20 2016 6 OC OCUF UFA Study: udy: Publ blic ic Percept ptio ions ns of Precar ario ious us Ac Academi demic c Work Research Presentation February 11 th 2016
Ov Over erview iew 1. Methodology 2. Key Issues: Public Perceptions and Concerns 3. Post-Secondary Education in Ontario: Public Perceptions 4. Precarious Employment in Academia: Awareness and Impressions 5. Strategic Implications: Charting the Way Forward 2
Met ethodology odology The 2016 OCUFA Study of Precarious Employment in Academia was undertaken by Mission Research on behalf of OCUFA. Findings were derived from online interviews undertaken using a random sample of 1,000 English- speaking Ontarians 18 years of age and over. Data was collected between January 4 th and January 8 th , 2016. A corresponding random sample of this size would yield results accurate to within ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20; the margin of error for sub-populations is higher due to smaller sample sizes. Data has been weighted by region, gender and age group using the latest Census figures from Statistics Canada. In turn, results are representative of all adult English-speaking Ontarians. Detailed findings from the report can be found at: www.OCUFA.on.ca 3
Key ey Iss ssue ues Public Perceptions and Concerns 4
Mos ost Im Impor ortant tant Is Issu sue e In In On Ontario: ario: One In Four Ontarians Identify “Economy” or “Jobs/Unemployment” Most Important Issue In Ontario Economy and jobs = 25% Issues related to education, schools, or tuition were mentioned by just 2% of respondents. 5
Maj ajor or Is Issu sues es of Co Conce cern: n: Quality of University Education of “Some Concern” to Ontarians Level of Concern About Issues (scale: 0 – 10) Very concerned (=>8.0) Concerned (7.0-8.0) Some concern (5.0-6.0) Over half (52%) of Ontarians are concerned about the quality of university education in Ontario at present (rating of =>7.0). 6
Post st-Se Secondar condary y Edu ducat catio ion n in in Public Perceptions On Ontari rio 7
Th The e St Stat ate e of P Pos ost-Se Secon condar ary y Educ ucation ation In In On Ontario: ario: One In Four Believe Quality of University Education Has “Declined” Quality of university education in the last five years has… Overall Concern Rating: 6.0 Priority level for the quality of PSE in Ontario “Priority“ = 78% Over two in five young Ontarians aged 18-29 believe that post-secondary education should be a “very high priority” for the provincial government (44%). 8
Ge Gener eral al Per erce ceptions tions Of Of Un Univer versit sity y Education ucation In In On Ontario: ario: Four In Five Believe Ontario Universities Provide “High Quality” Education % Agree Level of Agreement 76% 81% 70% 63% 55% Three in five (61%) Ontarians with post- graduate certification believe that the province’s universities do an effective job preparing students for the workplace . 9
Precar ario ious us Empl ployme oyment nt in in Awareness and Impressions Ac Academ demia ia 10
Per erce ceptions tions of Pr Prec ecari arious ous Jo Jobs: s: Half Identify Jobs in “Hospitality Services”; Less Than One In Five Think Of Academic Jobs Types of precarious jobs Are professors’ jobs precarious? Ontarians with post-graduate level education are twice as likely as less educated individuals to be aware of the potential precariousness of university faculty positions (30%). 11
Awar arenes eness s of Pr Prec ecario arious us Employ loyment ment In In Aca cademia: demia: Nea earl rly Two-Thir Thirds ds of f Ontaria arians ns Would ld Pref efer er Full ll-Ti Time e Fac aculty lty Instr tructor uctors Estimated proportion of courses taught by part-time faculty Preferred type of university faculty Nearly nine in ten Ontarians with very high household income ($200K+/year) would prefer to be taught by faculty who are full-time with job- and earnings- security (88%) . 12
Fl Flex exible ible Emplo ployme yment nt or or Jo Job Se Secu curity rity?: ?: Three ee In Five e Ontar arians ians Think ink Long-T er erm m Rel elatio ationshi nships ps With h Fac aculty lty Are e Bes est Which employment model is better? Two in three Ontarians with very high income ($200K+/year) believe that “long -term relationships with faculty” is the best employment model for Ontario’s universities (66%). 13
