 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
Working Group on Post-Secondary Education in New Brunswick Updates
- Jan 31, 2008
- Jan 10, 2008
- Nov 1, 2007
- Sept 19, 2007
- March 16, 2007
- Jan 22, 2007
Working Group on Post-Secondary Education in New Brunswick
The Working Group on Post-Secondary Education in New Brunswick finished two days of meetings in Fredericton on Thursday, January 31. The Working Group has been meeting since late 2007 to develop a set of recommendations for the Government of New Brunswick aimed at transforming post-secondary education, making it more student-focused, efficient and effective.
The Working Group has reached consensus on a number of key issues. There remains considerable work to be done to refine these recommendations, assess the structural or legislative changes needed to make them a reality and to provide the proposed investments required. That work will continue over the coming weeks and more detailed recommendations will be provided to the government.
As an interim step, the Working Group has recommended to the Government of New Brunswick the following broad policy approaches:
An Integrated System
The Working Group recommended the implementation of an integrated post-secondary education system that is student-focused and features greater co-operation between universities and community colleges. New partnerships will be formed to expand applied learning opportunities, including applied degrees, diplomas and certificates. This can include an innovative structure that allows select articulated programs between universities and the community college system and a broadened ability to offer first and second year university courses at appropriate community college campuses. The Working Group also recommends exploring opportunities for integration in terms of shared facilities and administration.
An Independent Community College System
To better meet the needs of students and communities, the Working Group recommended that the community college system become independent from government and operate with a new governance structure.
Legislation to Define University Missions
The Working Group proposed that each university have its role, mandate and critical mission articulated in legislation by the Government of New Brunswick.
Concrete Steps to Address Accessibility and Student Debt
The Working Group acknowledges that New Brunswick students are carrying a too high debt load. Concrete steps to address accessibility and reduce student debt are being refined and will be a key part of its final recommendations to government. The Working Group will also make recommendations to ensure under-represented groups, such as young Aboriginal New Brunswickers, are able to participate more fully in post-secondary education throughout the province.
Maintain and Enhance the University of New Brunswick Saint John
The Working Group recommended that the University of New Brunswick in Saint John remain both a university and part of the University of New Brunswick. A further recommendation is to maintain liberal arts offerings while introducing new programs that respond to the needs of the local community and the entire province.
As part of enhancing the Saint John campus, The University of New Brunswick has indicated it will create a commission to review the relationship between the Fredericton and Saint John campuses and to make recommendations for improvement.
Maintain and Enhance the Université de Moncton’s role in Northern New Brunswick
The Working Group acknowledges the Université de Moncton’s unique role as New Brunswick’s Francophone university and recommends that it continue to fulfill its important mandate in the northeast and northwest parts of the province. The Université de Moncton will also develop new applied learning programs to meet the needs of both students and communities.
Collaboration to Foster Research
Fostering increased advanced research is a priority for the Working Group. It recommended a strong collaborative approach led by the University of New Brunswick and the Université de Moncton which will also include applied research at the community college level.
Deep Partnerships with the Private Sector
The Working Group recommended steps be taken to establish deep partnerships between the private sector and the post-secondary education system in New Brunswick to improve the quality of learning and to strengthen our provincial economy.
New Approaches to Apprenticeship Training
The Working Group recommends a new approach to apprenticeship training be developed to ensure these programs have the flexibility to respond to rapidly changing job markets.
The Working Group will continue its meetings in February.
Working Group on Post-Secondary Education in New Brunswick
Update January 10, 2008
The Working Group on Post-Secondary Education in New Brunswick concluded three intensive days of meetings at the Université de Moncton on January 9.
The Working Group’s mandate is to recommend to Government a new structure for post-secondary education in the province. During the Moncton meetings the Working Group made significant progress in developing a structure that is student-focused, efficient and innovative. The structure under discussion will offer a flexible, province-wide approach that supports articulated programs between universities and the Community College, new programs and increased applied educational opportunities.
The structure would be designed to better respond to the needs of New Brunswick and feature enhanced partnerships with the private sector and local communities. It would ensure that New Brunswick’s post-secondary education system is competitive nationally and internationally.
The Working Group also held extensive discussions on the vital issues of student debt and accessibility, key considerations in the development of a new approach.
The Working Group will meet again this month and will undertake additional research and analysis. It is expected to make its recommendations to Government within several weeks.
The Working Group is made up of the Presidents of the province’s four universities and an equal number of Principals from the Community College system. It is chaired by Nora Kelly, Deputy Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour.
Working Group on Post-Secondary Education in New Brunswick
Update November 1, 2007
The Working Group on Post-Secondary Education in New Brunswick held its second meeting on November 19 and 20 in Fredericton. It was a constructive session and part of a process that will see the Working Group recommend to government the best model for a post-secondary education system in New Brunswick, as well as developing an accompanying implementation plan.
