The study on academic hosting practices provides insights into various hosting practices and their outcomes for at-risk scholars, while highlighting key challenges that Canadian higher education institutions are facing in trying to support at-risk scholars. By providing empirical insights on best academic hosting practices, the study informs policy and academic discussions on scholarly displacement and international response to the crisis of academic freedom, and as such, it contributes significantly to understanding the academic hosting landscape in Canadian higher education.
Here are the key findings on the scholar placement challenges and best hosting practices in Canadian universities offering pragmatic solutions:
• This assessment reveals diverse approaches to hosting at-risk scholars. These approaches are shaped by hosting philosophies, institutional capacities, funding, collective agreements, policies, and strategic priorities.
• Findings demonstrate diverse experiences by scholars hosted at Canadian universities. While ‘success’ and its criteria remain relative, findings suggest that the enabling the environment for integration of at-risk scholars in Canadian higher education emerges as a key criterion for hosting quality. However, there are divergent perspectives on institutional responsibility and the extent to which host institutions should engage in supporting at-risk scholars beyond humanitarian commitments.
• Additionally, findings demonstrate that Canadian universities found value and benefits in hosting at-risk scholars beyond academic solidarity. While humanitarianism and academic solidarity appeared to be the common denominator, findings identified a myriad of other reasons such as protecting academic freedom as a cornerstone of modern education, enhancing global engagement, internationalization and enriching campus diversity, fostering institutional reputation, and promoting international collaboration and intellectual exchange. Depending on universities’ institutional capacity and resources, these reasonings also informed policies and defined levels of institutional commitment and resource allocation.
• Key themes emerging from the interviews include hosting infrastructure, funding, resource mobilization, strategic alignment and advocacy, vetting and immigration and post-arrival academic settlement challenges, support, and integration.
For more information on the research, please contact melanieadrian@cunet.carleton.ca.