Established 2005 | ||
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President Dr. Harvey P. Weingarten Address 1 Yonge Street, Suite 2402, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E5, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) is an independent advisory agency funded by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities (TCU) to provide recommendations for improving quality, accessibility, inter-institutional transfer, system planning, and effectiveness in higher education in Ontario. In 2005, the provincial government established the Council through the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario Act and appointed Frank Iacobucci as its Chair.
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Background
In 2005, Bob Rae released a comprehensive review of postsecondary education entitled Ontario: A leader in learning or more commonly known as the Rae Report or Rae Review. The report included a recommendation to change the structure of higher education in Ontario by adding an independent and objective Council on Higher Education to monitor the dynamic changes of post-secondary institutions in order to provide advice to government on the overall system. The provincial government acted on this recommendation and created an independent advisory agency to provide assessment and advice to improve higher education in Ontario. In 2005, the provincial government established the Council through the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario Act as part of the provincial government's Reaching Higher six-year plan for higher education. In January 2007, the Council announced the appointment of James Downey as its first president. During its first year of operation ending in March 2007, the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities approved a budget of $1.1 million for operations and $700,000 for purchasing initial assets. The Council's 2011 operating budget is $5 million. Dr. Harvey P. Weingarten became President and CEO of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario on July 1, 2010.
Research
The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario employs a multifaceted research approach with a view to developing meaningful policy recommendations and publishing reports and other publications that inform the postsecondary education community in Ontario, Canada and around the world. To date, more than 100 research papers and reports have been produced, with approximately 40 additional papers in development. The Council's research publications are available on their website at www.heqco.ca under the "Research" heading.
Hosted events
The Council regularly hosts workshops, conferences and other events to advance its broad research agenda. These events offer researchers from across the sector valuable opportunities to share knowledge, develop new approaches and support the ongoing improvement of Ontario’s postsecondary education system. HEQCO has organized 13 events to date, with more planned in the coming year. Information on upcoming HEQCO events can be found at www.heqco.ca in the "Events" section.