The provincial government has announced that its plans to link a large percentage of university funding to performance metrics will be delayed for two years (2020-21 and 2021-22) to allow for the impacts COVID-19 is having on Ontario’s postsecondary system and the economy.
Other components of the Strategic Mandate Agreements (SMA3) the province has signed with each university and college will continue as planned. This includes data collection, evaluation and publication.
Minister of Colleges and Universities Ross Romano said, “We are making sure Ontario’s publicly-assisted postsecondary institutions have a clear mandate that is focused on meeting the needs of students and equipping them to succeed in rewarding careers.”
In the newly released 2020 Times Higher Education Employability Ranking, McMaster ranked 5th in Canada and 77th in the world for employability of its graduates.
In the 2018-19 Ontario University Graduate Survey of students two years after graduation, more than 95 per cent of McMaster graduates were employed.
“We support the government’s measured approach to considering the impacts of COVID-19 on our institutions,” said McMaster president David Farrar. “We look forward to continuing our dialogue with government as we all work together to address the far-reaching impacts of the pandemic on our institutions.”