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a sobering look at Canadian post-secondary education
UNIVERSITY, according to popular wisdom, is supposed to be the best years of a student's life.
But student and author Jeff Rybak maintains that many Canadian university students are disenchanted and frustrated.
Accordingly, Rybak has written this book as a guide to navigating the university experience; his intended audience is undergraduates and those about to become undergraduates.
Rybak is currently a law student at the University of Toronto. He was active in student politics at the University of Toronto, Scarborough, from which he graduated in 2006.
His central argument is that the modern university lacks coherence: "[I]t's trying to do too many things at once for too many kinds of people with different reasons for being there."
Perhaps the best way to approach this book is to examine some of the problems associated with higher education that Rybak identifies and analyses.
For example, he points out that although the grading of students is intended as a service for prospective employers, most employers are simply too lazy to pay any attention to this information.
They may look at the name of an applicant's degree and the school that awarded it, but that's all.
No distinction
In other words, no distinction is made by employers between a student who achieved academic excellence and a student whose record was mediocre.
The only distinction between the A student and the C student is made by the university system itself: the A student will be accepted into a program to earn another degree or professional qualification, while the C student will probably be obliged to enter the workforce.
Another, perhaps related, problem is the eroding market value of a post-secondary education.
University, at one time, was an exclusive institution, but that is no longer the case. With so many students acquiring at least a bachelor's degree, the significance of holding a degree is diminished.
Universities could raise standards, but are unlikely to do so. The mass of students who don't really belong in university pay tuition, thereby helping to "bankroll the system."
As Rybak observes, "the gatekeepers of the institution, and those most able to motivate change, are far too invested in the status quo."
Political clout
The political clout of the baby-boom generation is another factor affecting higher education in Canada. When the boomers needed education, tax dollars were allocated to education. Now that the boomers are aging, they need health care, and that is where the government money is spent.
The problems with university identified by Rybak are not susceptible to easy solutions. Indeed, it is difficult to see how they can be solved without a major cultural shift.
Despite the intractable nature of these problems, Rybak argues that it is still possible to get a quality education on a Canadian campus.
Students, however, must be proactive, building personal relationships with faculty and joining or forming student groups.
This is the one bit of optimism in what is otherwise a sobering look at Canadian post-secondary education.
Graeme Voyer is a Winnipeg writer.
