Canadian universities are currently struggling to raise their academic standards and rankings while spending as little money as possible. The Canadian government wants to see better results within its schools, and this article suggests that competitive diversity is the answer. By competitive diversity, it means “not only concentrating specializations in existing publicly funded institutions, but enfolding other publicly chartered (but not publicly funded) schools” (Globe and Mail). Robert Joustra, the author of the article, believes that the small, private and specialized aspect of a university education has been ignored by the Canadian government and that Canada should place more focus on building liberal arts colleges that “deliver quality outcomes for lower prices” (Globe and Mail).
I agree with Joustra’s opinion that Canada’s choice of universities is somewhat limited in the sense that a “good” university education is most often associated with large research universities such as U of T, UBC and McGill. However, if we look at the post-secondary options in the United States, there are many small liberal arts colleges with outstanding academics and prestigious reputations such as Sarah Lawrence, Claremont McKenna and Williams College. However, these colleges are private, well-established, and decades/centuries old. Because all Canadian universities are government funded, we cannot expect that Canada will establish these types of colleges. However, I believe chartered colleges that can operate independently will spark competitive diversity within Canadian schools and will offer more options to students looking for an excellent post-secondary education at a specialized school. As a result, the establishment of these schools will create jobs, generate revenue and attract more international students as the college gains recognition.