A Look Back at the Decision on the Transfer Function at the Founding of Ontario’s Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology - read online free

Oct 15, 2026

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Community college systems were created across North America in the early 1960s to early 1970s, with Ontario adopting a largely technical-education model. The article revisits how the original design debate in Ontario unfolded when colleges were founded and evaluates lasting effects. It examines whether the transfer function decision shaped persistent issues and considers implications for student mobility, personal development, social equity, and the efficiency of post-secondary education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Models for early community colleges

Ontario’s technical-education decision

Continuing debates and intended purpose

Research focus and approach

CSSHE SCÉES Canadian Journal of Higher Education Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur Volume 40, No. 2, 2010, pages 1-17 A Look Back at the Decision on the Transfer Function at the Founding of Ontario’s Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology 1 Michael L. Skolnik University of Toronto ABSTRACT Community college systems were established across North America from the early 1960s through the early 1970s. The new systems had two principal models: in one model, the college combined lower-division, university-level general education with technical education programs; in the other, most or all of the colleges were intended to concentrate on technical education. Ontario was the largest of the provinces and states in North America that opted for the second model. Many of the issues that planners confronted when designing these college systems have either persisted or re-emerged in recent years. This article re-examines the debate on the design of Ontario’s colleges that took place when they were founded and considers its implications for the present. RÉSUMÉ Depuis le début des années 1960 et jusqu’au début des années 1970, lorsqu’on créait des réseaux de collèges communautaires partout en Amérique du Nord, deux modèles majeurs étaient proposés pour ces nouveaux réseaux. Dansun des modèles, le collège combinait l’enseignement général universitaire de division inférieure avec les programmes d’enseignement technique ; dans l’autre, la plupart des collèges, sinon tous, se concentraient sur l’enseignement technique. L’Ontario était la plus importante parmi les provinces et les États en Amérique du Nord qui ait opté pour le deuxième modèle. Beaucoup des déﬁs auxquels les planiﬁcateurs ont été confrontés lorsqu’ils ont conçu le réseau des collèges sont encore présents ou sont réapparus au cours des dernières années. Cet article réexamine l’ancien débat sur la conception des collèges del’Ontario et considère ses implications actuelles. CJHE / RCES Volume 40, No. 2, 2010 A Look Back at the Decision on the Transfer Function / M.L. Skolnik 2 INTRODUCTION When provincial systems of community colleges were being established in Canada in the 1960s, the single overriding issue in their design was whether to combine technical and general education in the same institution or to establish colleges that concentrated on technical education (Campbell, 1971) . As with most American states, British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec opted for the combined model, while Ontario and a small number of states chose the technical-education model. Ontario developed the largest system of technical colleges in North America that did not have any linkage with the university sector. The original decision about the design of Ontario’s college system drew criticism from the outset, but that model remains largely intact today. Although many colleges have negotiated agreements with provincial universities that provide some university credit for courses taken in the college, these agreements constitute an uneven patchwork, and little progress has been made toward systemic change in the role of the colleges in relation to the universities (Rae, 2005) . Indeed, the offering of a number of baccalaureate programs in applied ﬁelds of study by several Ontario colleges represents a “deepening” of the original technical-education model rather than a departure from it (Skolnik, 2005, 2009) . As policy-makers in Ontario try to ﬁnd ways to improve opportunities for learners to attain baccalaureate degrees, they do so in the shadow of the debates that took place in the 1960s on the role of the colleges. Some of the same arguments heard today are those that were instrumental in the original decision about the design of the colleges, although often these arguments lack an appreciation of how the context of the original design decision differed from that of the present. The purpose of this article is to explain in contemporary terms what the original decision abo

FAQs

What two principal models guided early community college system design in North America?

One model combined lower-division university-level general education with technical programs. The other focused colleges primarily on technical education.

Why is the article centered on Ontario’s transfer function decision?

It re-examines the founding-era debate over how Ontario colleges were designed and explains how the original transfer-related decision affected later outcomes.

What are the article’s main claimed consequences of the original transfer decision?

The author concludes adverse consequences for student mobility and personal development, social equity, and the efficiency of the post-secondary education system.

Oct 15, 2026

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