{"id":4126,"date":"2020-02-01T04:52:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-01T11:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/?p=4126"},"modified":"2020-04-14T17:19:29","modified_gmt":"2020-04-14T23:19:29","slug":"the-problem-with-performance-based-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/02\/01\/the-problem-with-performance-based-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"The problem with performance-based funding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In January, the provincial government announced that they would be moving towards performance-based funding for post-secondary institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>While Minister of Advanced Education Demetrios Nicolaides mentioned that these institutions would have individual targets, he did indicate that those targets could include the following metrics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Graduation and completion rates<\/li><li>Post-graduate employment<\/li><li>Experiential learning<\/li><li>Enrolment<\/li><li>Quality of teaching<\/li><li>Student satisfaction<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Those indicators are problematic, even though superficially they seem like a good idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It seems like a good idea to have good graduation and completion rates. But what if people drop out for reasons beyond the school\u2019s control? I dropped out twice: once for financial reasons, and the other because of scheduling issues with my job. None of those were the fault of the school. If people find out that they just can\u2019t survive anymore on student loans, or can\u2019t go back to school and work at the same time, or can\u2019t be a student and a parent at the same time and decide to drop out, should the school be held responsible for it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Post-graduate employment might be a good idea if the purpose of the institution is get graduates employed. This makes sense for a trade school, for example. A university, on the other hand, isn\u2019t designed for this. It\u2019s designed to increase knowledge and improve thinking skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Same goes for experiential learning. I assume this is practicum, co-op, and other theory-into-practice programmes. Again, this might be a good idea for institutions designed to manufacture workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem with funding based on enrolment is that it will encourage institutions to create and market popular programmes, rather than necessary programmes. And it will amplify the existing narrative around programme worthiness that already exists in advanced education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How do you measure quality of education? How do you measure student satisfaction? These are both arbitrary, subjective metrics. Lots of university students hate broad-based, liberal education, but that doesn\u2019t mean it has no value and shouldn\u2019t be funded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This announcement further enforces the conservative idea that university is only for the elite and that its job should be pumping out workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next thing we know, art galleries are going to be forced to host only works of realism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In January, the provincial government announced that they would be moving towards performance-based funding for post-secondary institutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[48,106],"tags":[85,78,86,81],"class_list":["post-4126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news","tag-alberta","tag-conservatives","tag-politics","tag-workers"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/birger-kollmeier-910261_1920.jpg?fit=1920%2C1277&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4NkW7-14y","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4810,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/04\/23\/ab-finance-minister-approves-lending-ab-government-25-billion\/","url_meta":{"origin":4126,"position":0},"title":"AB finance minister  approves lending AB government $25 billion","author":"Kim Siever","date":"23 April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Alberta minister of finance was given the okay to lend the provincial government $25 billion, the largest approval during his term.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/money-2180330_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/money-2180330_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/money-2180330_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/money-2180330_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/money-2180330_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4610,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/04\/14\/alberta-pledges-2-99-per-meal-for-food-banks\/","url_meta":{"origin":4126,"position":1},"title":"Alberta pledges $2.99 per meal for food banks","author":"Kim Siever","date":"14 April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week, Alberta announced $5 million to \u201csupport food banks and community organizations in their food supply efforts\u201d. This sounds like a lot, but we must keep it in context.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/dishes-938747.png?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/dishes-938747.png?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/dishes-938747.png?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/dishes-938747.png?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/dishes-938747.png?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4514,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/04\/21\/a-list-of-alberta-communities-losing-doctor-care\/","url_meta":{"origin":4126,"position":2},"title":"A list of Alberta communities losing doctor care","author":"Kim Siever","date":"21 April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"According to the AMA, 400 clinics in Alberta are laying off support staff or considering closing. Here are some of them.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/hospital-661274_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/hospital-661274_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/hospital-661274_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/hospital-661274_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/hospital-661274_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4353,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/03\/25\/alberta-workers-ignored-during-covid-19-crisis\/","url_meta":{"origin":4126,"position":3},"title":"Alberta workers ignored during COVID-19 crisis","author":"Kim Siever","date":"25 March 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Recent measures announced by the provincial government are not designed to help workers. Very few workers will benefit from them.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/working-1024382_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/working-1024382_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/working-1024382_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/working-1024382_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/working-1024382_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4557,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/04\/10\/alberta-lost-a-record-117000-jobs-in-march\/","url_meta":{"origin":4126,"position":4},"title":"Alberta lost a record 117,000 jobs in March","author":"Kim Siever","date":"10 April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Alberta government released their March 2020 job numbers yesterday, and\u2014unsurprisingly\u2014they don\u2019t look good. Last month, Alberta lost over 117,000 jobs: 73,600 part-time jobs and 43,500 full-time jobs. Since Jason Kenney introduced his so-called Job Creation Tax Cut in July 2019, we\u2019ve had 4 months with drops in full-time jobs,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/person-1821413_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/person-1821413_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/person-1821413_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/person-1821413_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/person-1821413_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4592,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/04\/13\/alberta-is-not-maintaining-education-spending\/","url_meta":{"origin":4126,"position":5},"title":"Alberta is not maintaining education spending","author":"Kim Siever","date":"13 April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The education minister is trying to suggest that Alberta is maintaining spending, assuaging fears that they\u2019re making spending cuts to education.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/child-830988_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/child-830988_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/child-830988_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/child-830988_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/child-830988_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4126"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4132,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4126\/revisions\/4132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}