Resolution on Bill 30--1997 Technical University of British Columbia Act
Approved by the Executive Committee, Canadian Association of University Teachers
June 19, 1997

• [i] WHEREAS the Government of British Columbia has introduced Bill 30--1997 Technical University of British Columbia Act in the British Columbia legislature; and

• [ii] WHEREAS the Technical University of British Columbia would, in particular, operate without benefit of an academic Senate; and

• [iii] WHEREAS the members of the board of governors, rather than an academic senate, would approve strategic program and research directions and policies, including instructional program and research priorities, program objectives and desirable learning outcomes" and would have the unilateral power "to establish, change or discontinue programs or program areas of the university" without reference to any academic senate or any provisions for the fair treatment of employees; and

• [iv] WHEREAS it is intended that the curriculum shall be dictated by program advisory committees appointed by the board with a large majority of non-academic appointees thus clearly indicating that the expertise of the academic staff is to be supplanted by that of external political appointees; and

• [v] WHEREAS the research activities of the faculty will be dictated by the board of governors, thus eliminating free and independent research contrary to the principles of academic freedom and free speech; and

• [vi] WHEREAS the members of the board of governors will serve at the pleasure of the provincial government and, unlike other British Columbia universities, will have no fixed terms and will not be subject to the requirements of the British Columbia University Act regarding quorums, the removal of non-attending members, or the exclusion of politicians or bureaucrats from the board; and

• [vii] WHEREAS the administrative authority of the board of the Technical University of British Columbia would extend to cover all decisions on personnel and on programmes of instruction, without any effective limitation, thus threatening academic freedom in that institution; and

• [viii] WHEREAS the funds for the Technical University of British Columbia would be drawn away from colleges and universities whose missions and governance are within accepted international norms; and

• [ix] WHEREAS the expenditure of funds for the Technical University of British Columbia would thereby produce financial hardship for students and staff at British Columbia colleges and universities, while providing for an institution whose governance and structures are not reliably accountable to the public interest; and

• [x] WHEREAS the Act establishing the Technical University of British Columbia contravenes the CAUT's standing policies on university governance and on academic freedom,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

That the Executive Committee of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, acting under policy set by its governing Council, take the following actions, should the Government of British Columbia pass into law Bill 30, the Technical University of British Columbia Act, but without provisions for an academic senate and provisions of appropriate safeguards for academic freedom in teaching and research:

1. recommend to its members in faculty associations across Canada, and to faculty members elsewhere in the world, that they not take academic or administrative appointments at the Technical University of British Columbia until such time as its governance arrangements include the provision of an academic Senate or its equivalent, and as its legislative basis removes threats to academic freedom for those holding academic appointments in that institution;

2. recommend to colleagues in other countries, particularly those holding appointments in institutions of higher education within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, that they not take academic or administration appointments at the Technical University of British Columbia, nor participate in collaborative research projects nor attend meetings on the campus of the Technical University of British Columbia;

3. advise academic, professional, and learned societies in this country and abroad of our action, and invite the co-operation and support of the Canadian Federation of Students, the Canadian Labour Congress and its affiliates, the Canadian School Boards Association, the Canadian Teachers' Federation, colleague organizations in the Coalition for Post-Secondary Education and the Canadian Consortium for Research, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and other concerned organizations;

4. advise accrediting agencies and authorities, particularly in Canada and the United States, of our action;

5. inform our sister associations in the International Conference of University Teachers' Organizations--in Europe, the Americas, Australasia, and Africa--of our actions, and seek their active support; and

6. begin a campaign of systematic publicity and communication to ensure that British Columbians and Canadians are aware of the threat to the public interest represented by the creation of the Technical University of British Columbia in its present form.