Is Alberta micromanaging its universities?
Originally published on January 1, 2025. Higher education in Alberta is in a tight spot, anticipating exponential growth in enrolment after years of some of the steepest cuts the sector has ever endured. Marc Spooner, a University of Regina professor who studies how government policy affects the corporatization of education, says that current funding models and policies have become troublesome for universities. “Universities have become inconvenient to governments who want to carry out an agenda not based on the best available evidence for any given policy decision,” Spooner says. According to Spooner, there is a suspicion and sometimes even hostility towards research, expertise, and perhaps even motivation to silence vocal...
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