The University of British Columbia

As noted earlier, to the end of World War lI the history of higher education in British Columbia was virtually synonymous with the development of the province's only public university. By 1945, two normal schools and Victoria College, the latter serving as a two-year institution affiliated with the University of British Columbia, and the university itself, together constituted the entire spectrum of post-secondary education in the province. One adult vocational school in Nanaimo provided a limited range of job training and apprenticeship programs.

The years from 1944 to 1948 were among the most dramatic in the university's history. A policy decision taken by the federal government to support financially those war veterans wishing to pursue further education, coupled with the university administration's determination to provide places for all, translated into an enrollment spurt from 3000 in 1944 to almost 9500 in 1948. The problems created by this unprecedented surge of students were massive. For example, large numbers of huts had to be procured from military authorities to provide teaching, laboratory and residence space for a student body of which over half were veterans with young families (Logan, 1958).

After the enrollment peak in 1948 numbers declined, but by 1951 began to climb again with "almost alarming acceleration" (Logan, op. cit., p 177). Growing financial difficulties, due in part to the loss of federal funds which accompanied the decline in veteran enrollees, became a major concern during the deliberations of the Massey Commission (Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences, 1951). The influential and energetic president of the University of British Columbia, Norman MacKenzie, a member of the commission, pressed the case for substantial and immediate fiscal intervention by the federal government if Canadian universities were to be in a position to accommodate an already escalating demand for places by a post-war generation of students.

Although the university's enrollment continued to grow, and while new faculties were added (Law 1945, Graduate Studies 1948, Pharmacy 1949, Forestry 1950, Medicine 1950, Education 1956,) together with numerous newly formed schools and departments, other public post-secondary institutions were not established in the province. Part of the explanation for this deficiency lay with the attitude of President MacKenzie. Fearful that the already precarious fiscal support for higher education from the provincial government would be diluted further by the creation of alternative institutions, MacKenzie took the view that any expansion should be confined to new affiliates with the university (Waite, 1987).

Although no material changes occurred in British Columbia's higher education system until the aftermath of the Macdonald Report in 1963, referred to later in this essay, there were a number of spasmodic proposals and also a significant amendment to the Public Schools Act in 1958. In that year the legislature, "responding to the social and economic forces of our times" (Soles, 1968), passed permissive legislation which granted school boards the authority to establish post-secondary district colleges "in affiliation with the University of British Columbia". This last caveat reflected a concern over the need to ensure academic quality and, at the same time, to accord with the wishes of President MacKenzie. While no college was actually established under this legislative authority, one school district, Kelowna, hired a consultant to conduct a feasibility study which concluded that the time was right, economically and socially, to establish a college in its region under the conditions outlined in the legislation (Dawe 1959). Further proposals were contained in the Report of the Royal Commission on Education in 1960. While concerned primarily with elementary and secondary school studies, the Commission did recommend the expansion of Grade 13 programs, then available in a limited number of high schools throughout the province, and their incorporation within a new type of institution, to be called collegiate academies, which were to encompass all post-compulsory school students enrolled in Grades 11, 12 and 13. No such action, however, eventuated.

There was also some activity in the province to establish non-public institutions of post-secondary education. Notre Dame University in Nelson had opened under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archbishop in 1950 with an enrollment of twelve Grade 13 level students. By 1961 considerable growth in both students (now 231) and facilities led to the addition of third and fourth year courses and the accrediting of a B.A. degree in affiliation with St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. Another college in Prince George, also under the auspices of the local Bishop, opened in 1962 with an enrollment of sixteen Grade 13 students. In Langley, Trinity Junior College, an institution affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America, began operation in 1962 with a two year liberal studies program and an initial enrollment of seventeen students.

All of this activity, however, was of modest significance compared to what proved to be a crucial decision taken in 1962 by the governing board of the University of British Columbia to appoint John Barfoot Macdonald to succeed Norman MacKenzie as President. But before discussing the consequences of this event it is necessary to digress. While academic institutions tended to dominate the post-secondary educational scene in the province, there is another component of this sector which deserves attention.

Vocational training for adults had begun as early as 1901 as simply a course located within a public school, although the first "institutionalized" training actually dated from 1915, as a program offered in Vancouver's King George High School (Meredith, 1983). However, the only self-contained vocational school established before World War II opened in Nanaimo in 1936 as the Dominion-Provincial Youth Training School. Subsequently, with fiscal support from the federal government, Vancouver became the site of the Vocational Institute in 1949, under the aegis of the local school board. The need for greater opportunities for trades training during the post-war boom, coupled with federal fiscal initiatives under the Technical Vocational Training Assistance Act (1960), resulted in an unprecedented expansion of facilities for vocational training throughout the province between 1960 and 1970. New vocational schools were constructed during that period in Burnaby, Kelowna, Nelson, Dawson Creek, Prince George, Terrace and Victoria, all administered centrally by the Department of Education in Victoria. These institutions, together with provincial schools of art in Nelson and Vancouver, constituted a geographically dispersed galaxy of capital facilities which were later to become key factors in the development of the community college system.

One other notable institution was also created during the sixties. Again, with the incentive of capital funding from Ottawa, the provincial government established the B.C. Institute of Technology in 1964. The latter provided the first significant opportunity for students in the province to complete two-year technology diplomas in engineering, business, and a variety of specialities within the health sciences.

