News
Read the latest news in BC post-secondary education.
Provincial Training Tax Credit proposal: Better ways to invest $90 million
When she presented her February 2006 provincial budget, Finance Minster Carole Taylor set aside $90 million for a proposed training tax credit program. Her idea was to provide employers with tax credit incentives that would hopefully increase the level of training across the province. There is no question that BC needs to invest more in…
Post-secondary educators see good news in announced cuts to Adult Basic Education tuition fees
“It’s a long time coming, but we are glad to see this policy change is finally going to happen,” said Cindy Oliver, President of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators. Ms. Oliver was reacting to news out of Victoria that the provincial government would eliminate tuition fees for Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs delivered in BC…
Campus 2020 recommendations out of step with public opinion
Just over a year ago the provincial government launched a review of BC’s public post-secondary education system. It was called Campus 2020 and it was led by Geoff Plant, the former BC Liberal Cabinet Minister from 2001 to 2005. Just over a year ago the provincial government launched a review of BC’s public post-secondary education…
New poll shows public still concerned about the high cost of post-secondary education
“We can’t keep ignoring the basic fact: a majority of British Columbians think post-secondary education tuition fees are too high,” said Cindy Oliver, President of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE). Along with representatives from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), Ms. Oliver was releasing the results of a FPSE poll on post-secondary education issues…
NVITEA President wins major court battle
The President of Nicola Valley Institute of Technology Employees’ Association, Sharon McIvor, has won an important legal victory in the BC Supreme Court. On June 11, 2007 the court released its decision on an application first made by Ms. McIvor in July 1990. In its decision, the B.C. Supreme Court wiped out one of the…
Campus 2020 report acknowledges problems but is short on solutions
Geoff Plant’s report, Access and Excellence: The Campus 2020 Plan for British Columbia’s Post-Secondary Education System, marks an important admission that the BC Liberals’ last six years of policy and funding choices have not worked. For example, I’m glad that Mr. Plant finally agrees with us that Adult Basic Education should be tuition-free across the…
Fraud case highlights problems with contracting out
A recent news report that Langara College has dismissed its Manager of Administrative Services in the Continuing Studies Department after an alleged fraud scheme was discovered by college accounting and finance staff raises more concerns about the practice of contracting out instructor services. Court documents allege that the Manager of Administrative Services had fraudulently invoiced…
Amendment to School Act sends a troubling message
On March 26, 2007, the BC Liberals tabled Bill 20, the School (Student Achievement Enabling) Amendment Act. In her introduction of the legislation, Education Minster Shirley Bond emphasized that the proposed amendments would ensure greater “accountability” within the K-12 education system and “improve quality and choice” for students. On March 26, 2007, the BC Liberals…
Latest federal budget: lots of talk but very little action
On the eve of his 2007 federal budget, federal Finance Minster Jim Flaherty followed the tradition of buying new shoes. However, in Mr. Flaherty’s case, the shoes were hockey skates. After reading the details of his March 19th budget, you can see why he opted for skates. His fiscal plan weaves all over the ice,…