Posted on Nov. 4: Enrolment challenges extend beyond

It is less than a year until the official “double cohort” arrives. But the challenges the University will face extend well beyond 2003/04, says McMaster President Peter George.

“We need to look at the long-range issues,” he said to the Board of Governors Thursday.

An increase in faculty retirement rates, higher student participation rates, increased graduate enrolment and enrolling a mix of international, Ontario and out-of-province students, are some of the issues McMaster will face, not just during the double cohort years, he says, but for years to come.

“There are a lot of issues here that are long-reaching,” he says. “The double cohort is just a lightning rod that is distracting attention away from the longer-term issues.”

Citing the recent University Fair held in Toronto, attended by about 80,000 students, more than double from the year before, numbers of students applying to university will likely increase, says George.

According to a recent survey of secondary school student intentions about university study, approximately 6,000 to 8,000 additional students beyond those originally forecast may seek university admission in Ontario next fall, he noted. The double cohort year also includes fast-trackers, students who chose to apply one year early and slow-trackers, students who will wait at least one year to apply, he said.

“The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities has stated publicly that there is no problem, that there will be a place for every qualified and motivated student,” George said. “It appears the ministry is presuming that there is sufficient elasticity in university capacity across the system to accommodate the additional demand in full average-cost funding . . . in my view it is doubtful whether the additional students can be absorbed without additional investment in facilities expansion and to ensure that the quality of education will be maintained.”

Refining Directions, a planning exercise to consider McMaster's academic vision and mission, will help provide the strategic framework for the university over the next five to seven years, George says. “What is our responsibility to these young people? Do we take in as many students as we can or assess quality to make sure we're providing quality education?”

According to Board vice-chair Ed Buffet, long-range planning doesn't make sense with politicians, who he says are planning for an election. “The timelines are very short,” he says, “and we have emphasized to the government that we need immediate decisions on this.”

McMaster will be prepared for any announcement the government might make, said Fred Hall, associate vice-president academic. The Enrolment Management Team, in consultation with senior management, is scenario building, he said. “We'll have plan a, b, c and probably a number of other one's.”

Past Board chair Doug Barber does not recommend a quick fix to problems associated with the double cohort. “These problems are not going to go away by finding a Band-Aid for next year, because you're going to need a Band-Aid for the next year after that.”