Whether the aforementioned vocational schools (as distinct from B.C.I.T.) constituted a legitimate component of the "post-secondary" educational sector in the province might well be a matter of debate. In general, their curricula comprised short term trades training, apprenticeship courses, and academic upgrading for post- school age students. Admission requirements were usually grade 10 completion, although competitive entry to many programs called for better qualified and more mature applicants. A large percentage of these students were selected and supported financially under a variety of federal programs.

To quote Soles (1968, pg. 59) :

John Macdonald, a Canadian born Professor of Prosthetic Dentistry at Harvard University, came from a research position to the presidency of the only university in a relatively small and isolated province in the midst of rapid economic and human expansion. Almost his initial act was to assume personal responsibility for a study of the future needs in post-secondary education in the province. While the study team included a number of selected colleagues from the university, Macdonald was the prime influence behind the Report. The project which he undertook was neither encouraged nor overtly supported by the government of the time, although the results were to become very much the concern of the latter.

In the initial chapter of the final Report, Macdonald set the theme and context for the recommendations which were to follow with an explicit commitment to excellence, which, in a post-secondary educational system, the Report stated, could be promoted only through the creation of alternative institutions, which must be diversified in their mandates and autonomous in their governing structures.

In the words of the Report:

What followed was a carefully reasoned rationale for the establishment of two four-year colleges and six two-year colleges in various locations throughout the province. The latter, in response to a widely expressed demand for university level studies, particularly in the interior of the province, were to offer academic, or "university-equivalent" courses, which would be designed to carry transfer credit towards a baccalaureate degree for those students who elected to continue their studies in a university or four-year college. The colleges would also offer technical programs for those seeking employment in occupations characteristic of their regions. Apparently impressed by arguments contained in briefs presented in local communities, Macdonald recommended that the two-year colleges should operate under the auspices of the local school boards, "which have the widest knowledge and experience in financing and developing educational facilities." (Op cit, pg. 87).

The Report was remarkably comprehensive. Not only did it describe the kinds of institutions needed, it also provided detailed arguments for the locations which were proposed, estimates of their capital and operating budgets, projected enrollments, and in the case of the colleges, proportions of the budgets to be borne by government, students and local taxpayers respectively. Furthermore, the report contained detailed advice on governing structures, both at the institutional and provincial level. At the latter, two bodies, an academic board and a grants commission were recommended. The board was to supervise academic standards in the new institutions, while the commission was to become an advisory body independent of government which would consider, coordinate and recommend on the "allocation of capital and operating funds for universities and colleges." (Op cit, pg. 84).

Public and media response to the Macdonald Report was immediate and enthusiastically supportive, a reality which the provincial government could hardly ignore. In a rapid burst of activity, Victoria College was authorized as the autonomous University of Victoria, and action was taken immediately to plan the future Simon Fraser University. The latter was planned, constructed, hired a faculty and enrolled its first students within a space of two years. With respect to college development, however, the government took a unique and more cautious approach. A complicated series of plebiscites and referenda at the community level were required as a precondition to fiscal support from the province. The college funding formula included a tax driven local contribution which, with student tuition fees, amounted to approximately half of the operating budget. Given the degree of community leadership and time consuming procedures required to establish a college it was not surprising that British Columbia's new post-secondary institutions came to fruition one by one. Ten were eventually established by the mid-seventies, when the procedure for creating a college was changed.

The original recommendation contained in the Macdonald Report, to establish "four-year colleges", was rejected by the government, and Victoria and Simon Fraser were both given a mandate to become fully fledged universities. Enrollments in both new institutions grew rapidly. Partly to attract and satisfy the expectations of new highly qualified faculty, at the time difficult to recruit, each new university quickly established graduate and professional programs in concert with a strong research focus.

Another notable event of the early seventies was a decision taken by the government in Victoria to "meld" several colleges with the most proximate provincial (although constructed with federal funds) vocational schools. This policy decision was partly initiated by the unwillingness of voters in almost all college regions to pass referenda to elicit local tax support for capital construction. The alternative was to continue operation of the colleges in temporary leased facilities, a situation which was most unsatisfactory. The government recognized that a potential solution lay in the amalgamation of the college with each respective regional vocational school, an action which would result in joint sharing of the building in which the latter was located. A second explanation for the meld, as articulated by the deputy minister of the day, was to help overcome the traditional "status" gap between vocational and academic studies by placing them together in one institution and at the same time providing a better opportunity for introducing general education into essentially job training programs. Whatever the reason for the decision, the ultimate result was a network of comprehensive colleges offering program options ranging from adult upgrading and basic literacy to the first two years of a university degree.

The brief political tenure of the New Democratic Party from 1972 to 1975 did have some impact upon the post-secondary system, particularly with respect to the universities. The idea of coordination, at least within the university sector, had been explored by a committee chaired by a Deputy Minister of Education in the previous government (Perry, 1969). For reasons never explained, however, Dr. Perry's advice was not made public until the election of the NDP. Nevertheless, the new government began yet another examination of the issue by appointing a University Governance Committee, chaired by Professor Walter Young of UBC, which eventually recommended the creation of an intermediary body, a Universities Council, with powers to ensure coordinated planning. The Council became reality within a new Universities Act in 1974. It was granted legislated power "to require" the universities to submit long and short term plans and "to approve" the establishment of new degree programs and faculties. Another important change in the new Act was the inclusion of faculty, support staff, and student representatives on the universities' governing boards, a provision consistent with the government's policy respecting participatory democracy.

