TORONTO--College and university students object to a new post-secondary education system, recommended in a report of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) entitled, The Benefits of Greater Differentiation of Ontario's University Sector. The report advocates for a "differentiation" within higher education that would see Ontario's universities divided into academic silos based on programme choice, course offerings and research capacity.

"They use words like 'differentiation' and 'streamlining,' but really what they are talking about is cutting funding and limiting access to programmes throughout the province," said Sandy Hudson, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario. "The strength of Ontario's education system is that no matter where you are in the province, you can get access to comprehensive programme offerings that open up academic options for everyone."

The report claims that rewarding greater specialisation within post-secondary institutions will streamline Ontario's education system, but students project that such a restructuring will result in programme cuts at many schools and will undermine academic freedom. Taken to its extreme, this model could result in the entrenchment of different tiers of universities that are divided between those that are research-intensive or teaching-only.

"The government can't strive to turn some of Ontario's universities into elite institutions without turning the rest into second-rate establishments," said Hudson. "Creating different classes of universities would mean that students studying at a particular school could receive a degree that is less valuable and opens the door to fewer employment prospects after graduation."

"Students are already struggling to get their education and the proposed differentiation will price many programmes out of reach," said Hudson. "No matter where they live in the province, students could be forced to move far from home for their desired programme, making it necessary to incur many additional costs or else limit their academic progress."

The Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario unites more than 300,000 college and university students studying at public post-secondary institutions across the province.