“Alberta’s post-secondary institutions are critical to building an Alberta that is open for business and to supporting a modern, diverse workforce and society. A United Conservative government will focus on increased institutional and individual choices, from universities to the trades and technical institutions.”
A United Conservative Government Will Support and Reform Post-Secondary Education By:
- Reducing provincial red tape and mandates on universities and colleges, freeing them to innovate and compete more, and comply with bureaucratic mandates less.
- Measuring labour market outcomes of post-secondary programs to identify the correlation between provincial subsidies and economic returns for taxpayers.
- Encouraging efforts by Alberta universities and colleges to attract more qualified foreign students. Alberta post-secondary institutions are well below the national average, and leaders in the information technology sector report that their principal challenge is a shortage of labour with relevant skills.
- Establishing the most effective intellectual property framework for the commercialization and entrepreneurial application of innovative research and development from Alberta’s universities and colleges.
- Working with universities and industry associations to measure Alberta’s performance against leading global research and government networks in key innovation hubs like California, Texas, Israel, London, and Hong Kong.
- Requiring all universities and colleges to develop, post and comply with free speech policies that conform to the University of Chicago Statement on Principles of Free Expression.