Su Suppor pport t Fo For Jo Job Se Secu curity rity Mea easu sures es In In Acade cademia: mia: Near Full Support For Universities As “Model Employers” Level of support % Support 96% 94% 88% 89% 85% 84% 14
Ps Psych chographic ographic Pr Profile ile – Type e of Fac acul ulty ty, , Pr Pref efer erence ence ”PT Faculty/No Preference” Segment Reports “Some” Trust In Private -Secto Sector “FT Secure Faculty” Segment “PT Faculty/No preference” Segment 36% 64% Psychographic profile Psychographic profile “university degree a necessary asset in today’s world” [disagree] “university degree is a necessary asset in today’s world” • • [disagree] “universities use public money effectively to educate” • “a lot” of trust in university professors • “some trus t ” in for -profit/private sector organizations • “a lot” of trust in student organizations • [oppose] “part - time faculty should have same access to benefits” • Strong support for all measures of job security in academia [oppose] “universities should convert PT to FT positions first” • • Socio-Demographic Profile Socio-Demographic Profile No distinguishing characteristics Aged 18-29 :: PC Voters 15
Ps Psych chographic ographic Pr Profile ile – Be Best st Emplo ployme yment nt Mod odel el “Flexible Employment” Segment Reports “No Trust” in the Ontario Government “Flexible Employment" Segment “Long - Term Employment” Segment 40% 60% Psychographic profile Psychographic profile “university degree a necessary asset in today’s world” [disagree] “university degree a necessary asset in today’s world” • • “no trust” in the Ontario government • “a lot” of trust in university professors • “little/no trust” in university professors or student organizations • “some” trust in the Ontario government • [oppose] “part -time faculty should have same access to benefits” • Strong support for all measures of job security in academia [oppose] “universities should convert PT to FT positions first” • • Socio-Demographic Profile Socio-Demographic Profile No distinguishing characteristics PC Voters 16
Su Suppor pport t Fo For Pu Publi blic c Fu Fundi nding ng Mea easu sures es: Three ee In Five e Ontar arians ians Do Do Not Supp pport Mo More e Publ blic ic Fundi ding ng If f Per ersonal sonal T ax axes es Increa ease se Support for more funding for Support for more funding for universities universities… if personal taxes increase to hire more full-time professors Women are significantly less likely to favour a personal tax increase even if this means universities are able to hire more faculty full-time (33%, compared to 46% of men ). 17
Strate ategic gic Charting The Way Forward Impl plic icatio ations ns 18
Th The e ar argum gument ent for or fai airne ness ss (1): ): Focus s shoul ould d be e on n job b sec ecurity urity in ac acad adem emia a as s an n issue sue of f pr proced edura ral l justice stice Issues of fairness, procedural justice resonate with the vast majority of Ontarians. Description of proposed job security measures for part-time/temporary faculty will be effective with the public. Ontarians will engage with the idea that precarity in academia has the potential to undermine education quality – trust in university professors is high; poor job quality could compromise the ability of faculty to make key education-related decisions. 19
Th The e ar argum gument ent for or fai airne ness ss (2): ): We c e can an ar argu gue e fo for r job b sec ecurity rity, , eq equal al pa pay, an and d be benef efits ts in the e short t term. erm. Despite majority support for more full- time faculty at Ontario’s universities, Ontarians have very little appetite for increased taxes . In a period of fiscal restraint the creation of new full-time tenure-stream positions remains a challenge; still, other key aspects of job security for part-time faculty can and should be implemented namely: fairness in the “hiring queue” equal pay for equal work provision of health and social security benefits (extended health- and pension-plan) assurance of adequate course preparation time and the first option to teach familiar courses. There is near universal support for these measures among Ontarians. 20
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