There’s ample evidence that post-secondary education will be a minimum requirement for most of the young people who will enter B.C.’s workforce over the next 10 years and beyond.
The government’s B.C. 2024 Labour Market Outlook predicts that 78 per cent of the projected one million jobs by 2024 will require post-secondary education, and we hear repeatedly from private-sector leaders that they want graduates with problem-solving skills and the ability to think critically and communicate effectively.
But that’s not happening in B.C., because for 15 years, the government has systematically cut post-secondary funding and focused much of the funding it does provide on skills training for jobs in an LNG industry that might never materialize.
The result is a system in which students and their families are forced to pay ever-increasing tuition and service fees, and colleges and universities are eliminating or reducing programs and courses to save money — and many of those programs are the very ones that teach the skills the private sector is calling for.
B.C. is facing a crisis and we need to do something about it. The Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of B.C. has launched what we call the Open the Doors campaign, aimed at raising awareness of a situation that is leaving many young British Columbians unable to access post-secondary education.
The funding cuts and the government’s insistence that public universities and colleges offer career streams that have been identified as priorities under its Skills for Jobs Blueprint, have compelled some institutions in smaller communities to reduce or eliminate courses and entire programs. Students have to move to larger centres where the cost of living is higher if courses they want to take are not offered locally.
While trades training in B.C. is important, the government’s over-emphasis on just one aspect of the economy’s future needs means it is neglecting a full and diverse post-secondary education system that trains people for the jobs of today and prepares them for the challenges of tomorrow and beyond.
It’s not hard to see how this crisis has arisen. The largest single investment the provincial government makes in post-secondary education — the per-student operating grants — has declined by more than 20 per cent since 2001 when adjusted for inflation. The cost of post-secondary education has primarily been shifted to students and their families.
The government’s two per cent cap on annual tuition increases is a farce. Institutions can get around it by imposing service fees or by dropping programs and then reintroducing them later under a slightly different label, but with massively increased fees.
It’s ironic that the only increase in post-secondary education in recent years has been in the number of administrators, which has gone up by 50 per cent since 2002, along with their salary bill, which has almost doubled in the same period.
Public opinion polling conducted for the federation this year revealed clear agreement that something needs to be done. For example, 84 per cent of respondents agreed that tuition should be reduced. The same number wanted to see forgivable loans to students who “give back to the province.”
The federation is recommending a thorough review of post-secondary education policy based on the following considerations:
• The funding formula is not adapted for specific community needs.
• The funding formula requires post-secondary institutions to view students as “revenue-generating units” rather than as learners and contributors to an education community, and beyond that, as economic and social contributors to the communities in which they live.
• The Skills for Jobs Blueprint views post-secondary education only as job training, devaluing its critical role in developing engaged citizens.
• The number of administrators has increased by 50 per cent since 2002, and their salary bill has almost doubled over the same period. There is a freeze on executive compensation, but it can be circumvented by reclassifications or new classifications.
• Public institutions are being encouraged to seek more international students, further shifting the cost of education on students and their families.
We need a reset of post-secondary education in B.C. to not only fund it adequately and remove some of the massive financial burden from students and families, but also to ensure that our priorities are right in view of the changing economic environment.
George Davison is president of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of British Columbia, the provincial voice for about 10,000 faculty and staff in 18 public teaching universities, colleges and institutes, and in 12 private-sector institutions.