The Minister of Education also established a broadly representative commission of enquiry into the college sector, which produced a report containing recommendations for far reaching changes (L'Estrange, 1974). The general thrust of the recommendations was to widen the base of community involvement in college operations and to encourage greater responsiveness to traditionally disadvantaged students. The government was defeated before many policies regarding the colleges could be initiated. However, in one of her last actions, the minister did respond to one recommendation in the L'Estrange Report by establishing four more colleges in regions of the province which had been excluded to that time. By taking this action the organizational steps required by the previous government were removed. Another initiative taken by the NDP government was to pass an legislative act which removed the B.C. Institute of Technology from direct control by the Department of Education and to create its own Board of Governors, which also included a number of institutional representatives. With the autonomy which ensued, BCIT began a long process of defining an identity and seeking a mandate somewhat different from either the colleges or the universities.

Thus ended the first important post-war phase, from 1945 to 1975, for higher education in British Columbia. It was an era of remarkable change in the numbers, kinds and, perhaps of greatest importance, the geographic dispersal of post-secondary institutions. This phenomenon was, of course, shared by other provinces during the same period, but there was an important difference in British Columbia. Growth and expansion of the system, particularly in the college sector, was not so much the product of direct intervention by the government. Rather, the latter provided "enabling" legislation which required the expenditure of considerable energy and commitment at the grass roots of the community before new colleges could be established. Nevertheless, there was remarkable growth in a period of extensive public support and comparatively strong fiscal health. Simon Fraser University was unquestionably a monument to government support for higher education. It was designed, constructed and opened within a two-year period and became, both physically and symbolically, an example of how effectively government could respond to a popular public issue. As so often the case, it was largely public pressure which elevated post-secondary education to the top of the policy agenda.

But the era of growth was slowing. The fiscal appetites of both colleges and universities seemed to be insatiable and, with more limited financial contributions from Ottawa, the government of British Columbia had already restricted annual budget increases for the colleges to ten percent. The stage was set for a very different era for post-secondary education, one which was to begin with controlled growth but would end eventually with varying degrees of consolidation and constraint.

The Social Credit party was returned to power in 1975 and the driving forces in post-secondary education for the next seven years became the new minister, Dr. Patrick McGeer and his deputy-minister, Dr. Walter Hardwick. Dr. McGeer was a member of the Faculty of Medicine at UBC, engaged largely in neurological research, but with very strong views about many aspects of post-secondary education. His themes were the preservation of high academic standards, a strong commitment to research, particularly in science and technology, and to finding new and less expensive ways of ensuring greater access to higher education than by necessarily constructing new institutions.

One of Dr. McGeer's first acts was to create committees of enquiry into ways to increase access to university programs in the interior of the province (Winegard, 1976), and to explore the status of continuing education for the post-school age population (Faris 1976). Each report eventually recommended somewhat expensive solutions to each respective issue and most were not implemented. Winegard advanced the idea of a multi-campus university to serve the non-metropolitan areas of the province. Faris saw the need for greater expansion of adult learning opportunities under a variety of formats.

Two other committees began work in 1977, however, and their conclusions proved to be of greater significance. The first, a study of vocational training (Goard, 1977) addressed the issue of better control and coordination of trades training in the colleges, a role which Dr. McGeer viewed as a priority. Provision of vocational training had been beset by jurisdictional disputes and bureaucratic "red tape" between the Ministries of Education and Labour and between the two major levels of government. The situation had resulted in confusion and limited access for those seeking training in a variety of trades. The Goard Report suggested several strategies to alleviate the problem, including the creation of a single provincial body to coordinate the planning and administration of vocational training. The second committee, under the direction of Patricia Carney, outlined a coordinated approach to the planning of distance education in the province (Carney 1977). In doing so her Report addressed both the need for and the feasibility of distance learning as an alternative to conventional educational institutions in more isolated regions.

Meanwhile, a problem which was to have a number of consequences emerged in relation to the operation of Notre Dame University in Nelson. Notre Dame, the province's only private denominational degree-granting institution to that time, having been awarded that status in 1965, encountered serious financial difficulties. A Royal Commission on Post-secondary Education in that region of the province, under the direction of Ian McTaggart-Cowan, had been appointed in 1973 and eventually recommended the creation of a public multi-campus institute to include Notre Dame and Selkirk College. No action was taken as a result of this exercise. Faced with continuing financial problems, the Notre Dame board requested that the government take control of the university in 1977. Consequently, Dr. McGeer established the David Thompson University Centre on the Notre Dame site, administered by the University of Victoria. Despite its popularity and success, reinforced through a formal evaluation in 1983, David Thompson proved to be, in the view of government, too expensive with respect to per student costs and for this reason was closed in 1984. Not surprisingly, the decision was highly unpopular in the Nelson region and further exacerbated the debate over access to university education in the non-metropolitan regions of the province.

Dr. McGeer also took the initiative in several other policy matters. He argued for the establishment of "discovery parks", in association with the universities and B.C.I.T., which would serve as "town-gown" research centres in pursuit of new advances in science and advanced technology. Furthermore, McGeer's interest in research was exemplified by his role in the creation of the Science Council of B.C., the Biomedical Research Centre, and Discovery Foundation, all enterprises which gave new energy to those groups and individuals who had argued for an expanded role for the province in the "knowledge industry".

