The following op-ed column is by Linda Franklin, president and CEO of Colleges Ontario, the group that advocates for the province's 24 colleges of applied arts and technology. Franklin talks about the debate over whether colleges should be allowed to grant three-year degrees to students, who now get diplomas.

An op-ed column by the president of the Council of Ontario Universities that appeared recently in QP Briefing questioned the recommendation that Ontario expand its range of career-specific degree programs at colleges. It’s important to understand why this recommendation is long overdue.

As the province strives to address youth unemployment and underemployment, it is essential that Ontario produce a more highly trained workforce – a workforce that has the qualifications and competencies to succeed in the innovation economy.

Growing numbers of students and parents already know this. Full-time enrolment at colleges has increased in recent years. In fact, the number of university graduates enrolled in college programs has increased more than 40 per cent from five years ago.

To be internationally competitive, though, the province must encourage more students to go to college. Ontario must meet the growing demand among employers for graduates who have degrees and also have the professional and technical skills required for their specific sectors.

Expanding the range of degree programs at colleges will help more people – particularly young people – find meaningful careers.

It will be particularly important to allow the colleges to start offering three-year degrees.

While some colleges offer four-year degree programs, the graduates of most college programs are awarded diplomas or certificates. Ontario’s colleges have called for changes that would include allowing colleges to offer three-year degrees.

The idea isn’t radical. Back in 1972, a provincial commission on post-secondary education recommended that Ontario colleges should be allowed to offer three-year degrees.

In fact, the post-secondary structure in Ontario today lags behind the rest of the world. In most OECD countries, graduates of career-focused three-year programs similar to the three-year college programs in Ontario are awarded degrees.

Equally important, many three-year programs at Ontario’s colleges are already aligned with provincial and international standards for degree programs. People who complete these programs deserve to earn credentials that recognize their achievements and help them to be as competitive as possible in their search for good careers.

Allowing Ontario colleges to start offering three-year degrees would elevate post-secondary education in this province to international standards.

This is essential if Ontario’s efforts to produce a stronger workforce are to include attracting more international students to this province. The college diploma is a credential that isn’t understood outside of Canada. To attract more international students to colleges, the colleges will have to offer more degree programs.

The COU op-ed column that appeared last week in QP Briefing said that expanding degree programs at colleges is not consistent with the provincial strategy for post-secondary education that existed in 1967. That is true, but even Bill Davis, the then PC education minister who introduced the legislation that created community colleges, indicated in his speech to the legislature that colleges would evolve to meet the needs of the future.

"I believe Mr. Speaker that the proposed legislation … must be viewed in light of the economic and social demands not only of today but tomorrow," Davis, the future premier, said at the time.

The reality is that, just as Davis predicted, over the past 50 years, Ontario’s entire post-secondary system has evolved to ensure it remains relevant to the needs of students today. For example, many universities have added experiential and “applied” learning to their programs to adapt to a changing economy.

And over nearly 50 years, Ontario’s colleges have also evolved, offering cutting-edge programs such as animation, biotechnology, industrial design and others to prepare students for the new world. Colleges would not be as vibrant, relevant, or as critical as they are to today’s economy if college education had not changed in the intervening years.

The Ontario government knows the colleges can deliver effective degree programs that will help more people find rewarding careers.

Research that was done for the government on the four-year degree programs at colleges found the programs respond to a clear demand in the labour market. The researchers said more should be done to promote degree programs at colleges.

There are many post-secondary options available today – university, college, apprenticeship training, and combinations of theoretical and career-specific learning. The credentials that people receive when they complete their studies should reflect their achievements.

When employers ask for graduates from applied fields, colleges should have the capacity to respond with appropriate credentials at the right level for the learning required, whether that is a diploma, a three-year degree or a four-year degree. Three-year degrees that complement other credentials are an important and timely evolution in applied learning that is key to our students’ future success.

Ontario’s colleges are not looking to offer university degrees. Rather, the range of career-specific degree programs at colleges should be expanded to help more people get the post-secondary education they need to find rewarding employment.

Franklin has been president and CEO of Colleges Ontario since January 2007. She joined the advocacy group from the Wine Council of Ontario. Before that she was a writer and communications specialist, consultant, political chief of staff and held other strategic and communications roles.

Expanding college degrees would keep Ontario competitive

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