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BC Government Receives B's and Some C's for Post-Secondary Performance - February 21, 2006

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Published on Tuesday, 11 July 2006 12:19
Written by Robert Clift

BC Government Receives B's and Some C's for Post-Secondary Performance

CUFA/BC Wire - February 21, 2006

VICTORIA - With the release of the 2006 Budget, BC's university professors today gave the Provincial Government B's and some C's for its performance in building a high-quality, broadly accessible post-secondary education system.

"The Government has improved its performance in a few areas, but has not shown much progress in others," said Norma Wieland, President of the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC (CUFA/BC). "The Government has a lot of potential, but it needs to work harder if it wants to get to the top of the class."

According to the professors, the BC Government gets a B+ in post-secondary 'Economics' by improvements in matching the supply of post-secondary spaces to student demand. However, the Province only receives a C in 'Sociology' for its lack of effort to make post-secondary education more accessible through improvements in student financial assistance.

"The Government seems to understand that the future of the province depends on well-educated people, but is still lagging in making post-secondary opportunities available to all British Columbians," Wieland said. "For example, although they have increased funding for student financial assistance in this budget, they are still behind the 2003/04 level."

The Professors gave the BC Government a B- for its performance on 'Research Methods' mainly due to a lack of funding for graduate student spaces.

"The Government will make a significant investment in applied research next year, but this is one-time money," Wieland said. "They are still lagging in supporting basic research and providing the necessary funding for graduate student spaces to stimulate a creative economy."

CUFA/BC represents 4,100 university professors, instructors, librarians and other academic staff at SFU, UBC, UBC-Okanagan, UNBC, UVic and Royal Roads University.

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For further information contact: Robert Clift, Executive Director, (604) 817-1649 (24 Hours)

 

2006 Post-Secondary Report Card for
Government of British Columbia

Subject

Grade

Comments

Economics

B+

 Student has shown improvements in matching the supply of post-secondary spaces to student demand. Future performance looks promising.

Sociology

C

 Appears to understand the fundamentals of social inequity, but has not been able to develop an effective student financial assistance system to provide post-secondary opportunities to a wider range of British Columbians.

Accounting

B+

 In the past, the student has had difficulty balancing the books without passing expenses along to others. There has been significant improvement this year in stabilizing per student funding.

Research Methods

B-

 Student has shown promise in applied research, but has difficulties in supporting the basic research to fuel future innovation. Should seek assistance by creating more opportunities for Masters and Doctoral students.

Design

C+

 Student is able to make rough private-sector copies of degree programs and universities, but has to make considerable improvements to match the quality and craftsmanship of the originals. Also needs to show how decisions are made.

Planning

B

 Performance has lagged in this area for many years, but the student is working hard on a major system review project that should be completed in the next few years. Looks promising at this point.
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