The new minister also supported a private member's bill which ensured that Trinity Junior College would be granted degree granting status as Trinity Western University. He also offered incentives to the University of British Columbia to double admissions to its Faculty of Medicine. With respect to the latter, McGeer emphasized the need for expanded opportunities for British Columbians to study medicine, rather than the alleviation of any short-fall in the supply of physicians, a problem which the province did not face. While a number of these decisions were taken largely outside the auspices of the Universities Council, McGeer lent his support to the continuation of the latter.

But perhaps Dr. McGeer's most significant contribution was to direct the creation of a College and Institute Act (1977). For the first time non-university institutions were awarded corporate status under their individual governing boards, granting them a legal authority previously held by school boards. Furthermore, the act provided for the creation of three intermediary councils to coordinate planning and funding of academic and vocational programs, and general support of college operations. The idea of a vocational coordinating council had been recommended previously in the Goard Report.

The new legislation, however, was not free from controversy. Some observers (Dennison, 1986, Mitchell, 1986) saw it as a centralizing initiative in that it placed the control of college operations within the appropriate department of government, with a consequent reduction in the role played by local college boards. In fact, as a result of the legislation, "community" colleges might now be viewed more accurately as "provincial" colleges. One additional feature of the new legislation, which added to this assertion, was a section delineating the extensive and explicit powers of the minister in setting policy for the college sector. Another somewhat controversial aspect of the legislation was the decision to include BCIT under its authority. As noted earlier, BCIT had been operating under its own act, a provision which had allowed for the pursuit of a distinct identity and had generated a variety of expectations as to its future role in the educational spectrum. Not surprisingly, the institution argued strongly for continuation under its own legislation. These appeals were of no avail and, among other consequences, B.C.I.T's faculty and student representatives on its governing council were removed.

The minister's energies were also directed towards the establishment of a number of provincial institutes, concerned largely with specialized programs. The B.C. Institute of Technology was joined in this category by Emily Carr College of Art and Design, Pacific Vocational Institute, The Justice Institute of B.C. and the Pacific Marine Training Institute. But perhaps the most imaginative addition to the galaxy of post-secondary educational institutions was the creation of the Open Learning Institute, a distance education enterprise offering academic degrees and a range of technical-vocational programs. The idea for O.L.I. had come from several sources, including the Carney and Winegard Reports, but also through the efforts of John Ellis, a Professor at Simon Fraser University, who had long promoted the concept of a British Columbia Open University modelled on its British counterpart. Ellis was to become the first principal of the new institute (Moran, 1991). Later, McGeer was to also take a leadership role in the establishment of a public television channel, The Knowledge Network of B.C., which supplemented several programs of study offered by O.L.I. as well as providing publicly supported educational television throughout the most isolated regions of the province.

The early years of the McGeer-Hardwick influence were productive indeed. By the end of the seventies the province's post-secondary educational offerings included three universities, fifteen community colleges, five provincial institutes, and a distance learning institution which provided a full range of programs, largely by correspondence. But the era of growth and expansion had peaked and the next few years ushered in the first policies of restraint, consolidation and reassessment of the higher education "system".

In the early eighties a number of predominantly fiscal factors were to impact upon post-secondary education. The federal government imposed limits upon the growth of transfer payments, the province entered a period of relatively deep recession and public support for education seemed to wane as other policy concerns, energy, health care, social welfare and the environment seized priority Government's response with respect to higher education was both subtle and direct. Universities and colleges were confronted with two consecutive years of decremental operating budgets (five percent for universities, three and a half percent for the colleges, although inflationary factors made the cut-backs more severe) with the result that programs suffered accordingly. As other ministers had now assumed responsibility for post-secondary education, several of the policies of their predecessor were either changed or modified.

The Universities Council, long unpopular with at least two of the universities who saw it as an expensive additional level of bureaucracy which obstructed their access to government, was abolished, partly as a cost saving measure. Another contributing factor to the demise of the Council was that neither the government nor the universities perceived it as representing their respective interests. The universities were now free to address their concerns directly to the appropriate department of government. However, a need for voluntary cooperation was recognized when the presidents formed a tri-universities council to consider joint planning initiatives.

During the same period important amendments were made to the College and Institute Act. In an era of financial restraint a variety of provincial initiatives were put in place, largely as budgetary control measures (Mitchell, 1986) For example, legislation was introduced to control salary increases of public-sector employees, including university professors and college personnel; but there were also other initiatives introduced which had the effect of controlling college budgets. The three intermediary councils were abolished and their residual powers assumed largely by the department of government. The composition of governing boards was changed to ensure that all members were government appointed. This change removed those representatives whose inclusion had been via school board election. In addition, a funding formula was introduced which also increased provincial control over the development and accompanying costs of college programs.

The period of restraint between 1983 and 1986 translated into numerous reductions in programs and in restriction of student access . In an unprecedented action, the University of British Columbia had to remove $6 million dollars from its base budget by the elimination of several programs and the termination of a number of teaching faculty, some of whom were tenured (Dennison 1987). The theme of the period, articulated by the Minister of Education and others, was that significant "downsizing" of institutions was a reality which had to be addressed. Other policy decisions taken under this rubric were the amalgamation of the Pacific Vocational Institute with the B.C. Institute of Technology, and major changes in the fiscal management of the Justice Institute. The Knowledge Network was also melded with the Open Learning Institute to become the Open Learning Agency.

