The Accountability Movement in Canada: An Affirmation of the Autonomous University or Just Another Name for Government Intervention?

Abstract

In Canada, universities are legally autonomous but exist in an environment characterized by publicly-assisted funding and close regulation of their activities. A fundamental issue is whether institutional self-monitoring and public reporting is a politically viable alternative to growing government interventionism, given the persistent demand for transparent and effective instruments of accountability. The authors review the accountability initiatives currently being considered by provincial governments in Canada, in particular those of the Government of Ontario, and outline the particular steps, including institutional and collective reporting on performance indicators and academic programme appraisals, taken by the universities in Ontario to develop self-regulatory alternatives to a government-imposed accountability framework. They conclude that the accountability movement is really about bureaucratic control of, rather than public dissatisfaction with, universities and that the university board of governors is the appropriate agent of institutional accountability through open reporting and effective public communication.