My Education - Are Students in the driver seat of their Education

As I continue to ponder the question “Are students in the driver seat of their education”. Let’s look at the process of student admissions-apply. Why do I have to apply to a post secondary institution anyways? This process has fundamentally been the same since the beginning of time. When I first started working for the Ontario College’s Application Services (OCAS /OntarioColleges.ca), most the applications (over 85%) were paper form and the primary inputs to an admissions decision were student demographics, high school grades and a restricted number of program choices with most of the programs full-time and they started in the fall. Student would select their programs from a paper catalogue. Essentially the application centres were primarily a centralized data entry service. Today this process is significantly digital, but still has the same fundamental process design and really doesn’t leverage the full potential of a digital world for efficiency and service improvements. I h...

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-colleges-to-ask-kathleen-wynne-to-boost-funding/article33821401/ This article makes no sense! When you consider the following: Both Ontario Colleges and Universities are seeing declining enrolment since 2014 and expected to continue until at least 2020 (https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/education/2014/09/22/ontario_university_enrolment_down_for_first_time_in_15_years.html) The Ontario government net deficit will reach $296.1 billion by March 31. This is a debt-to-GDP of 39%. This suppose to be brought down to about 27% but no plan seems to be in place to address it (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-budget-1.3464504). Most budget increases have been due to public service works compensation exceeding rates of inflation for years. Then you see the potential for administrators getting 50% increases April 1 after a 5-year salary freeze. This significantly exceeds any accumulated inflation rates over the las...

Do you think it is time RESP rules keep up with the changing world of education and the need for part-time studies? This rule in particular "An educational program at post-secondary school level that lasts at least three consecutive weeks, and that requires a student to spend not less than 12 hours per month on courses in the program." Many part-time programs are less than a week duration but can have significant cost and value. Reference on RESP rules http://www.esdc.gc.ca/en/resp/use.page#h3

This is a question I have pondered for years both as a student and working in the industry for years. In a series of articles, I will share my thoughts and observations on this question. Most of todays education systems has been built on institutionalizing education with day care, elementary, high school and post secondary systems. Before government initiated educational systems, religious institutions were instrumental in the formalization of the education system. Before this there was the concept of apprenticeship to develop skills and pass these skills on to the next generation of a work force. For most of time education systems were restricted to noble families and even basic skills like reading and writing limited to only a few civilizations. In fact, it was in the 1st century AD that Jewish civilization insisted on the educations of children for reading and writing. My experience with the system is mixed throughout my elementary and secondary experience I can only think of two ...