Alberta must make a sustained investment in improving the quality of post-secondary education, both now and for the future. Faculty/student ratios at Alberta institutions are significantly worse than the national averages, and are even more worrisome when compared internationally. Worse still, as a large percentage of university educators are nearing retirement, Alberta has failed to make a major investment in increasing graduate student spaces to provide qualified faculty in coming decades.

Recognizing the importance of graduate students in expanding research capacity and providing a supply of high-quality faculty for the future, both Ontario and British Columbia have recently committed to substantial increases in the number of fully-funded graduate spaces at their universities.

It is also vital that we protect and enhance the quality of graduate and undergraduate education by providing the cutting-edge facilities, lower student/faculty ratios, and sufficient numbers of experienced faculty required to provide world-class education at Alberta's universities.

Quick facts about the quality of post-secondary education in Alberta:

-         One of the key quality indicators for universities is the ratio of FTE enrolment to FTE faculty. A lower number means that there are more faculty available per student. The ratio of FTE enrolment per FTE faculty at Alberta universities has gone from 14.7 in 1994 to 20.4 in 2004, with no improvement in the last three years.

-         The average student-to-teaching staff ratio in higher education institutions in Canada is 18.1. A study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) states that the international average among comparable countries in 15.5, a ratio significantly better than Canada's.

-         According to 2004 Statistics Canada figures, 15% of university educators are over the age of 60 and 34% are between the ages of 50 – 59. This means that 49% of university educators are expected to retire within the next 10-15 years. On average, university educators are significantly older than the Canadian labour force as a whole.

-         To address the increasing need for qualified faculty, Ontario has invested in a plan to add capacity for 14,000 additional graduate students by 2010, with 12,000 of these to come in 2007/2008.  The 2007 B.C. Provincial Budget commits funding for 2,500 additional graduate student spaces this year. Alberta has no comparable plan to meet future needs.

Solutions to improve the quality of education in Alberta:

Invest in staff and faculty and ensure that class sizes are below the national average

Increase support for graduate studies and provide for the greatest number of Masters and PhD students per capita of any province

Provide public research funding to ensure that Alberta develops local research and innovation

Read more about the key issues facing Alberta's post-secondary system:

Affordability :: Quality :: Access :: Investment