BRIEF FROM THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION
OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Executive Summary
The Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) is the
national organization that promotes, advances, and fosters excellence in
graduate education and university research. CAGS represents 60 Canadian
universities, two graduate student organizations as well as the three federal
research-granting councils.
Canada can be very proud of its world-class graduate education
system. From 1999 to 2010, graduate enrolment rose by 60% and today there are
more than 190,000 students pursuing full- and part-time graduate studies in
Canada.
As the government moves forward with its
economic plan to eliminate the deficit through judicious management of the
public purse, CAGS urges the continued investment in the post secondary and the
post graduate sectors to meet the present and future needs of Canadians from
coast to coast. Therefore, CAGS asks that the federal government consider the
following requests:
1) Continue to invest in the three federal research-granting councils as an
investment in all Canadians and the future of an innovative Canadian economy.
2) Invest in the mobility of graduate students – both of foreign students
to Canada and Canadian students abroad.
3) Invest in innovative skills training for graduate students that will
complement their academic expertise and make them more competitive.
INTRODUCTION
The Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) is the
national organization that promotes, advances, and fosters excellence in
graduate education and university research. CAGS was formed in 1962 and
provides a venue for dialogue and cooperation for its members - 60 Canadian
universities, two graduate student organizations representing over 190,000
graduate students, as well as the three federal research-granting councils.
Canada can be proud of its world-class graduate education system.
It has enjoyed considerable growth in enrolment in graduate studies, both
Master’s and PhD’s over recent years. From 1999 to 2010, graduate enrolment
rose by 60% and today there are more than 190,000 students pursuing full- and
part-time graduate studies in Canada. Indeed, the number of
Canadians with graduate degrees (Master’s and PhD’s combined) rose by 28%
between 2004 and 2009. [i]
This does not mean that Canadian universities, governments and
businesses in Canada can rest on their laurels. An OECD report for 2010 placed Canada
23rd in terms of PhD graduates.[ii] Canada as a society and as an economy needs to ensure that funding for
scholarships, research and infrastructure is in place not only to maintain this
level of growth but also to increase it.
Graduate education in Canada is not an end in itself. Canada
requires an increasing number of graduates with advanced degrees in both the “STEM”
disciplines (i.e. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and the
social sciences to meet the needs of increasingly complex public and private
spheres. The number of jobs for those with graduate degrees grew from 600,000 to more than 1.3 million between 1990 and 2009 and
the projections are for this trend to continue.[iii]
Everything from telecommunications to health care, policy development in the
public and private sectors, the agri-food sector and energy – as well as education
benefit from the investment that is made in graduate education.
CAGS points out that the OECD
calculates that the return on investment in higher education is 3 to 1. This
return is not only evident in increased research, development and application
activities. Canadian university degree holders contribute 44 percent of the
income taxes collected by governments in Canada.[iv] 2
CAGS welcomes the investments made by the federal government in
the 2011 budget and recognizes that they were made despite the tight fiscal
situation. These were substantial contributions, fully in line with the
government’s previous commitments, and included:
· $53.5 million over five years to support the creation
of 10 new Canada Excellence Research Chairs;
· an additional $37 million per year to support the
three federal research granting councils; and,
· an additional $10 million per year, for the Indirect
Costs of Research Program.
Indeed all of the above specifically address requests that CAGS has
made in past pre-budget submissions. CAGS also acknowledges the additional
commitments to post secondary education and to research and development in
Canada as well as an ongoing commitment to create linkages with other countries
at the graduate and post graduate level.
As the government moves forward with its
economic plan to eliminate the deficit through judicious management of the
public purse, CAGS urges the continued investment in the post secondary and the
post graduate sectors to meet the present and future needs of Canadians from
coast to coast. Therefore, CAGS asks that the federal government consider the
following requests:
1. Continue to invest in the three federal
research-granting councils as an investment in Canadians and the future of an
innovative Canadian economy.
The government of Canada plays a critical role in supporting
university research and graduate education through its three research-granting
councils: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, (CIHR); the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, (NSERC); and the Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Recent substantial
investments by the Government of Canada in prestigious scholarships and
fellowships for graduate and postdoctoral researchers, including the Banting
Postdoctoral Fellowship, has assisted our members to identify and support
individual excellence and has helped us to compete for promising talent,
whether Canadian or from abroad.
