ON government “made the right decision” to cancel campuses: Groarke

In an op-ed for the Globe and Mail, Trent University President Leo Groarke argues that the Government of Ontario was right to cancel funding for three new university campuses in the Greater Toronto Area. According a HECQO study cited by Groarke, post-secondary enrolments for 18-to-20-year-olds in Ontario will not recover to 2015 levels until the year 2033. Building new campuses in a period that is characterized by a lack of students would place a further strain on existing institutions that are struggling to fill seats, the author states. Groarke adds that the Ontario government should reallocate the $300M that was set aside for the campuses to initiatives that “keep the province’s current institutions healthy.” Globe and Mail