Public post-secondary education and the professional rights of staff, already under threat from government austerity, face a new attack.

Political actors and pressure groups are attempting to discredit public institutions and subject them to greater government interference, including restricting academic freedom in teaching, banning diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and even questioning the need for tenure. These efforts are most pronounced in the United States but are gaining some traction in Canada.

In this challenging political context, CAUT is developing a major new public campaign in the lead-up to the next federal election. Organized around the theme of “Unlock Education,” the campaign has three closely related goals.

The first is to articulate post-secondary education’s positive social impacts. Research shows most Canadians agree that public education offers strong value but need to be reminded of those feelings.

The second goal is to support CAUT members and allies with ongoing efforts to organize and build capacity at the local association level. An effective national message helps recruit and retain activists.

Finally, the campaign will push all political parties to make policy commitments, including better funding, that will benefit university and college staff across the country.

The campaign is called “Unlock Education.” Conceptually, this tagline does double duty.

It speaks to the need to keep public institutions accessible — funding them adequately so that tuition is not a barrier to entry for students with modest financial means.

“Unlock Education” also highlights the central importance of academic freedom — the freedom to research, teach, debate ideas and learn without political interference or fear of reprisal.

This is especially urgent, as ideas around restricting academic expression are being openly touted by some politicians.

The campaign is rooted in CAUT’s overarching goal of promoting public post-secondary education and research that meets the needs of students and the public.

The campaign will include:

• advertising campaigns aimed at the public and political and media thought leaders
• integrated social media channels
• a campaign website
• targeted outreach to political parties
• specific policy asks
• a toolkit for member associations
• support for CAUT’s rapid response capacity

CAUT will introduce the campaign before the end of 2024, and activities will ramp up throughout the months after as we head toward a federal election.