CAGS does stress that while strategic targeting may be necessary to
address pressing problems, over targeting of research reduces our capacity to
produce the basic research upon which future innovation is built and constrains
our ability to respond quickly to unforeseen or newly emerging research
questions. Participation in basic research will contribute to educating and
training thousands of graduate students who will choose to enter the workforce
not only in academic research but as highly skilled workers in a very diverse
range of industries. We do point out that the failure to make this investment
in research may cause many Canadian and international students to elect to
study abroad.
CAGS recommends that while some targeting of research may be
necessary, investment in basic research remains a key investment in the “seed
corn” for future innovations.
2. Invest in the mobility of graduate students –
both of foreign students to Canada and Canadian students abroad.
Advanced education is an increasingly global market. Students are
more mobile and more willing to look beyond their national boundaries. In 2007,
2.8 million students were enrolled in higher education institutions outside
their country, which represents a 53% increase since 1999[v].
Indeed, higher education institutions are among the most globally connected
institutions in the world. The proportion of international graduate students in
Canada has steadily increased in the past decade going from 11.1% of graduate
students in 1996 to 15.0% in 2008. [vi]Canada presently has
over 300,000 foreign students. Approximately 90,000 are enrolled in
universities and 25,000 are enrolled in graduate programs. [vii]
These international students choose Canada because the level of
graduate education is perceived to be very high as is the level of personal
safety and security that they can expect.[viii] They make an
important contribution to Canadian higher education, research and society; they
bring diversity to our universities and to our country. They are a prime source
of immigrants: they are well-educated, familiar with the language and culture,
and are already recognized as a valuable resource by the private sector. Those
who return to their home countries become leaders there and maintain excellent
connections with Canada.
The competition for top graduate students worldwide is very stiff,
as other advanced and emerging countries are developing and marketing their own
graduate education systems. Canada needs to do more to attract the very best
graduates from around the world. The universities’ reputation, the availability
of scholarships and affordable fees are the main factors attracting mobile
international students to a country. CAGS welcomes the federal government’s
help in marketing Canadian universities abroad and the creation of the Vanier
Scholarships which support some of the best research students to study in
Canada.
The recent work to ensure that Libyan students are able to remain
in Canada and continue their studies is an excellent example of the commitment
that Canada does have to foreign students and the success that working in
tandem does create.
Relatively few Canadian students, in comparison with U.S. and
European students, choose to pursue graduate studies abroad. They must be
encouraged and supported to pursue studies in other countries for their own
development, to enhance the international reputation of our universities and to
create the same linkages with other countries as Canada hopes to foster in the
foreign students it attracts here.
CAGS requests that the Government of Canada intensify its work
with Canadian institutions of higher education and their organizations, to
strengthen and promote Canadian education on the international stage and
examine ways of opening up more graduate scholarships to international
students.
CAGS urges the Research Councils to expand their ability to
support Canadian students who wish to spend part of their time studying and
doing research outside Canada.
3. Invest in innovative skills training for
graduate students that will complement their academic expertise and make them
more competitive.
The Government of Canada has articulated the need to strengthen
Canada’s human infrastructure advantage so that our country can attract and
retain the highly skilled people needed to thrive in a knowledge-based
economy. Increasingly, funding agencies, universities, employers of highly
qualified people, researchers, and graduates themselves recognize the
importance of professional skills that complement their disciplinary expertise.
At the same time, an increasing number of doctoral students are pursuing careers
outside academe: in fact, most of the graduates from our advanced programs are
not employed in the academic sector, but work in research-intensive industries
such as engineering, food science, energy, petroleum, IT, pharmaceuticals,
manufacturing, and aerospace. Their ability to pursue the increasingly diverse
range of career paths before them would be greatly enhanced through greater
attention to professional/transferable skills.
The knowledge economy demands a high level of professional skills
from all of its participants. The 2011 budget commitments are a clear
recognition of the importance of this type of training: improving
commercialization and supporting demonstration of new technologies in the
marketplace by supporting research links between colleges, universities and
businesses.
SSHRC is presently engaged in a study that will provide information
about the skills needed by post graduates to successfully compete for and be
successful in their careers. The CREATE program launched by NSERC and the very
successful MITACS activities are excellent examples of the kind of training
programs that will help outfit our students with the competencies that will
enable them to thrive in an increasingly complex knowledge economy.
CAGS strongly endorses continued investments in the funding
councils so that they may promote and support further professional and
transferable skills in innovative programs that will provide wider skills
training for graduate students in preparation for what employers need or may
need in the future.
We thank the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance for its
attention to these issues which impact the future success of Canada.
Presented by Dr. John Doering
President of the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies
301-260 St-Patrick Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 5K5
www.cags.ca
(613) 562-0949