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Harvey P. Weingarten – Why so little information in a sector drowning in data?

One of the most important lessons I learned in graduate school is that evidence and data matter.  So, when there is a problem to be solved, a challenge to be met, or a strategy or policy to be designed, thinking should be informed, shaped and guided by the best evidence, data and information available.   Regrettably, […]

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Martin Hicks and Fiona Deller – An Homage to Good Data

Those of us focused on facts rather than anecdotes have known all along that the alleged collapse of employment opportunities for higher education graduates is untrue.  At HEQCO, we have published on this.  And now comes a major breakthrough, a significant step forward, in our data-driven understanding of outcomes for Canadian college and university graduates.  […]

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Jill Scott – Data collection on student learning, or why I can’t paint that door

There is a door in my house – maybe you have one of these too – that cannot be painted. In recent renovations, I had to explain to the workmen that the data on the door is too valuable and must be preserved. You may have guessed that the door in question is where we’ve […]

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Richard Wiggers – Wanted and coming: Solid, reliable and current info on life after PhD

In a recent report from The Conference Board of Canada, Inside and Outside the Academy: Valuing and Preparing PhDs for Careers, the authors employ data from the 2011 census to assert that fewer than one in five (18.6%) of Canadians holding a PhD are employed as full-time university professors. The number drops to fewer than […]

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Léo Charbonneau – How is Canada’s PSE system doing? Probably OK, but it would be useful to have more research to know for sure

Léo Charbonneau, Guest blogger According to its most recent annual report (PDF, pg. 26), the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario received roughly $5.5 million in operating funds from the provincial government for the 2012-13 fiscal year. The amount of quality research the council is able to conduct with that relatively modest sum is impressive. More than […]

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Martin Hicks – Data in Quarantine

Higher education is often pitched as an investment — by individuals in their future, and by the public in a strong economy and an engaged citizenry.  Good investors do their homework and base their decisions on facts and data.  Does Canada have sufficient data to make healthy investment decisions in higher education? As was underscored […]

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On Our Radar – Open data movement: Canada know thyself

On Our Radar features HEQCO staff and guest bloggers offering their unique perspectives on trends, new ideas, and hot-button issues in higher education. The opinions are those of the authors. Anyone remotely involved in higher education is well aware of Massive Open Online Courses, otherwise known as MOOCs, which offer free education in the public […]

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On Our Radar – An algorithm for student success

On Our Radar features HEQCO staff and guest bloggers offering their unique perspectives on trends, new ideas and hot-button issues in higher education. The opinions are those of the authors.   For years, postsecondary institutions have collected massive amounts of data but have not used them to their full capacity. Postsecondary institutions have a vested […]

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Harvey P. Weingarten – OECD: When good news isn’t good enough

OECD’s recently released Education at a Glance 2012 is comparatively good news for Canada and even more so for Ontario. But in a twist on the old cliché, good news is the enemy of great news.  Evident within the 500-plus pages of international educational performance measures are at least two lessons: the dangers of complacency […]