• WHAT IS POST-SECONDARY ANYWAY?

    Post secondary settings include universities, colleges or other institutes that focus on training and programming after basic graduation.  Many institutions offer upgrading and completion of a GED or dogwood certificate.  Institutes tend to focus on select or niche programming such as technology or science, but they often have other programming as well.  Colleges tend to focus on skills training and workplace demand programs rather then higher degrees.  Universities, originally focused on "higher learning" are now a catch-all and may offer a myriad of programs depending on their location and catchment.

    Some post secondary institutions are private, meaning that they are not funded publicly by the government to any large degree.  This means that they have to charge very high costs for tuition in order to run their businesses and, essentially, to make a profit.  Publicly funded post secondary institutions ARE funded substantially by the provincial government.  This means that the institution has an obligation to provide a certain amount of education that this vetted by the provincial government and is responsive to the workforce and employment needs.  This funded education is meant to run at a "cost recovery" platform, meaning that tuition is only as much as needed to cover the cost of the course to run.  But institutions can also run other courses and programs beyond the provincially-mandated agreements. 

    Regardless, most of the cost of education is the educators themselves and other human resources required to run the service smoothly.  Publicly funded institutions are unionized environments, so there are many systems in place to ensure that staff are working in safe, equitable, and inclusive environments.  This also means an equal emphasis on input and output.  In other words, staff are expected to have certain qualifications to get hired and the employer is expected to provide certain workplace standards that meet employment agreements.  The union that you may be a part of in your workplace will not be the same as the one in a college or university.  Universities and colleges have faculty associations (see resource section for a sample collective agreement).

    Here is a short video on the organizational structure of universities versus colleges.  Although it is an American video, the structure is essentially very similar!

    The nice thing about working in post secondary education is the potential flexibility to align the work with your other job(s), the fact that you are teaching adults who (for the most part) are motivated to learn, and the pay is fantastic!  Even if you do not have all the qualifications outlined in the job posting, you will still get, on average, about 60-80 dollars per hour!  Your expertise in your field or industry is worth it's weight when it comes to teaching others.  And if you decide you like this kind of teaching, you can always look into upgrading yourself so that you can become qualified  - meaning that you will have the qualifications listed on the job posting - and be eligible for ongoing employment with access to a tremendous salary and benefits.

    The section below outlines the basic principles for adult learning settings.  Teaching adults is rewarding but there are still some tips and tricks. 

    If you are potentially interested in applying for a post secondary teaching position, go to the next section over to see where and how to apply for a job!