Post-secondary institutions in the province will soon start seeing the bulk of their funding tied to indicators such as graduation rates, graduate salaries and employment rates. The funding changes will be phased in gradually—it is expected that by 2025, 60 per cent of government funding will be dependent on 10 performance criteria. (The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star)

Talking point: The provincial government first announced the revamped funding proposal in January 2019, but shelved it because of the pandemic. The idea is to incentivize institutions to improve their student success rates and be more efficient and specialized. “Our government believes in making institutions accountable for student success,” said Ross Romano, colleges and universities minister, in a statement. But critics argue that performance-based funding could exacerbate inequities between various post-secondary institutions and hinder tertiary education access to marginalized communities. Some also say measures such as employment rates are unsuitable because of the long-lasting impact of the pandemic-induced economic crisis.