More than half of Canadians say they would be willing to pay more taxes to allow governments to increase post-secondary education funding, according to the latest
poll commissioned by CAUT.
The attitude towards paying higher taxes to fund universities and colleges reflects growing concerns about the quality and affordability of post-secondary education, says CAUT’s associate executive director David Robinson.
“Taxes may be a dirty word for most politicians and governments today, but Canadians understand that we can either pay for services like education through upward pricing or taxes,” Robinson said. “Simply put, most of us would opt for higher taxes if it means lowering the price of post-secondary education.”
The Harris-Decima survey of 2,000 Canadians also found that 80 per cent would like tuition fees in their province either frozen or lowered, and that 70 per cent believe university and college students are forced to take on too much debt.
And nearly half of Canadians feel university and college teachers are most trusted to have the best interests of students in mind, compared to just 13 per cent for university administrators and 12 per cent for governments.
“When it comes to questions about academic quality and the educational experience of students, academic staff have a real opportunity to frame the debate,” Robinson said. “This is especially the case as a majority of Canadians now feel that universities and colleges are like businesses that care mainly about the bottom line, rather than ensuring students get a quality education. There is an opening here for CAUT and its associations to play a more public role in defending academic values.”
The poll results also challenge some commonly held myths about how the public perceives academic staff.
Forty-three per cent of respondents disagreed that university and college teachers earn too much, compared to 32 per cent who agreed. Forty-four per cent said they disagreed that academic staff have a light workload compared to other professions, while 34 per cent agreed.
“While there is a core of about a third of the population who buy into the myth of the overpaid and underworked professor, most Canadians don’t,” Robinson said.
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The phone survey was conducted between Nov. 7 and Nov. 21. The results are considered accurate to within 2.2 per cent, 19 times out of 20.