Over the past 20 years, BC's post-secondary system has undergone great change. The twin expansions in numbers of students and numbers and types of institutions has led to a new landscape and brought many challenges with them.

There are now four universities with full research mandates: Simon Fraser University (SFU), the University of British Columbia (UBC), the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), and the University of Victoria (UVic). These four universities have now been joined by Royal Roads University (RRU) in offering doctoral programs. RRU therefore faces many of the same issues as the full-mandate research universities.

In this discussion paper, the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFA BC) focuses on these five universities and identifies 20 questions which need critical examination in order to guide BC public policy over the next decade.

Despite government's absence of long term planning in the post-secondary sector, our universities have made achievements of which we are proud. That being said, without a long term vision and financial commitment from government, our universities cannot sustain their success and reach their full potential. 

The 20 questions identified in this paper cover a range of issues and are contained in sections on Accessibility, Funding, the Research-Teaching Nexus and the External Direction of Research, Governance and Accountability, Internationalization and, finally, System Coherence. These issues raise complex questions of principle, of empirical fact and of appropriate balance and trade-offs.

These issues impinge on the daily lives of the faculty members and librarians who make up the membership of CUFA BC at BC's five doctoral universities. While some of these questions are common to all post-secondary institutions, many take particular forms when applied to research universities and, indeed, many are unique to them.

A number of BC academics have agreed to provides responses, issues papers and think pieces to contribute to the dialogue on the future evolution of the post-secondary system in British Columbia. You will find these papers linked below. If you have any comments or wish to make your own submission, please e-mail the CUFA BC office at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Discussion Paper

20 Questions for 2020

The Responses

These responses represent the personal views of the authors.
These views are not necessarily shared by CUFA BC.

Professors as Professionals: Disinterested and Accountable? by Paul Shaker

Faculty Unionization: What Difference Does It Make? by Robert Hackett

Life-Course Transitions, Social Class, and Gender by Lesley Andres and Maria Adamuti-Trache

A Proposal Regarding the State of Higher Education in British Columbia by John Dennison

Can We Take Back University Governance? by William Bruneau

Indigenizing the 20 Questions: Considering the Future of Aboriginal Higher Education in BC’s Post-Secondary System by Michelle Pidgeon

Professionalizing Academics by Andy Hira and Darcie Cohen