Ontario Universities are committed to mobilizing their collective resources in order to make education more accessible, according to a recent
Council of Ontario Universities' (COU) submission to the provincial government.
"This [COU] report came about as result of numerous meetings among the presidents of our universities about what the priorities are for them going forward," says Bonnie M. Patterson, COU's president and CEO, "so it wasn't the result of a single conversation but of many conversations. And of course, it also was a consequence of us looking at the report the ministry issued as well. That was a report that drove the consultation process through July and August."
While the COU's submission to the provincial government has numerous recommendations, what it boils down to, says Patterson, is a commitment from Ontario universities "to share resources and to continue collaborating."
Among the key recommendations outlined in the new COU report is a plan to coordinate all Ontario's online courses into a single online consortium.
While Transforming Ontario Universities is intended for government, many of the plans identified, especially the online consortium, will be pursed regardless.
"There are important project that'll we'll be pursing either way," says Patterson. "The consortium, for example, would build on something like 47,000 courses that already are available online. We're constantly working towards improved quality of technology and improved learning. And the advances in online learning that would take place would also be useful to students within the traditional classroom where often hybrid learning is what people looking for."
The official government response to the COU document is expected in late November.
Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Bonnie M. Patterson, President and CEO, COU