OTTAWA--PhD graduates in Canada are not benefiting from the extra time in university and have a harder time paying off their debts than they did in 2000 according to a new Statistics Canada report. The National Graduate Caucus says that could be partly attributed to universities relying more on part-time, contingent labour rather than replacing retiring full-time professors.

"Innovation relies on universities replenishing their researcher ranks with young and creative faculty members," said Graham Cox, Chairperson of the National Graduate Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students. "Most universities are trying to do teaching on the cheap. As a result, PhD graduates are now struggling with massive student debt and underemployment."

The National Graduates Survey, released today by Statistics Canada, shows that the average earnings gap between PhD graduates and Masters graduates is only $5,000 per year. The report also exposes a 7% jump since 2000 in PhD graduates reporting difficulty repaying student loans, the highest increase in any education category.

Graduate students say that the casualization of university faculty (replacing full-time professors with short-term contract teachers) is hurting both the quality of instruction and the research capacity of institutions, since sessional instructors rarely see the inside of a laboratory.

"Universities can't have it both ways: they can't pride themselves on high-quality education while using fast-food restaurant-style employment practices for teachers," said Cox.

On January 21 student loans owed to the federal government surpassed $13 billion for the first time in Canadian history. The figure does not include provincial student loan debt or personal debt such as credit cards, lines of credit, bank loans, and family loans. Statistics Canada's National Graduates Survey reports a $3,600 increase in non-government debt between 2000 and 2005.

Since passing $13 billion in January, Canada Student Loan debt has increased $110 million.

The National Graduate Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students represents over 60 000 graduate students.