Canadian colleges play an increasingly vital role in applied research, supporting regional innovation through partnerships with industry, community, and government. Backed by programs like the Tri-Agency College and Community Innovation (CCI) fund, colleges have expanded beyond their teaching mandates to tackle real-world challenges through practical, solution-focused research. However, many institutions still face barriers due to limited internal resources, inconsistent faculty engagement, and administrative structures designed primarily for education. This paper outlines seven key strategies identified by Canadian college research leaders to build and strengthen applied research capacity: (a) focus on core funding programs, (b) align with federal priorities while exploring other sources, (c) engage local industry and community, (d) integrate research with student programming, (e) collaborate with internal departments, (f) leverage marketing to promote impact, and (g) learn from established institutions and associations. These strategies offer a roadmap for colleges at any stage of research development to enhance sustainability, relevance, and long-term impact.
International students often confront distinctive cultural, linguistic, financial, and academic challenges that may heighten vulnerability to emotional strain and academic overwhelm. Yet research on international student mental health and well-being is mixed and often neglects variation within this population, comparisons with domestic students, or the social and academic factors that may shape disparities in distress. Drawing on survey data from undergraduate students at a large university in southern Ontario, we examine distress among domestic students and three subgroups of international students: those from China, South Asia, and other regions. We assess how social background and academic preparation, campus involvement, and experiences of racism and discrimination shape disparities in reported distress. We find substantial variation, both between domestic and international students and across international student subgroups. Social and academic advantages and extracurricular participation are associated with lower distress, while exposure to racism and discrimination is strongly linked to higher distress.
The academic workplace is a space of tension as work and professional goals clash with organizational logic. Neo-liberal managerial philosophy of casualization, efficiency, and work intensification amplifies the inequalities in the division of labour created by two-tiered hiring practices within the academic profession. This article adds to the growing body of literature that examines the effects of precarity within a profession. It explores professional restratification of academia through in-depth interviews in which professors, employed at two Ontario universities, discuss perceptions of their own roles and professional identity within the academic workplace. Findings suggest everyday experiences in academia reflect agentic perspectives and behaviours of both contract and tenured professors as they endeavour to sustain their professional identities.
This article examines audio and video podcasting as a transformative pedagogical tool for social justice education, knowledge mobilization, and community engagement with a focus on the Canadian context. Using a duo-ethnographic approach, the authors reflect on their experiences as racialized professors, podcast producers, and scholar-activists to explore how podcasting disrupts traditional teaching, amplifies counternarratives, and bridges academic and community knowledge. Grounded in intersectional and activist pedagogies, the analysis identifies three key themes: podcasting as resistance to epistemic erasure, as a practice for community-building and solidarity, and as a space for modelling vulnerability as a form of strength and facilitating critical conversations for advocacy and healing purposes. The article also addresses tensions surrounding power, ethics, and academic legitimacy. It concludes by calling for greater institutional recognition for pedagogical value of podcasting, ethical frameworks to guide its use, and continued research on its transformative impact.
The current study aimed to expand understanding of the associations between psychological needs, authenticity, and autonomous motivation in two domains relevant to post-secondary students: academics and friendships. Self-determination theory suggests that need satisfaction supports behaving consistently with one’s authentic values. While research shows need satisfaction as an antecedent to autonomous motivation, authenticity’s role in this relationship remains unexplored. We tested a conceptual model examining authenticity aspects (authentic living, self-alienation, accepting external influence) as mediators between need satisfaction and autonomous academic and friendship motivation, as well as the direct associations between variables. It was hypothesized that need satisfaction would relate positively to both types of motivation through authenticity aspects. Hypotheses were largely supported for friendship, but not for academics. Results suggest that living authentically plays a key role in explaining the relationship between need satisfaction and post-secondary students’ autonomous friendship motivation, but that these processes may differ in other life contexts.
This study examines how open education, including open educational resources and practices, was reframed within Ontario’s Virtual Learning Strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a qualitative case study informed by the multiple streams framework and the concept of discursive agency, it analyzes how eCampusOntario leveraged the pandemic as a policy window to elevate open education on the provincial agenda. The findings show that open education, historically associated with equity, access, and participatory pedagogy, was recast as a cost-effective, scalable, and system-compatible solution aligned with performance metrics and digital governance priorities. While this reframing enabled rapid institutional uptake and centralized investment, it also narrowed open education’s social justice ambitions. This study highlights how crisis-driven policy convergence can legitimize innovation while constraining its transformative potential, offering insights for policy makers and educators navigating equity-oriented reforms in performance-driven post-secondary systems.