The years between 1986 and 1990 might be described in British Columbia as "between recessions". The government began a process of recovery in the post-secondary educational sector after the destructive years which had preceded . One issue which soon emerged was the matter of access to post-secondary education, a topic which the University of British Columbia, among others, had addressed previously in its mission statement (Second to None, 1989). A report prepared by a Provincial Access Committee (Access, 1988) drew attention to some disconcerting facts. British Columbia ranked ninth among the provinces in Canada with respect to degrees awarded, and seventh in full-time enrollment as a percentage of the 18-24 age group. Furthermore, problems of access to post-secondary education were particularly difficult for those living in rural and remote regions, and for selected groups such as Native People. In conclusion, the report noted an immediate need to create 15,000 new places in degree programs if the province was to meet comparable national standards.

Many solutions to the access problem were proposed. A new independent public university to serve the northern regions of the province was to be planned for Prince George. The creation of a provincial Council on Admission and Transfer, a body with quasi independence from government, was recommended. The Council was to facilitate admission and credit transfer policies among institutions. The Access Report also recommended that the colleges be given the authority to develop Associate Degree programs similar to practice common in the United States.

But the most significant initiative of the Access Report was the recommendation that "in more densely populated regions outside the Lower Mainland and south Vancouver Island, university degree programs be expanded by means of the establishment of an upper-level 'university college' component." These expanded institutions were to be created by the granting of degree-granting status to three community colleges in Kamloops, Kelowna and Nanaimo, (Fraser Valley College was added later) although for an initial period the degrees were to be awarded by one or more of the established public universities. Although at first the Ministry assumed that the Open Learning Agency would be involved in the planning of degrees, the three colleges chose to collaborate with the more conventional universities (Dennison,1992) After some initial concern over budgets, the latter cooperated by jointly planning degree programs with the colleges in Arts, Science, Education, Business, Social Work, and Nursing. Actually, the idea of expanding opportunities for degree completion by collaborative arrangements between universities and colleges was not entirely new. It had been tried in limited ways, primarily with degrees in Education for some time, and had been further proposed in plans developed by the universities themselves.

The new model of post-secondary education, as yet untried in Canada, was not devoid of problems (Dennison, 1992). Although its initial success must be acknowledged in the first graduates who received their degrees in 1991, ongoing relationships between the colleges and their "parent" universities generated some difficulties for both old and new college faculty. Among issues which have arisen are those which concern the role which faculty will play in academic governance, more specifically, whether university colleges should establish senates or equivalent bodies; the meaning and importance of "scholarly activity"; an expectation of faculty performance more characteristic of that found in universities; and the desire of the colleges to preserve the broad program comprehensiveness of their curricula. Moreover, as the current plan evolved to award degree granting status to the colleges in their own right, the debate has centred around what kind of institutions will emerge i.e, should they become conventional universities, four-year degree-granting colleges emphasizing teaching rather than research, or an alternative model? It is still yet to be determined just what the mandate and values of these new and innovative institutions will be.

Meanwhile, the Open University developed as a flexible, distance learning, degree-granting alternative to the conventional universities. The OU created a "credit bank" by which students could accumulate previously earned course credits towards a baccalaureate degree. Under its more flexible academic organization, the OU recognized courses taken from any appropriate post-secondary institution in planning a student's degree program. Furthermore, a number of colleges and institutes were able to enter into agreements with the OU to plan joint degree programs in specific areas such as Music, Fine Arts, and Health Sciences.

Planning for the new University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) was also well underway. The process which lead to the creation of UNBC could be seen as an example of grassroots community action with strong political overtones. To a large extent, the university was promoted as an incentive to stimulate economic growth in that region of the province. Even the legislative act which established the university was pragmatic in that it included components of both the current University Act and its own unique legislation. The action plan for UNBC included ideas for cooperative delivery of academic programs with the existing community colleges in the North.

Meanwhile, in a different arena, the British Columbia Association of Colleges, a body which had been composed of board members to represent the interests of their institutions to government and the wider community, was abolished. In its place a new organization, the Advanced Education Council, was created. This body was formed through an amalgamation of the old board member group with the Council of College Presidents. This new organization was then more widely representative of the non-university component of the post-secondary sector.

In yet another context the government introduced a further initiative. Under the leadership of Deputy Minister Gary Mullins and the direction of Paul Gallagher, a former college president with wide experience, the British Columbia Human Resource Development Project was set in motion. Its charge was "to develop a policy framework for the future of all forms of education, training and learning for adults in our province". The project adopted a "stakeholder" approach to its organization whereby a steering committee was formed to plan and execute the process. This committee was widely representative of labour, business, public and private education at all levels, students, First Nations, and government. The exercise involved extensive discussion over an eighteen month period with more than 3000 individuals and organizations.

Essentially, the final report (1992) covered three areas. It summarized the long and extensive history of human resource development in the province, it outlined in detail the economic, socio-cultural and educational changes which will demand new strategies to address current deficiencies in the system, and it provided a policy framework for further action to overcome these deficiencies.

