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Outsourcing deals face stiff opposition at U of Windsor, Dalhousie

A for-profit education corporation is facing stiff opposition in its bid to set up a private college on the University of Windsor campus.

After a nearly 4 hour debate on the proposed joint venture with Study Group International last week, the university’s senate voted against part of the plan to create the so-called “pathways program” for international students.

The vote is a blow to SGI’s ambition to establish a greater presence in Canada, but a victory for faculty and students who campaigned against what they called the “outsourcing” of education.

In an op-ed published in the Windsor Star, professor James Winter says the proposal would compromise the quality and reputation of the university. He cautions that the desire of the university to tap into potential new revenue streams “must not lead us to abandon academic integrity.”

Despite the rejection by Senate, the SGI proposal isn’t dead yet. Last week’s vote was on establishing a joint venture with the school of business. Voting on three other motions involving SGI deals with the faculties of computer science, science, and arts and social science have been postponed until March.

Windsor University Faculty Association president Brian E. Brown says they’ve been campaigning against the proposal and will be stepping up those efforts in the coming weeks to ensure members in each of the affected faculties are aware of the negative impacts the deal could have.

Meanwhile, the Dalhousie Faculty Association is calling on their university administration to abandon a similar public-private partnership deal with SGI’s competitor, Navitas.

Navitas, which has already established colleges with two Canadian schools - the Fraser International College at Simon Fraser University and University of Manitoba's International College Manitoba – wants to set up a for-profit private college on Dalhousie’s campus for international students.

In an open letter to the university community, the faculty association says the proposed partnership should be abandoned.

Instead, the association says the administration should consult with faculty and students about an in-house strategy for recruiting and supporting a more diverse student body.

“Instead of putting our reputation in the hands of a profit-driven corporation like Navitas, we should be working together to foster and support in-house programs that are taught by our faculty and taught to our standards,” the letter says.

Opposition isn’t new to SGI or Navitas, which, along with competitors INTO and Kaplan, are aggressively seeking partnerships with universities in other countries too. And in most cases, unions are fighting back.

CAUT, along with other unions representing education workers around the world, has joined the Education Solidarity Network, which is sharing resources to help fight the threats posed by initiatives like these.

The network’s web site offers many useful resources, including a guide produced by the U.K.’s University and College Union for locals fighting similar proposals.