"The pay-off for BC and BC's students will be significant," said Cindy Oliver, President of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE). Oliver was making the comment following a presentation by FPSE Executive to the Select Standing Committee of Finance, which held public hearings as part of their pre-budget consultation process.

"There is a lot of evidence showing the positive rates of return to both the student and the province when we invest in post-secondary education," Oliver stressed to Committee members. "However, when you look at BC's record of investing in post-secondary education since 2001, the pattern of chronic underfunding is all too clear. Since 2001, real per-student operating grants to public post-secondary institutions have dropped by over eight percent," Oliver pointed out. "That approach to investing in post-secondary education is holding BC back from reaching its full potential," Oliver noted.

"This Committee's report to both the Legislature and the Minister has an opportunity to reverse this situation," Oliver added. "FPSE outlined five key recommendations that we think will make a big difference and we are going to be advancing those ideas with Committee members, government-side MLAs, the Official Opposition as well as the Ministers of Finance and Advanced Education," Oliver concluded.

For a copy of the FPSE Presentation to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services click here.