The Working Group is chaired by Nora Kelly, Deputy Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour and is comprised of:
* Dr. Robert Campbell, President and Vice-Chancellor, Mount Allison University
* Richard Doiron, Directeur, CCNB campus d’Edmundston
* Thérèse Finn-McGraw, Directrice, CCNB campus de la Péninsule acadienne
* Monsieur Yvon Fontaine, Recteur et vice-chancelier, Université de Moncton
* Dr. Michael Higgins, President and Vice-Chancellor, St. Thomas University
* Peter McGill, Principal, NBCC Saint John Campus
* Dr. John D. McLaughlin, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of New Brunswick
* Graham Sheppard, Principal, NBCC Moncton Campus
The Working Group will continue its meetings and research over the next several months and is expected to makes its recommendations to government early in 2008.
Letter to the Community Responding to the Report from the Commission on Post-Secondary Education
September 19, 2007
On Friday 14 September 2007, the Commission on Post-Secondary Education (CPSE) issued to the government its report, entitled Advantage New Brunswick – A Province Reaches to Fulfill its Destiny. The report completes a process begun in December when Commissioners Rick Miner and Jacques L’Ecuyer were appointed by Premier Graham to review the PSE sector, consult its stakeholders, and issue recommendations.
The commission has produced an ambitious and comprehensive report that touches on a myriad of issues and challenges. If implemented, the Report would undoubtedly be transformational, particularly as it proposes an integrated formal system, bringing all institutions together systemically, from universities and colleges to apprentice programs, career colleges and the proposed ‘polytechnics’. Indeed, the Report itself declares that ‘the proposal to create three polytechnics and to expand the role of the remaining community colleges will have significant repercussions for the four universities in the province.’ The New Brunswick University Presidents will be meeting to formulate a collective response to the proposed alteration in the PSE system.
Members of the Mount Allison community will likely find attractive and positive a number of recommendations in the Report, from the creative ways it has presented to support students financially, to the increase in funding to the PSE sector that it claims is required to attain academic quality; from the suggestion to create a one-stop application portal to its encouragement to move to a province-wide research strategy and a top-up of federal money for the indirect costs of research. In its submission to the Commission, Mount Allison proposed increasing collaboration and cooperation in the New Brunswick PSE system, and there are numerous recommendations to this end in the Report that provide its primary focus.
Other recommendations will likely require considerable reflection, discussion, and debate, particularly those dealing with broad enrolment, financing, and governance issues, as well as course, curriculum, and credit relations — amongst the PSE institutions — that are also central recommendations and implications of the Report. Moreover, some recommendations in this area could affect the long established consensus around university self governance.
The issuing of the Report marks a second stage in the process. The government will now analyze the recommendations and, after further consultation with stakeholders, will decide on a course of action. Both the Premier and the new Deputy PSE Minister have assured me that there will be a full process of consultation, in which Mount Allison University and other parties can make an impact. I in turn committed that Mount Allison would take an open-minded approach to thinking through and discussing the Report and would work positively with the government to improve the New Brunswick PSE system. If you have any immediate thoughts or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me.
There will be many opportunities for discussing the CPSE Report in the coming weeks – at Faculty Council, Senate, and the Board of Regents meetings as well as in other settings. I encourage members of the community to read the report (http://www.gnb.ca/cpse-ceps/EN/index.html), to follow debates and discussion in the media, and to participate in internal discussions at Mount Allison. Rest assured that we will work to maintain Mount Allison’s national reputation, its balanced and dynamic approach to teaching and research, and our commitment to offer a top quality liberal arts and science academic program in the context of providing our students with ‘more than a degree’ in our humane and personal community.
Post-Secondary Education Commission News
March 16, 2007
As you will have heard, the Commission on Post-Secondary Education, established by the Premier and the Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, has issued a discussion paper, articulating the Commission’s early observations about post-secondary education in the Province and an invitation to respond to a series of questions.
The Commission has consulted widely in creating this first discussion paper, which explores accessibility to post-secondary education in the Province, relevance and responsiveness of our educational system to the need of students and employers, quality and accountability of educational offerings on New Brunswick campuses, the efficiency with which New Brunswick universities and community colleges operate, the possibility of greater collaboration among all of the Province’s institutions, and suggestions about financing post-secondary education. While all of these areas are explored quite generally in this first paper, the Commissioners, Rick Miner and Jacques L’Écuyer, will be visiting Sackville and Moncton on April 11 and 12, at which time Mount Allison will be making a presentation to the Commission in response to early observations and recommendations of the Commission.
I invite you to read the paper, respond to the questionnaire, and copy your response to me, if you would like, to help inform Mount Allison’s presentation to the Commission in April.
The New Brunswick government has recently launched a Commission on Post-Secondary Education in the Province.
One of the goals of the commission is to build the best education system in the country and to create an opportunity for discussion about the educational challenges we face. The Province has appointed Rick Miner, President of Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, and Jacques L’Écuyer, former Vice-President of the Université du Québec, as commissioners who will report to the Premier and the Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training, and Labour.
Maintained by the Office of the Vice-President (Administration)
February 1, 2008