Welcome to Margin of Error. Each month, I will be picking apart some number or statistical problem in the news or on my mind. I will draw on my own modest knowledge of econometrics — the statistics of economics, lately being applied to all kinds of problems — and interview the occasional expert. If you [...]
Posts Tagged as ‘postsecondary education’
April 7, 2008
Don’t ignore the nitty gritty
Students are protesting fee increases, but it’s the administration’s policy changes that we should really be worried about
As anyone involved in political activism can tell you, nothing derails a movement quite like a fight over tactics. U of T’s student movement is off the rails— in the face of a 20 per cent residence fee [...]
January 10, 2008
Report reveals need for better data on schools
In any given year, according to the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, between 40 and 55 per cent of students drop out of their post-secondary institution. Of course, those aren’t all dropouts: many of them simply transfer to another school or switch from university to college. How many? Don’t ask the government.
As the Canadian Council on [...]
October 18, 2007
Below the threshold
Income-contingent loan repayment would help students have more cash, more prospects
In my first year, everyone was heading somewhere. Living off by-the-slice pizza and skipping psych lectures was just a temporary plan. We knew we were going to travel, write a novel, get a job with a conscience. Three years later, plans have changed.
Some of my [...]
May 15, 2006
Government to international students: Work it
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced two changes on April 18 that will affect how international students pay for their educations. The first change will allow those students who have completed two semesters to work off-campus during the school year and full-time during the summer.
“I’m about to graduate,” says Abril Novoa. “So it came a [...]
October 6, 2005
Government, CFS play he said, she said
After it was revealed Friday that the Ontario tuition freeze that has been in place for the last two years is being lifted, student groups including SAC and CFS were moved to protest what they saw as coming out of leftfield. (See The Varsity’s coverage in the Oct. 3 issue).
But according to Chris Bentley, the [...]
February 10, 2005
Rae Report called “disappointing”
Though it calls for $1.3 billion more funding, student groups say the blueprint points to higher fees and bigger debts; U of T Prez says universities must help government make ‘difficult choices’
Monday morning’s release of “Ontario: A Leader in Learning,” the final report of the Rae Review, launched the next stage in the major debate [...]
