~ pee ~ arch 8, 1995 by Paul Andrew Only time will tell how post-sec- ondary education in BC will be af- ected, following the recent release of the federal budget. There are no significant changes to provincial education policy over which the provincial government has always had complete control. Three hundred million pact right away, there will be less money for colleges after the new budget takes effect. “There is a ticking time bomb in this budget,” Cull said. “That is the re- duction in transfer payments to British Columbia for Medicare and post-sec- ondary education.” Cull refered to the fact that al- though there may not be substantial cuts in the upcoming is received from the federal gov- ernment in cash transfer pay- ‘,.the CFS found that _, Students were opposed to the government’s budget...' fiscal year, there will be signifi- cant reductions for the years to ments. The pro- vincial governmnet spends about $1 billion on post-secondary education each year. The significance of the new fed- eral budget is the government’s plans to lump post-secondary education funding in the same category as fund- ing for Health and Welfare,which will be named the Canada Social Transfer (CST). When the CST program is fully implemented, the BC government will be responsible for determining which social program will suffer as a result - of the reduction in transfer payments, which will be reduced by $7 billion over the next two years. BC Finance Minister Elizabeth |. Cull feels that although cuts in cash transfer payments will not have an im- by Paul Andrew Douglas College has been busy since last May working to make changes in the administration that will let them respond to shifts in the college commu- nity, including shrinking operating dol- lars per student. In a move similar to that of the Federal government, the college plans to give more latitude in decision mak- ing power to some of the departments on campus. Decisions that were once the re- sponsibility of the central administra- tion will now be in the hands of the re- spective department heads. College president Bill Day says making changes to meet the challenges of the future will ensure educational programs and services will remain rel- evant. “We have made the central posi- tions [at the college] fewer, and we'll put more decision making power into the hands of the departments...,” the president explained. The restructuring of the college administration is necessary to respond to the contemporary political climate, and also because the current structure is outdated. “The current structure was created fourteen years ago when the college was smaller and social and economic con- ditions were very different,” Bill Day said. Even though the overall budget for post-secondary education may not be shrinking, colleges like Douglas are be- ing asked to accommodate more stu- follow. The federal government is placing the province in the difficult position of deciding which social program will be affected. For example, the BC welfare pro- gram has been under constant scrutiny since thousands have been caught cheat- ing the welfare system, while BC Medi- care has also been The Other Press post-secondary education system would be “fundamentally altered by the cuts in transfer payments.” The nationwide student survey, funded by the federal government was released just days before the budget was announced. The survey concluded stu- dents felt the new budget would “make it hard for post-secondary institutions to continue to operate” because of the inevitable funding shortfalls. The survey also pointed to Cana- da’s existing access problem caused by a lack of funding to colleges. This new budget will only compound the prob- lem. Douglas College students seemed to be at opposite ends of the scale re- garding the government’s decision to group post-secondary education in with the Medicare and welfare programs. It was revealed.that overall, stu- dents at Douglas realized that the gov- ernment had to make changes some- where in order to under continuous attack. Elizabeth Cull’s “ticking time bomb” reference is an understatement. “It’s disgusting,’ Hulme said..“I’m not going to university now...” reduce the fed- eral deficit, even if it means post- secondary edu- In a study con- ducted by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), which included stu- dents from Douglas College, the CFS found that students were opposed to the government’s budget, and felt Canada’s dents and more courses, while using the same amount of money they had in the past. The problem is that BC college’s are being asked to do more that the current budget will allow them to do. That will mean that instructors will have the same problems they have faced in the past; classes filling up to quickly; and less time to provide indi- vidual attention to students who need it. The BC government is unwilling to provide adequate funding to meet the current enrollment levels in post-sec- ondary education. The Canada Social Transfer, which now consists of Health, Welfare and Education, may not be able to help the province either. Over the next two years, these social programs will suffer $7 billion in Federal reduc- tions. Brad Barber of the Public Infor- mation Office here at Douglas, agrees there are similarities between the re- structuring process at Douglas College and the Federal government, regarding shifts in administration policies. “Revolving responsibility down- wards...,” is how Barber put it. Regarding the fact that the Fed- eral government has forced the shrink- ing of dollars per student, Barber ad- mitted the situation doesn’t look good. “It's negative for us I think,” Bar- ber said. “What we’ ve seen is...tightening provincial budgets. And now the report from Paul Martin indicating that there will be less money for post-secondary education coming from the government cation might be affected. Berril Perks, who attended the student ‘sit-in’ on January 25 in the Douglas concourse, thought that the ‘wait and see’ attitude was the best way to go. “We'll just have to see what the College responds to budget More decision making power for department heads next year,” Barber explained. That means what we’re likely to see down at the college level is...less government funding per student,” he added. In the meantime, Douglas is go- ing ahead with all of their plans to build the new Pinetree campus in Coquitlam. The Federal budget will not affect the project. provincial government’s reactions are at this point,” Perks said. “Obviously I’m not happy with the cuts,” Perks continued. “We’ ll have to see how the provincial governments responded... how universities responded, what the final effects to students are going to be.” Tracy Hulme, a university trans- fer student here at Douglas, has already made up her mind about the Federal budget. “It’s disgusting,” Hulme said. “I’m not going to university now.” she continued. “I don’t want to uality of British Columbia education to drop Mixed student reaction to budget Berril Perks is one of the many students at Douglas who took part in the recent demonstration at the Vancouver Art Gallery. photo by zeebo live at home for the rest of my life, so I’m thinking about doing a two year program here...as opposed to what I ini- tially planned.” “IT was hoping to take the social workers program at UBC. I can’t do that now,” Hulme added. If anything can be interpreted from questioning the students at Douglas about the federal budget, it is that the government stillhas a long way to go before they have won the confidence of young Canadians in BC. “What we've seen Is... tightening provincial budgets. And now the report from Paul Martin indicating there will be less money for post- secondary education...” INSIDE THIS LS3veE Environment - page 5 Photo Poll feature - pages 6+7 rE meno al ete Poetry - page lu .