The primary thrust of the proposed new policy framework was to reinforce the interdependence and interrelationship among the various sectors of education and training. Collaborative planning and offering of programmes by business, labour and educational institutions was seen as vital if the extensive pool of human resources of the province was to access the learning opportunities so necessary in the new competitive economic environment. It was made clear that programmes could no longer stand alone; that individual learners must be given the opportunity to upgrade credentials and pursue educational mobility with appropriate transfer of credit: and that much greater liaison between government agencies, labour, business, and the educational sector was necessary to ensure program comprehensiveness and responsiveness.

Not unrelated to the project referred to above, the Ministry of Advanced Education produced a planning "framework" (Partners for the Future, 1991) which was to apply to the entire system of higher education in British Columbia. For the first time all components of the higher education enterprise were incorporated into a planning concept designed to promote the development of the knowledge and skills of the people of the province and to bring their abilities to bear upon the economic, technological and market needs of a future knowledge based society. Each institution, university, college and institute was expected to submit three year plans, based upon the general framework provided, which were then to be integrated by the Ministry of Advanced Education into an overall system plan. Whether such an approach will succeed remains an open question. It should be noted that planning for cycles of three years or more was not by any means an activity new to either colleges or universities. Each institution had been engaged in this process for many years. In fact, it could be argued that the government was responding to, rather than leading the planning process.

In 1991 the New Democratic Party was re-elected with a commitment to education at all levels. Funding for the post-secondary sector was maintained, albeit at a modest rate of growth. With respect to the universities, government influence was relatively minor. The clause in the University Act, which had denied faculty the right to organize, was removed. A temporary moratorium on tuition fee increases was imposed. The University of Northern British Columbia was opened on schedule in impressive capital facilities in Prince George.

After a cabinet shuffle, The Hon. Dan Miller was named Minister of Skills, Training, and Labour, with post-secondary education within his portfolio. This title was a significant reflection of the government's priority towards education as an instrument of economic growth and for the preparation of a skilled workforce. Two policy initiatives followed which were to have major implications for the higher education system at large. The first was a legislative bill which awarded independent degree granting authority to the four university colleges (a fifth, Kwantlen, was added later). In addition, the B.C. Institute of Technology and the Emily Carr College of Art and Design were granted similar status.

Further, a major change in the governing structure of the non university institutions was contained in the same legislation. Faculty, support staff, and student representatives were given full membership on the boards and an Education Council was created in each institution which, with a membership composed largely of teaching faculty, was granted statutory authority in selected areas of academic governance. In effect, this sector now operated under a form of bicameral governance, and as such, became a first in Canada to adopt such a model.

The second major initiative, entitled Skills Now:Real Skills for the Real World, was the product of advice given to government by representatives of business, labour, and education, and involved a financial allocation in excess of $ 200 million. This program contained four major thrusts.

1. Linking high schools to the workplace by funding work experience for secondary students, offering post-secondary credits in vocational programs while still in high school, providing mandatory career planning, and creating alternative education programs.
   
   
2. Providing more seats in college and university programs and establishing ten community based skills centres throughout the province.
   
   
3. Retraining workers close to home. The newly created B.C. Labour Force Development Board will play a major role by advising on job market and training needs.
   
   
4. Moving welfare recipients into the workforce. In this endeavour local businesses will receive funding support to provide training seats for individuals on financial assistance.

While Skills Now is a formidable initiative, public post-secondary educational institutions will be challenged to plan programs which will be innovative, cost effective, and accessible. While incentives exist, more funding will not flow as it has in the past. It appears that post-secondary education in British Columbia must inevitably become more responsive to government priorities if it is to maintain viability in a competitive market.

Hence, the history of higher education in British Columbia from 1945 to 1995 has been one of phases - expansion, growth, development, diversity, consolidation, restraint, retrenchment, and coordinated planning, each reflecting the contextual conditions which applied at any given time. In the last section of this essay it is now appropriate to analyze and evaluate some of the most important factors in a higher education phenomenon of almost half a century.

The policy of the government of British Columbia during the past half century could be described in several ways, depending upon the period under review. It might be characterized at various times as disinterest, direct intervention, benign neglect, commitment to access and expansion, or obsessed with a need to control budgets It may be argued that the attitude of the Social Credit government, which has dominated the political corridors of power during much of the post-war era, has ranged from varying degrees of support, at best, to overt antagonism, at worst. Wherever the truth lies, the facts indicate that massive expansion in the number and kind of institutions, with an accompanying increase in the number of students, occurred during this same period. It may well be that particular individuals in roles of leadership and influence should be given much of the recognition for the growth of the system. However, governments respond to their perception of popular sentiment, and education has been a priority in the public policy arena for a good part of the post-war era.

Given the foregoing, it must also be said that government policy towards post-secondary education has been erratic, unpredictable and often unreadable, despite the presence of one party in control for a considerable segment of the period. While this description of public policy may not be unusual or peculiar to British Columbia, it is nevertheless disconcerting to those who seek order, predictability and direction for the system. With respect to the university sector, the general approach from government has been non-interventional, at least in a direct sense. Relatively minor actions have been taken, such as the introduction and later removal of an amendment to the University Act denying faculty members the right to unionize. Faculty salaries have been indirectly affected by wage control legislation and, for a brief period, it appeared that tenure might be in peril. On the other hand, university autonomy respecting budget allocation, hiring of personnel, setting student tuition fees, and establishing academic priorities, has remained intact. With the exception of the brief tenure of the Universities Council, long and short term planning has been largely an internal matter within each university. During times of financial crises whatever solutions were necessary were planned and executed by the universities themselves, without government interference or direction.

