MAD HATTER PAGE 5 Other Colleges Feel the Bite of Budget Cuts COLLEGE STRUGGLES AS PROVINCE HACKS BUDGET COURSES SLASHED IN CAP CUTBACKS By SUSAN CARDINAL The savage bite of inflation coupled with govermment “underfunding” dealt a crippling blow to Capilano College Tuesday as the college board voted to slash 25 courses. A drop in enrolment may well be a result of the cut- back in career and academic courses. And at least one board member feels that pegging enrolment may be a necessary step in tackling the funding crisis. Vocational courses will remain unscathed by the established by the (education) minister in the direction of empioyment- oriented education," Gallagher told the News. All parts of the college, including staffing, will be effected by the cutbacks fiscal guillotine. approved by the board to College Principal Paul deal with a 1981-82 Gallagher, said that budgetary shortfall of vocational programming for $287,800. part-time students will actually increase. This dichotomy arises from “the priorities “It seems to this is the . beginning of a (chronic) problem not just an aberration,” Brian Hodgins, a board member, said. In order to compete with other institutions and squeeze more money out of the provincial government “it behooves us to organize very early next year,” Hodgins said. Gallagher told the board that the college can’t even meet the needs and demands of the community as it is. Last year, 270 qualified applicants were turned away from the natural science . division because of a short of resources, Gallagher said. The college collects about eight per cent of its annual Ttevenues from students’ tuition fees, with the bulk of the balance coming from the province in the form of a grant. According to Gallagher, this year’s financing shortfall means that Capilano cannot even maintain the same degree of services as last year. Board member Lalu CONTINUED ON PAGE Al2 VCC considers chopping 60 to 90 classes By LARRY PYNN Sun Education Reporter CAMPBELL RIVER — Vancouver Community College principal Tony Manera is braced to chop 60 to 90 classes, mostly first and second-year arts and sciences, at Langara campus because of a $1.8-million deficit in provincial operating grants for 1981-82. VCC, the province's largest com- munity college, is planning a similar three to four-per-cent course cutback at King Edward Campus plus a college- wide reduction in supplies, mainte- nance and program development that inevitably must affect instructional quality, Manera said. : He claimed the annual operating budget of about $39 million is up 13.2 per cent from 1980-81 but the college re- quires almost 16 per cent. Colleges and institutes across the province claim they are being forced to chop programs and services because of insufficient provincial grants. The B.C. Association of Colleges, meeting on the weekend here. pleaded their case with Education Minister Brian Smith. Smith, saying provincial grants this year are up 19.4 per cent to $246 million, said “cutback” has come to describe the difference between what an institu- tion wants and what it receives. (Colleges claim much of the govern- ment increase this year is going toward new programs and expansion while funding for existing programs fails to meet inflation.) He sympathized with the problems of inflation, staff salaries, and new pro- gram costs but noted college boards must be realistic. “I'd be giving false hopes to say this kind of funding can continue,” he told about 90 board members and senior officials. *‘[ must be blunt about that.” Smith, pointing out that full-time equivalent student enrolment in univer- sity transfer courses increased only five per cent, compared with 24 per cent for career-technical programs during the past four years, said col- leges must shift priorities to meet de- Mands. _ He recommended institutions look to Non-governmental sources such as tui- tion fees, donations and consulting services as fund-raising methods. Smith also expressed dissatisfaction with ‘overly restrictive and expen- sive’ collective agreements that force the layoff of part-time faculty before full-time staff. Manera said Langara faculty and VCC administrative staff settled on a 12.5-per-cent wage increase this year but negotiations for instructors at King Edward Campus and Vancouver Voca- tional Institute, as well as college non- teaching staff, are continuing. The final impact on the budget, in- cluding the possibility of tuition fee in- creases, will not be known until late summer. Newly elected BCAC president Alar Donaldson. an Okanagan College boarc member, warned convention delegate: that the days of unlimited governmen funding are over. “We used to fly to Victoria with an empty bag and come back with money."’ he said. “Now all we get is a used plane ticket.” Steve Shallhorn. executive officer of the B.C. Students’ Federation, said he was fed up with the government telling colleges to sharpen their pencils. “We're already down to the nub and it's the last damn pencil we have.” Smith promises to review colleges act Sun Staff Reporter CAMPBELL RIVER — Education Minister Brian Smith has promised to review next year the Colleges and Provincial Institutes Act. introduced by government in 1977 as the ‘‘educa- tion bill of the decade” but slammed by community colleges as chaotic, arbi- trary and bureaucratic. In a weekend speech to the B.C. As- ’ sociation of Colleges annual general meeting, Smith acknowledged com- plaints of the system failing to coordi- nate post-secondary financing. ‘The argument has some merit,”’ Smith told about 90 board members and senior administrators, ‘‘Some coordi- nation of funding is desirable and should be strived for.” He challenged the association, repre- senting 17 colleges and institutes, to develop concrete suggestions rather than complaints. “If you think the system is not work- ing, provide me with some alterna- tives,’" he said. ‘‘I don't want to go charging in and tinker with a system that is still relatively new.” Under the act, the bulk of provincial funds for colleges and institutes is dis- tributed by three non-governmental groups — the academic, occupational training and management advisory councils. (A ministry standing committee also distributes money for programs such as continuing education and the Universities Council of B.C. shares gov- ernment funds between the province's three universities.) BCAC delegates Sunday unanimous- ly endorsed a resolution recommending the minister consider establishing a single financing council. The motion supported last year’s eight-page association brief, which Stated: ‘‘This streamlining should bring some coordination and rational- ity to what some of our members have described as chaos, arbitrariness and bureaucracy.” lan MeTaggart-Cowan, chairman of the academic council, said officials of the three councils meet regularly to discuss the financing system but agreed communication could be im- proved, ‘The councils are designed so each has only a partial look at each institution.” He emphasized BCAC has not studied the problems a single council might have in distributing funds to so many different programs throughout the province.