Private vs. public post-secondary
choices emerging

Let there be no doubt -- the face of Canadian post-secondary education is changing.

The numbers show it. In December 1993, the number of private institutions offering
training in B.C was 774. The number was 869 at the end of 1994. That means over the
past year, nearly one hundred new schools offering computer training, office
administration, English as a Second Language, and other training appeared on the menu for
B.C. consumers of post-secondary education.

“The growth has been phenomenal. More people are seeing training as a crucial factor
for future employment, and recognizing that the public sector can’t keep up with the
demand,” says Pat Floyd, executive director of the Private Post-Secondary Education
Commission, which regulates and accredits private post-secondary institutions in B.C.

That growth is going to have an impact on public institutions like Douglas College, and
on the public education model too, Floyd says.

Because there’s a limit to how much money that the province can pump into public
sector education without raising taxes, governments are seeking a more pluralistic funding
equation. That means more individuals are paying for all or part of the training.

But the significant thing, says Floyd, is that more and more alternatives to the traditional
public model are emerging. Public institutions may soon have to compete for students --
which is good if, as Floyd says, you believe that competition is healthy.

“You'll see more accountability required from public institutions. They’ ll have to justify
the money that they spend, and if they are perceived not to be providing quality programs,
there will be pressure to provide them. The pressure will be particulary acute in the areas
where the private sector is providing those programs,” says Floyd, the former director of
Douglas College’s Thomas Haney campus.

Gerry Della Mattia, executive director of the Advanced Education Council of B.C., says
that students looking for training and education still think of the public sector first. He also
says the line between public and private post-secondary training is not so sharp.

“It’s not just Trend College and Pitman and CompuCollege offering training.
Community skills centres under the province’s Skills Now initiatives have objectives to
broker education services, buying them and arranging for people to take them, but this is all
part of the public structure. Even if Canada moves to a voucher system as proposed in the
Axworthy paper, it won’t spell the demise of the public education system, because I don’t
think that in today’s environment the private sector can meet everyone’s needs.”

However, Della Mattia, former Dean of Human Resources and College Development at
Douglas College, agrees that students now have more choices on where, what, and how
long they study -- which could have an impact on institutions like Douglas College.

“Tf learners are going to be taking on more of the cost of their education, they may look
very carefully on how they spend that money. Also, there’s a perception that private
institutions are more expensive, but that’s not necessarily the case. Sometimes their costs
are lower than public sector costs, such as wages. In some respects, private education will
be competitively priced, so if they are delivering what people want and we in the public
sector aren’t, we’ll have to look at it.”

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Note from the
LincoiIn Centre

Douglas College’s Centre 2000 has
been working with Vancouver
Community College to develop a
Professional Practices for Artists and
Designers Mentoring Program on behalf
of the Coquitlam Arts Council. It’s for
visual arts practitioners who need relevant
information and training in management,
business and marketing specific to the
visual arts. The program begins next
month. fl

Peace Packs for
Mozambique

The B.C. Girl Guides are collecting a
variety of items to be made into peace
packs for the refugee children of
Mozambique. The hope is that these
packs will enable the children to continue
learning and make their lives a little bit
easier while they are in the refugee camps.
The United Nations High Commission for
Refugees has found that when the
children finally return to their homes they
are better situated to deal with a society
which is in the process of rebuilding if
they have been able to maintain some
structure in their lives. Education is the
simplest and most beneficial way to put
that structure into the lives of these
children and the materials in the peace
packs will go a long way to making it
possible. If you wish to put together a
peace pack, or two or three, or contribute
items toward one that the Guides and
Brownies are making, please contact
Susan Fleming at 527-5195 for details and
information. ff