Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services

� Mandate agreements should include certain quality indicators: Progress has been
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made in establishing common indicators, such as the use of the credit transfer system,
participation rates of under-represented communities, space utilization and class size.
Outcome indicators such as student satisfaction, graduation rates and post-graduation
employment are also used. However, the underlying measures used to indicate the quality
of the learning environment should be enhanced for both universities and colleges.
The government should also work with private career colleges to collect and publish the
same performance indicators as public colleges and universities. Funding should be tied
to indicators of learning outcomes.
� Revise research funding structures: The government should evaluate the research
funding system of PSE institutions and research hospitals as a whole. The federal
government, which to its credit prompted the surge in university-based research, does not
cover all associated research costs, so universities cross-subsidize research from other
sources. There should also be an analysis of commercialization outcomes of research and
development investments, which is very weak. The <strong>Commission</strong> sees great value in the
Early Researcher Awards and Ontario Research Fund — Research Infrastructure program.
� Maintain current tuition fee increases but simplify the framework: Keep the
five per cent ceiling on overall tuition increases, but let institutions adjust tuition fees
for individual programs, within the ceiling.
Re-evaluate Student Financial Assistance: An enhanced system of student loans must
accompany the current tuition framework. However, all forms of federal and provincial
assistance — student loans, loan remissions, grants and bursaries, tax credits, savings
incentives and summer employment subsidies — provide little more for students from the
lowest-income families than those from the best-off. They should be better targeted to lowincome
students. Further, there is ample evidence that family income is not the most serious
access problem; the lack of a family history of college or university is the most significant
obstacle. Addressing the most acute access issues then becomes very much an issue for the
elementary and secondary school system, in conjunction with post-secondary institutions,
community organizations and businesses. The province should maintain the Ontario Student
Access Guarantee, under which a portion of tuition revenue is set aside to fund bursaries
and other student assistance programs. We also suggest that provincial tuition and education
tax credits be phased out and replaced with upfront grants. We also make several
recommendations to reduce costly defaults under the Ontario Student Assistance Program.