However, government influence over the college sector has been much more real, direct and effective. College legislation gives unambiguous authority to the minister in critical aspects of budget allocation, policy development and program approval. Until quite recently membership on governing boards consisted entirely of ministerial appointments. But above all, the impact of policy initiatives such as formula funding, and mandatory five-year planning based upon a predetermined format, has been extremely influential is charting the course which colleges and provincial institutes have taken. Government has gradually become a powerful senior "partner" in the governance of colleges, making

Hence, it is extremely difficult to generalize about the intent of government policy with respect to British Columbia's institutions of post-secondary education. The latter are neither modelled nor moulded by government, nor are they fully autonomous self regulating institutions, although the university sector enjoys great autonomy. Rather they are, in a somewhat Canadian sense, quite pragmatic in their role within the public policy agenda. Nevertheless, the over-all contribution of higher education to the economic and social development of the province during the post war period has been significant.

The Skills Now initiative, described earlier, has the potential to play a major role in setting the direction which the colleges and institutes, far more so than the universities, will move in the future. In this regard British Columbia is following the path set in other provinces in its overall concern for budgetary control, labour force development, and economic renewal. The inevitable conclusion which may be drawn, however, is that government has now entered the field of policy delineation in higher education in a more deliberate manner. Policy initiation, rather than coming through erratic and often obtuse messages, will now be cloaked in a mantle of rationality and purpose.

It is the contention of this observer that British Columbia has developed a "system" of higher education which has been articulated and coordinated to a somewhat greater extent than is the case in other Canadian provinces, with the exception of Quebec, and perhaps Alberta. At the beginning of the era the existence of one provincial public university and one affiliated college evoked little discussion about coordination. By the end of the era, however, the presence of over twenty independently governed public institutions might well be viewed as a largely uncoordinated "system". But there are important factors which deserve to be recognized.

The issue of transfer of credit among and between colleges and universities, while not exempt from short lived crises, has been handled with reasonable sensitivity and considerable success. There are several reasons for this contention. Foremost among these are the efforts of the Academic Board in the early days of college development. The Board carefully articulated a protocol and a process by which college courses would be approved for transfer credit. The universities were thus provided with assurance that academic standards would be protected. Procedurally, questions of academic comparability among courses were addressed through a series of "articulation committees" specific to each discipline, and containing representatives from both colleges and universities. Further, a number of studies (Dennison and Jones, 1970, Dennison et al, 1974, Forrester et al, 1984, B.C. Research, 1978-88,) provided evidence of the success of transfer students. The universities soon recognized the advantages of a formalized transfer policy and cooperated accordingly. As a result, students are given assurance, at the beginning of their programs that, so long as they chose courses in accord with the Transfer Guide, the credits they earn will be honoured on transfer from one institution to another. No comparable situation exists with technical and vocational courses vis a vis the universities, but there is credit transfer in these areas among and between the provincial institutes and colleges.

In the last five years, however, a good deal of accelerated activity has taken place in pursuit of greater coordination. As previously noted, one prominent recommendation of the Access Committee (1988) was to establish a provincial Council on Admissions and Transfer, a body with quasi independent status, which would "provide a mechanism for the resolution of difficulties which may arise from time to time with respect to admissions, course and program equivalency, degree requirements, and transfer of course credits". The Council, however, was not to be given the authority to override the autonomy of university senates on credit transfer questions.

Subsequently, the Council was established, with broad representation from both the university and the college sectors, and has taken a number of initiatives. The first was to produce a single "province wide" transfer guide to replace those published previously by each individual university. Another action taken by the Council was to begin discussion of the Associate Degree as a formal credential to be offered by the colleges. The forum which followed brought university and college representatives into a close relationship which allowed for better understanding of mutual concerns among the participants. The Associate Degree has been in practice for many years in the United States. Eventually, the presence of that credential in most states has rendered transfer of credit largely a matter of routine, a practice which B.C. universities would be reluctant to accept. Finally, as noted earlier, the Ministry of Advanced Education began a more sophisticated planning process by producing the planning framework entitled "Partners for the Future" (1991).

A final comment upon the development of post-secondary education in the post war years may well address the question of just how productive and effective the system has been within a societal context. Contemporary societies anticipate, indeed they demand a great deal from the organizations to which they provide fiscal support. Publicly funded institutions, for example, are expected to offer quality and accessible health care, efficient and dependable transportation, or sensitive, equitable and supportive social services. In like vein, public higher education is under greater scrutiny than has previously been the case. Institutions of post-secondary education are seen to be effective if they produce graduates who can contribute to the economic and socio-cultural advancement of the state. Furthermore, institutions are required to be accountable to government and to the wider community for the proper expenditure of public funds. Accessibility is yet another criterion for earning societal approval. It translates into places available in program options consistent with student choice, availability of programs under circumstances designed to accommodate student need, while being, at the same time, financially and geographically attainable. Against these yardsticks British Columbia's institutions would earn a mixed response.

