Preliminary Report of the Committee on the Future Role of Universities in Ontario. Background Data.

The following areas are covered in the preliminary report of the Committee on the Future Role of Universities in Ontario: enrollment, enrollment forecasts, participation rates, staff, finance and capital, government, socio-economic data, and research and development. Significant changes in enrollment trends in the 1970s are reported, such as: the percentage of enrollment registered in Arts and Sciences at the graduate level decreased while enrollment in Business Administration rose sharply. More adult students are predicted and a needed program revision to meet new market needs is advocated. In the section on participation rates a shift is reported from traditional college age students to adult learners. The section on staffing shows a decrease in new faculty in the latter part of 1970, while showing no dramatic change in student teacher ratio. The sections on finance, capital, and government report that cooperation between school and government is effective and that the Province of Ontario has the financial strength and flexibility to meet the challenges of the 1980s. The socio-economic data indicates, among other things, that university students are disproportionately drawn from the middle upper class and educational attainment is also related to urban-rural origins. An increase in research and development is also reported, particularly in the sciences. Statistical data support the narrative. (LC)