Paid work during school year hinders students' studies, say professors

Student work is increasing at same time professors warn that students are less prepared
Professors strongly support expansion of remedial programs at universities

TORONTO, Sept. 20 /CNW/ - University students working during the school year are hindering their academic success, according to the results of a recent questionnaire sent to Ontario university faculty and librarians. Sixty-four per cent of respondents agreed that paid work during the academic year hindered academic achievement. In addition, 33 per cent of respondents said that the amount of paid work outside the classroom has increased over the past year.

"Ontario students are caught in a bind. Many need to work during the school year to meet the rising costs of their education, but that paid work is often a barrier to their progress and achievement," said Prof. Mark Langer, President of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) and a faculty member at Carleton University. "For the 2010/2011 academic year, the average Ontario undergraduate tuition bill is up 5.4 per cent to $6,307- which is almost $1,200 more than the national average of $5,138. Successive Ontario governments have allowed tuition fees to increase at double the rate of inflation over the past decade, while operating grants have not kept pace with expanding enrolments.The result is that today close to 50 per cent of the cost of university education is borne by Ontario students and their families."

The results of the questionnaire also show concerns over student preparedness.

• Forty-one per cent of respondents report that incoming students are less prepared for university education than those entering in the previous year.
  
  
• Respondents cited concerns with writing skills, numeracy, critical thinking, research skills and time management.

To help student preparedness, many universities offer remedial programs to incoming students as a way to address these skills and knowledge gaps. According to the questionnaire results, many respondents want universities to expand these programs and to a lesser extent make them mandatory.

• Forty per cent of respondents agreed that universities should expand remedial programs.
  
  
• Twenty-three per cent agreed that remedial programs should be mandatory for all first-year students.

Priority areas for remedial education cited by faculty (respondents were allowed to pick more than one priority) include:

• Writing skills - 69.6 per cent
• Critical thinking - 49.8 per cent
• Research skills - 33.0 per cent
• Numeracy - 29.0 per cent

"Our students are facing huge pressures that we are not adequately addressing," said Prof. Langer. "We expect our students to pay for a larger share of their education, engage in more paid work, attend larger classes, have less interaction with faculty, and pursue remedial courses on top of their regular studies to succeed in a demanding university curriculum. This is a recipe for disaster."

OCUFA invited Ontario university faculty and librarians to respond to an on-line questionnaire. The questionnaire asked about a range of issues including class size, faculty hiring, research capacity, departmental budgets, student preparedness and the overall quality of education being delivered to students. Over 1,400 responses from all Ontario universities were received between March 10 and April 17, 2010.

Founded in 1964, OCUFA represents 16,000 faculty and academic librarians in 26 faculty associations across Ontario. For more information, please visit the OCUFA website at http://www.ocufa.on.ca.

For further information:

Contact: Graeme Stewart - 416 979 2117 x232 (office) or 647 280 3175 (mobile) [email protected]

Or

Mark Rosenfeld - 416 979 2117 x232 [email protected]