From a statistical standpoint British Columbia's record in post-secondary education is not overly impressive. In terms of enrollment as a percentage of the 18-24 age group, the province has not ranked as high against other provinces as might have been expected. Hence, in spite of impressive expansion of the number and kinds of institutions, participation levels remain problematic. Many explanations have been offered for this phenomenon e.g., the attraction of high salaries in resource extraction industries, a lack of cultural tradition with respect to advanced education, the insularity of many communities, or the inability of institutions to be fully responsive to client needs. Whatever the reason, mere growth and expansion of the number and diversity of post-secondary institutions seem not to have provided a satisfactory response.

With regard to access a similar reservation exists. While there has been a significant increase in the number of college age students, particularly women, enrolled in advanced education (Note 2), there appear to be many categories of disadvantaged in the population who have remained outside the system. (Access Report, 1988). In particular, native people, the physically disabled, and the socio-culturally disadvantaged do not enrol in numbers sufficient to increase their participation in the power structures of society. Open learning opportunities at several levels do exist, but interestingly enough, in 1991 more than half the enrollees in the Open Learning Agency resided in urban centres. A recent study (B.C. Research, 1989) indicated that financial obstacles were perceived to be the primary deterrents by those high-school graduates who do not continue their education. In this context, financial barriers are usually represented by the delay of opportunities to earn an income. Nevertheless, many non-participants expressed the intention of returning to education at an appropriate time in the future. For those who do continue their education, however, academic and cultural capital (Note 3) are the important factors in their decision, while financial costs are of little consideration. Student profiles in the community colleges, particularly in rural areas, reveal impressive percentages of mature students, often enrolled on a part time basis. However, the prospects for such students continuing their education at the universities are limited by distance and family responsibilities.

As noted earlier, the establishment of university colleges in selected rural regions of the province offer a potential impetus for area bound students to complete degrees. Nevertheless, the concept of the university college, to this time untried in Canada, also presents a challenge both to the preservation of the comprehensive community college concept upon which they are grafted, and to their future acceptance as "university-like" institutions which, as current planning prescribes, will emphasize teaching rather than research, and undergraduate, rather than graduate studies. To this point, British Columbia's universities have been reasonably conventional, competitive with respect to expansion of professional degree programs and research, and strongly committed to the maintenance of autonomy. If, how, and when the new university colleges will become socialized into the higher education sector in Canada will become a topic of considerable interest in the next decade.

Public attitudes to post-secondary education in British Columbia since World War II have reflected those of the government, i.e., generally fluctuating. The almost unlimited support of the sixties was followed by a period of disillusionment. However, during the restraint period of the early eighties, polls indicated support for public higher education and general agreement upon the need for improved fiscal assistance. In the 1986-91 period, increased government support for the universities was expressed through a number of initiatives e.g., expanded access, student financial aid, matching capital grants, and a Science and Technology Development Fund. At the same time, it may be argued that colleges and universities have paid insufficient attention to the need for engendering better public appreciation and support for their role in the economic and social development of the province. Very little attention has also been given to the rapidly expanding number of private institutions, including Trinity Western University, which have captured a growing market in a variety of fields. In part due to federal policy in supporting private sector based training, the number of independent proprietary schools has grown rapidly, over 800 existing by 1995. Immigration policies, in turn, have generated an expanded need for private language training and "visa" schools. These private colleges, now formally regulated, seem poised to play an important role in higher education. It is an issue which the public sector will be forced to accommodate in a systematic manner.

There are many other issues which remain not fully addressed. As in other provinces, dilemmas such as accountability versus autonomy, effective governance, particularly in the college sector, a rational and predicable policy of budget allocation to institutions, improved articulation between college-based job preparation and the realities of the workplace, technology transfer, and the dichotomy which exists between the goals of unions and industry and the priorities of the higher education sector, all represent challenges which cannot be avoided in the future.

Post-secondary education in British Columbia is an expensive enterprise. It is also volatile, reactive and apparently insatiable with respect to its fiscal expectations. It has played, and will continue to play, a prominent role in the social and economic growth and development of the province. Much has been accomplished in recent years towards the provision of equitable access to all who are qualified and seek further education. With imaginative and sensitive leadership, both at the government and institutional level, higher education has the capacity to exploit to the fullest the talents and potential of the province's most important resource - the people of British Columbia. This challenge, however must be met without sacrificing those appropriate aspects of institutional autonomy which bear upon quality, nor can it be accomplished without recognition of the legitimate expectations of government respecting the role of higher education as a corporate partner in the pursuit of economic growth, productivity and competitiveness. There is clearly a "tightrope of compromise" between these two goals which must be achieved. The realization of an effective solution will require imagination, commitment, and of greatest importance, leadership at all levels of the enterprise.

1. In 1980 the percentage of female high school graduates in B.C. continuing to post-secondary education was 34. In 1986 the comparable percentage was 45.
   
   
2. In 1990 the full time equivalent enrollment in post-secondary education in British Columbia was 144,860, of which 80,231 or 55% were women. Comparable figures in 1970 were 58,063 of which only 23,021 or 40% were women.
   
   
3. The concepts of "cultural, social, and academic capital" as factors in the decision made by students to continue their education after high school has been developed in the work of Bourdieu (1986) and others. This topic is discussed at length in a doctoral dissertation by Lesley Bellamy at the University of British Columbia.

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