Elizabeth MacDougall-Shackleton is a biology professor at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) and president of the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA). The Association and its members are opposing the school’s proposed partnership with Navitas, a for-profit education provider for international students.
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Why do you oppose Navitas?
They would establish a for-profit college on our campus. The people they hire would not be members of UWOFA, so they wouldn’t have the protections that our members have under our collective agreement, meaning no academic freedom or the job security that contract faculty members have here. Navitas would admit students who do not meet our entrance standards. Also, we are concerned that there’s going to be lots of pressure on these teachers to relax their academic standards.
What would be the consequences?
It’s not fair to other students if there’s a “pay-to-play” scenario where some students can jump the queue simply because they can afford an exorbitant international commission, and it doesn’t serve the second and third year cohorts well after Navitas students are integrated into Western’s main campus. It does a disservice to international students as well. We question the ethics of recruiting people in this way.
Read full post here.