Getting Past the Spin on Post-Secondary Funding
By Dr. Paul Bowles

CUFA BC Wire
April 27, 2009

When the BC political party leaders debated each other on the radio last week it was no surprise that the economy dominated the discussion. But it was a surprise that neither of the two main party leaders, Gordon Campbell or Carole James, mentioned post-secondary education, especially as both have recognized the importance of this sector to the future economic prosperity of the province.

At next week's televised leader's debate they will have another chance. What is the main issue? Well, first you have to get past the spin. Both parties make nice sounding commitments but are short on specifics. The Liberals, since they are running on their record, provide some figures that, unfortunately, are misleading. A good example is their statement that between 2000/01 and 2011/12 funding for post-secondary institutions will have increased by 76 per cent. But that's only true if you include the 145 per cent increase in tuition fee revenue which comes out of the pockets of students and their parents and not from the government.

Much more to the point is that the number of inflation-adjusted dollars provided by the provincial government to public post-secondary institutions per full-time student will have fallen by 8.8 per cent during that time period. That's right, for all the spin, the province's public universities and colleges receive a significantly fewer real dollars per student from the provincial government than they did eight years ago. And it fell under the eight years of the NDP administration before that.

There has been a long run trend of declining funding per student in real terms. That's why professors across the province are more concerned than ever about educational quality and cutbacks to programs. And that's why it should be a part of any election debate.

Dr. Paul Bowles is a Professor of Economics at the University of Northern British Columbia and President of the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia. He is also a past member of the Economic Forecast Council of BC.

Advanced Education Financial Statistics (Excel / PDF)

UVic and UBC Profs to be Honoured for Community-Based Research

CUFA BC News Release
April 2, 2009

VANCOUVER – A University of Victoria professor whose research helps Aboriginal men to become better fathers and a University of British Columbia professor working with families, schools, and communities to find ways to promote children's empathy, altruism, and well-being will receive this year's CUFA BC Distinguished Academics Awards on April 8th.

UVic's Dr. Jessica Ball will be named Academic of the Year for her work with Aboriginal communities in developing new understandings and resources to support fathers. UBC's Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl will receive the Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award for more than two decades of work on finding ways to promote positive emotional and social growth in young people.

These awards are presented annually by the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC (CUFA BC) to recognize faculty members at BC's public universities who use their research and scholarly work to make contributions to the wider community.

"Dr. Ball and Dr. Schonert-Reichl are outstanding examples of faculty members at BC universities who not only use their research to benefit the wider community, but who also work in partnership with community organizations to identify and help fill research needs," said Dr. Paul Bowles, President of CUFA BC.

"Dr. Ball's work in creating research-based resources for Aboriginal fathers is unique in Canada and moves beyond stereotypes to help heal the wounds created by the residential schools," Bowles continued. "Dr. Schonert-Reichl's research on child and adolescent emotional and social development has resulted both in new theoretical insights and in practical programs used by schools and community organizations to develop healthier and happier kids."

Mark Forsythe, host of CBC Radio One's BC Almanac, will emcee the awards dinner on Wednesday, April 8th at the Law Courts Inn in Vancouver.

The CUFA BC Distinguished Academics Awards are in their fifteenth year and receive generous support from Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd., CBC Radio One, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, the University of Northern British Columbia and Royal Roads University.

CUFA BC represents 4,500 university professors, instructors, academic librarians and other academic staff at the province's five doctoral universities – SFU (Burnaby, Vancouver and Surrey campuses), UBC (Vancouver and Kelowna campuses), UNBC (Prince George, Terrace, Fort St. John and Quesnel campuses), UVic and Royal Roads University.

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For further information, please call Robert Clift, CUFA BC Executive Director, at (604) 817-1649.