate.
Quick Facts
- The call for proposals for new or expanded campuses will be open to all public universities and colleges in the province.
- Ontario has a higher post-secondary education attainment rate than any OECD country, providing a competitive advantage in job creation, enhanced productivity and global competitiveness.
- In the last ten years, full-time enrollment in Ontario’s post-secondary system has grown by more than 160,000 — more than in any decade in the province’s history.
