The role of Ontario college faculty has evolved considerably since the turn of the century, especially in the area of research activities. While college professors used to be hired for their content expertise, and solely to teach students, they are now often hired as much for their advanced academic degrees, and their ability to conduct what is usually referred to as applied research. From the establishment of the Ontario college system in the mid-1960s until the turn of the century, however, research as a separate and distinct activity was not part of a professor’s duties, and time for research activities was neither needed nor acknowledged.
In order to gain an understanding of how evolving expectations in terms of academic standing and research abilities are affecting Ontario’s college professoriate, and whether or not time for research is now being accommodated, a study of four Ontario colleges at various stages of applied research evolution explored the degree to which the institutions, since the advent of the Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act in 2000, and the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act of 2002, have included making time available to the professoriate to engage in applied research activities.
Because release time for research activity is not currently addressed in the Standard Workload Formula (SWF) as governed by the Faculty Collective Agreement that applies to all 24 Ontario colleges, professors who want to engage in their own applied research activities tend do so for the most part on their own time – after work, on weekends or during sabbaticals. In order to find time for applied research activities in the Standard Workload Formula (SWF,) it is possible for professors to have some course reduction – usually one or two courses in a semester, and/or a temporary reduction in other responsibilities - but these practices are largely contingent on the professors’ working relationship with their departmental managers. The practices in terms of finding the necessary time for applied research activities are by no means consistent within a single institution, much less across the group of Ontario colleges, with the result being that time for research activities appears to be applied on a somewhat haphazard basis.
This session will explore the evolution of applied research in the Ontario college system, how applied research activities can be incorporated into curriculum, and how by doing so, both professors and students may benefit from the applied research experience.