Issue #25 Vol. 34, May 5th, 2008
| HOME | THE STAFF | ARCHIVES | PDFs | GET INVOLVED | ADVERTISE | RESOURCES |

News

Province promotes six BC colleges to “university” status

By Matthew Steinbach

The Government of British Columbia created five new universities last week, upgrading several of the province’s colleges to full university rank. The new universities are Kwantlen Polytechnic University (formerly Kwantlen University College), Vancouver Island University (formerly Malaspina University College), University of the Fraser Valley (formerly University College of the Fraser Valley), Emily Carr University for Art and Design (formerly Emily Carr Institute for Art and Design), and Capilano University (formerly Capilano College).

These new universities will hold the status of “regional university,” which stems out of the old system of university-colleges. University-colleges were originally created in the 1990s, to get around the fact that ordinary colleges could not grant degrees. This changed after the BC Liberals took power in 2001, however.

The idea of creating several “regional universities” was part of a government report released a year ago titled Campus 2020, which recommended the elimination of university-colleges and the creation of regional universities. The report also recommended that colleges should stop granting degrees. The intent was to make education mandates clearer in regards to who is responsible for what within education.

Despite the complex arguments, the recent changes seem to be more about name than anything else. Currently none of the new universities are set to receive increase in funding and their mandates are poised to remain the same.

At last week’s open house of the David Lam campus expansion, Murray Coell, the Minister of Advanced Education in BC, addressed questions about what impact the recent reforms would have on Douglas.

Coell stated that despite the upgrade of several surrounding colleges, Douglas would not be hurt because “there is still a strong college system left,” adding that “there will be more money for projects like [the David Lam Campus expansion].” When asked whether or not Douglas will still grant degrees, Coell responded “Absolutely”.

Diane Thorpe, the NDP MLA for Coquitlam-Maillardville was quick to question the changes, however. She expressed surprise over the “unexpected” nature of the college upgrades and concern over how quickly it happened. She also added that if the province proceeded to give “more funding in the future [for these new institutions]” it may hurt the students and reputations of the province’s less popular, under-funded colleges. “If you are a student would you rather go to a college or a university?” she asked rhetorically.

Kyle Baillie, Manager for the Office of New Students – the college department responsible for recruitment and retention – stated that the recent college upgrades were a “concern”, but added that he does “not believe this will affect Douglas in the long run,” arguing that “many of these institutions are outside of our recruiting area.”