Fiscal tremors ...continued from page 1

activities when we were asked to identify
levels of reduction far greater than what
eventually happened.”

The College Board has written to the
Minister to express concern over the need
to submit several plans and the Board has
directed that the College focus planning
on a most-likely scenario for the
upcoming year.

Based on existing information,
Greenwood predicts that existing
provincial grants will be reduced next
year by 5 to 6%. Provincial grants
account for over four-fifths of operating
revenues. Tuition fees are likely to
increase 20 to 25% to partially offset the
loss of grant revenue. Add on inflation
increases to such items as supplies,
utilities, and employee increments, and
the College will need to reduce
approximately $1 million from its existing
$42 million budget.

Greenwood also predicts that the
following 1997/98 fiscal year will require
further tuition fee increases and program/
activity reductions of the same magnitude
as the 1996/97 reductions.

“The College has two major
challenges in the next year. This first will
be to maintain quality and access for
students. We can no longer pass funding
cuts across all activities -- we must look at
vertical reductions instead of horizontal
ones.”

The second challenge, says
Greenwood, will be to open up and
provide acceptable levels of service at the
new Pinetree Way campus.

“We will be getting special funding
that the Ministry has specifically
earmarked for the Pinetree campus. Many
would argue that we should use this
money to maintain the status quo, but we
have been told clearly that this is not an
option.”

President Susan Hunter-Harvey says
that the cuts are harsh, and the College
will do everything possible to minimize
their impact.

“We have been working with decision-
makers at all levels of government. We
will continue to make sure they
understand what the cuts will mean to
post-secondary education in general, and
Douglas College in particular.” I

President outlines priorities,
challenges at forum

 

 

 

 

 

 

The President's Forum on October 25 was a chance for students, staff and faculty to
hear President Susan Hunter-Harvey articulate her vision for leadership and

organizational culture at Douglas College.

ew College President Susan
Hunter-Harvey outlined her
priorities and vision for leadership
at a President’s Forum on October
25.

After just six weeks at Douglas College,
Hunter-Harvey is impressed with the high
level of energy and enthusiasm, and the
expertise that College faculty and staff
offer.

Hunter-Harvey told a full house in
Room 2201 that, to be successful, the
College must establish a path and follow it,
become less bureaucratic, and more flexible
in program offerings.

“We can do all sorts of things properly,
but unless we know where we’re going and
why, it may all be for naught. We have to
be problem-solvers, and look at obstacles
as opportunities. I’ve no doubt in my mind
that we can move forward and have fun
doing it.”

Challenges facing the College over the
next year include dealing with a reduction
in federal transfer payments. She said that
strategic planning will provide a template
for the provincial government to respond to
Ottawa’s new fiscal reality, but she is
troubled by the strategic planning process
because individual colleges aren’t
represented.

“We must move quickly to delineate
and promote what we see here at the
College as our distinctive competencies.
What we do in an outstanding way must be

5

 

promoted and supported.”

For examples, she listed Bev Millers’s
work on Prior Learning Assessment, Janet
Knowles and Centre 2000, the College
nursing program’s high profile in the Lower
Mainland, music and stagecraft programs,
criminology, Psychiatric Nursing’s
collaborative degree program, and the work
that Registrar Trish Angus has done on
provincial registration issues.

Hunter-Harvey said that a key priority for
her is increasing emphasis on partnerships
with other institutions and the private sector -
- something the College has proven itself
capable of doing well.

“We must move quickly to define our
distinctive opportunities to position ourselves
based on the things we do best.”

Internal reorganization, she said, must
recognize that people throughout the College
are experts in their jobs. However, she
would like to see decision-making move
closer to the point of service delivery.

‘Leadership must be more equitably
distributed throughout the institution. We’re
too bureaucratic. We’ ve got to begin to
prioritize. There’s too much paper, and not
enough decision-making. We have to leave
our egos at the door.”

After her talk, Hunter-Harvey fielded
questions about her views on international
education, the College’s collective
agreements, strategic planning for federal
cutbacks, and the role of continuing
education here at the College. I