Summer research positions provide undergraduate students with formative research experiences, yet particular groups remain under-represented in securing these placements. This study sought to explore how faculty and students experienced the recruitment of summer research students in a musculoskeletal science context, and to identify potential solutions to support increased enrolment from under-represented student groups. A sequential research design was used. First, a survey was administered to inquire about current recruitment processes and suggestions for process changes, which then informed the content of semi-structured interviews with students and faculty. Participants were recruited via institute mailing lists, posters, and respondent-driven sampling. Thematic analysis was applied to interview transcripts. A review of student survey responses (n = 26) identified that the most common method to secure summer research positions was through unsolicited emails to faculty. The majority (62%) responded they were satisfied with the recruitment process, but almost half (46%) reported it was not fair to all students. Thirteen students and seven faculty participated in interviews. Six themes presented areas to address: hidden recruitment processes, timing of applications, emailing, connections, grade point average, and low compensation. Students proposed the implementation of a web-based platform and a networking event to improve the recruitment process; however, faculty had reservations about these solutions. A multi-component strategy leveraging an equity framework and enhanced student engagement from under-represented student groups in all aspects of design is required. This strategy should include improved transparency of application processes, targeted recruitment, and adequate compensation to increase accessibility to summer research positions in musculoskeletal science among under-represented student groups.
La mobilité internationale étudiante est aujourd’hui confrontée à des politiques migratoires plus restrictives. Cet article examine les effets des récentes réformes fédérales et provinciales sur les stratégies de recrutement des étudiants internationaux dans les cégeps québécois. À partir d’une analyse descriptive et chronologique de 38 politiques et d’un test omnibus par permutation calculé à partir des réponses de 37 cégeps à 2 enquêtes menées en 2019 et 2024, les résultats révèlent une complexification des responsabilités administratives, une croissance du nombre d’étudiants internationaux (ÉI) et une diversification des pays d’origine. L’article montre que, malgré le resserrement des politiques migratoires, les cégeps adaptent leurs stratégies et conservent une agentivité dans le recrutement international.
This article will examine the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE). This non-governmental advocacy organization along with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC, now Universities Canada) have been responsible for internationalizing higher education (HE) in Canada. It was and remains very significant to international higher education policy. This article will examine the history of the CBIE as it fills this important area of policy making in Canada. It will look critically at the early development of the organization, its fight for financial sustainability as a non-governmental organization (NGO), and lastly, its responses to continuing and emergent issues through to the 2000s. The need for an advocacy organization to fill this niche in Canadian international education policy continues today-what was the CBIE's approach, and is the CBIE now a permanent fixture responsible for internationalizing higher education in Canada?
Community engaged learning (CEL) is an increasingly important collaborative form of experiential learning (EL) within Canadian higher education. This article critically examines the landscape of CEL within publicly funded universities across Canada. As EL gains traction across the country, CEL emerges as a unique response to varied social exigencies amidst the corporatization of academia. Ethically coordinated CEL can address societal challenges and nurture conscientious citizens, but navigating the complexities of CEL programming demands substantial resources and a commitment to reflective practices. Through a comprehensive scan of university websites and strategic plans, our research reveals myriad approaches to CEL terminology, institutional commitments, and community engagement. The study identifies key pathways for future research and calls for the establishment of a national network to facilitate collaboration and advance the collective understanding and impact of CEL in Canada.
This study investigates how Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)’s approach toward international students is evolving in light of shifting geopolitics, using the critically oriented What’s the Problem Represented to Be? approach. Analyzing IRCC announcements from 2022 to 2025 relating to Canada’s global commitments revealed three themes: addressing humanitarian crises, promoting Canadian values, and mobilizing international talent. While IRCC has fulfilled its mandate for immigration, settlement, and meeting Canada’s humanitarian commitments, it has also emerged as a powerful actor in education policy. At the same time, it is actively contributing to foreign policy. However, this is unfolding in ways that are inconsistent and that perpetuate inequalities. This requires equitable and non-oppressive approaches for Canada to enrich higher education and fulfill its global commitments. The study offers insights into the changing nature of Canadian policy making in the mid-2020s, particularly in relation to the new nexus of immigration, education, and foreign policy.
This article uses high-quality data from the United Kingdom to critically examine the assumptions underpinning university league tables in Canada and elsewhere. Particular attention is given to research quality and value added in learning (VA). Unlike many global ranking systems, U.K. rankings incorporate measures that allow for robust assessment. Based on these data, we show that league table positions in the United Kingdom are weakly associated with research quality and largely unrelated to VA. Furthermore, research funding bears little consistent relationship to research quality. At both institutional and departmental levels, notably in Politics and International Studies, highly ranked universities do not necessarily deliver superior learning outcomes or research quality. These findings challenge the validity of using inputs such as research grants or student awards as proxies for institutional quality. Although U.K. data cannot be generalized automatically, they provide a valuable reference point for other countries. As a result of these findings, we argue that Canadian rankings, and others like them, must be treated with considerable skepticism.
This study explores how cooperative education (co-op) influences international students' decisions to immigrate to Canada. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 former international students who graduated from the University of Waterloo's co-op program between 2014 and 2022. Through a thematic analysis of transcripts, we identified co-op's impact on immigration through school-to-work transitions. Participation in co-op enhanced skill development, clarified career preferences and pathways, and strengthened professional networks, resulting in early post-graduation employment, sometimes with a previous co-op employer. Most participants reported that their Canadian employment motivated their application for permanent residency, with some altering their initial plans to return to their home countries. However, immigration intentions were moderated by perceived barriers in Canada's immigration system, sociocultural factors, and aspirations for opportunities abroad. These findings highlight the pivotal role of co-op in supporting Canada's talent import strategy.
