As Queen’s maps out its future for 2041, one of the ideas on the table is a fully virtual school.
A leaked consultant document from NDSIK Management Consultants, obtained by The Journal, which provided preliminary recommendations aimed at restructuring the University ahead of its Bicentennial Vision for 2041, suggested the creation of a new school called the School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPACE).
READ MORE: Leaked consultant document details proposed restructuring at Queen’s
The document proposes that 10,000 students would attend this completely virtual school, which would offer micro-credentials and other “life-long learning opportunities.” A report outlining the alignment between the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (AHSS) and the Bicentennial Vision clarifies that the development of such a school isn’t explicit in the Bicentennial Vision as to allow for “operational flexibility in the context of implementing this goal.”
In an interview Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane gave The Journal last week, he explained the idea for SPACE first emerged in 2024, out of a recognition that the University needed additional means of generating revenue in order to supplement its full credit offerings, and that lifelong learning was becoming an increasingly popular social trend.
Despite specific questioning from The Journal, the University didn’t prove clarity on what type of micro-credentials and opportunities SPACE would offer, how Queen’s would ensure online classes were of the same quality as in-person classes, how much revenue SPACE is projected to generate, how much of SPACE’s revenue would go towards supporting traditional academic programs, or whether professors would be paid the same rate to teach online classes as they’re to teach in-person classes.
Instead, the University provided a statement to The Journal explaining that the creation of SPACE is an ongoing discussion, but that the discussions haven’t sufficiently advanced to provide specific answers and details yet. They’re aiming to provide more information in the coming months.
After reading the initial article about the leaked consulting document, Krishna Chopra, ArtSci ’26, argued in a statement to The Journal that the push toward micro-credentials reflects a manufactured narrative that university education “isn’t worth it.”
“That idea has been pushed hard by neoliberal policymakers and industry leaders who benefit from a narrowly trained workforce rather than graduates with critical thinking, historical awareness, and civic literacy,” Chopra said.
He also expressed frustration with the virtual learning plan that has been suggested for SPACE.
“This vision also accelerates a move toward online and modular education while ignoring what actually makes a university valuable,” he said. “Classes are only part of the experience. In-person learning enables labs, research, mentorship, peer networks, clubs, and campus culture, things micro-credentials simply can’t replace.”
Chopra claimed that a move towards micro-credentials and online learning puts Queen’s at risk of losing its long-term academic identity. He suggests that the University should instead be investing in core undergraduate programs, strengthening research and teaching capacity, expanding paid internships and co-ops tied to existing degrees, and building interdisciplinary programs that connect the humanities with professional and technical fields.
“Not hollowing out education into bite-sized credentials,” he said.
A full compilation of the consultant document can be found here.
Tags
Bicentennial Vision, consultant, NDSIK
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