CAUT Policy Statement

Post-secondary education has long been international in scope, and post-secondary education in Canada and abroad should be accessible and affordable.

Canadian post-secondary education initiatives should be based on the principles of cooperation and exchange, and not competition, commerce, and trade.  Fundamental to these principles is a strong, publicly funded, post-secondary education system in Canada.

Canadian institutions operating abroad should:

a. recognize that education is a human right and a public good;

b. provide equity for all and protect the rights of women, Aboriginal and Indigenous peoples, and other equity-deserving groups;

c. respect cultural and linguistic diversity;

d. advance and defend the employment and academic rights of post-secondary education staff and students;

e. defend and promote freedom of speech and thought, academic freedom and tenure, and professional rights;

f. ensure the integrity and quality of post-secondary education;

g. promote equity within and between countries;

h. respect the right of national governments to regulate post-secondary education in the public interest, and to maintain and expand publicly provided post-secondary education independent of market pressures and commercial agreements;

i. incorporate and protect collective agreement rights;

j. recognize that collective bargaining rights follow staff when they engage in international initiatives established by their institutions.

Approved by the CAUT Council, November 2004;
Editorial revisions, May 2010;
Editorial revisions, February 2015;
Editorial revisions, February 2024.