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Over educated, under compensated

Doctoral studies may not be worth the time and financial commitment of Canadian students according to a new report on post-secondary and post-graduate education.
The 2007 National Graduate Survey, composed by Statistics Canada, illustrated marginal salary differences between PhD and master’s degree recipients. It reported the average PhD salary to be only $5,000.00 more — a salary-gap that has increased by $395.00 over the past five years.
Moreover, the survey indicates the difficulty among graduate students to cope with the heightened costs of doctoral studies, in comparison to other post-graduate degree holders.
“We are seeing a casualization of the workforce at universities,” said Megan Nicholson, chairperson of the National Graduate Caucus. “Universities are relying on part-time faculty to fill roles rather than having PhD graduates move into full-time positions.”
The NGC is a separate caucus under the Canadian Federation of Students and is self-described as the largest graduate student association in Canada with approximately 60,000 student members.
“Increasingly, it is becoming a tough decision for people to make when choosing to obtain the PhD because of the financial consequences,” Nicholson added. “Student debt is a problem and we are seeing high levels of it.”
She considers the lack of government funding as the root cause of the movement towards hiring part-time instructors, especially in the current economic climate. Nicholson also believes this issue is not merely symptomatic of selective fields of postdoctoral study, but affects all graduates regardless of their academic discipline.
“This seems to be related to the financial constraints universities are facing rather than academic,” she explained.
The Society of Graduate Students at Western, a member of the NGC, shares similar views. Rick Telfar, president of SOGS, points to a growing difficulty for PhD holders to find stable positions.
“Another reason is the corporate-style management practices that have crept into universities,” Telfar said. “Personally, I am troubled by recent figures showing that only one in eight PhD graduates in Canada secure tenure-track faculty positions.”
The National Graduate Survey reinforces this view with data indicating higher employment levels for individuals with master’s degrees. According to Statistics Canada, approximately 86 per cent of the master’s graduates surveyed were working full time in 2007, compared to 84 per cent of PhD holders.
Michael Carroll, president of Western’s Faculty Association, said while university’s claim to be cash-strapped in the recession, faculty salaries have been steadily decreasing for years.
“Administration has been, and is, choosing to spend its money on things other than faculty. The ease with which it suddenly found $22 million for the construction of a new Ivey building just weeks after eliminating more than 50 administrative staff positions is evidence that money is available for those projects that the administration wants to endorse,” he said.
Nicholson also pointed out fewer full-time professors means a reduction in research.
“The key problem is that this is compromising the quality of education in universities, as well as Canada’s standing in research,” she said.
The NGC is attempting to address this issue by drawing attention to the lack of core funding by the federal government.
“We are trying to change the mood of universities and government to steer away from part-time hires.” Nicholson said.

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