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Changes to Fees and Programs

By Eileen Velthuis
Features Editor

Facing a budget deficit of $3 million this
year and a possible $3.5 million next year,
Douglas College is forced to make some
_ Changes to fees and services.

The College is required by law to balance
the budget, and the way they plan to
do it is simple—increase revenues
and reduce operating costs. Some
of the recommended fee changes
include a tuition fee increase of 30
per cent in September of this year,
with the possibility of a similar
increase the following year. At
Douglas College, a three-credit
course costs $132—BC currently
has the second lowest tuition fees
in Canada, after Quebec. The
increase would mean that a three-
credit course will cost $172 in
September—full-time fees will
jump from $660 to $860 for a five-
course load. “Raising fees and
restructuring programs are not decisions we
take lightly,’ said College President Susan
Witter.

The College will also be charging a new
Registration and Service Fee of $30 per
semester, which will cover the cost of servic-
es that students currently aren’t billed for,
and will include the fee for student cards.
There will be other minor fee changes as
well, such as a reapplication fee of $25 for

students who have not attended the college
for three consecutive semesters, and for
changes to the cost for transcripts.

Some of the program and service changes
coming to the College include the closure of
the Thomas Haney Campus in Maple Ridge
over the next two years. University transfer
courses will be relocated to the David Lam

 

Campus in Coquitlam effective in September
2003. Thomas Haney students will be
accommodated in Coquitlam and New
Westminster, and faculty will be transferred
as well. School District 42 (Maple Ridge-Pitt
Meadows) Board Chair Judy Dueck said that
while she was disappointed that Maple
Ridge will no longer have a Douglas College
campus, that “On the positive side, the
school district may be able to accommodate

the expansion of Thomas Haney Secondary
from 950 to 1,200 students by using the
Douglas College wing.”

Other major changes include the elimina-
tion of the position of Vice President of
College Development, the elimination of staff
positions in Systems and Computing and
Afternoon Mail Delivery, the closure of the
Habitat Restoration Program, and the

restructuring of the Office

Administration and Science and

Technology Programs. While pro-

gram closures and restructuring

may be a necessary move for the

College, prospective Douglas stu-

dent Amanda Johnson is discour-

aged. “They’re closing the program |
wanted to get into. | don’t know what

I’m going to do now.”

In order to lessen the negative

impact that fee increases and pro-
gram reductions will have on some
students, the College is also recom-
mending that of the revenue
received from the fee increases,
$250,000 goes toward student aid, $125,000
towards student employment on campus,
$250,000 towards technology and equip-
ment replacement, and $250,000 towards
the addition of 1,750 new student seats in
University Transfer areas this year.

“Developing a balanced budget has been
very difficult this year. We have worked hard
to limit the impact on students and employ-
ees,” Witter said.

Government promises to help double grads

By Eileen Velthuis
Features Editor

The Provincial government announced on
April 15 that they will fund 825 new high-tech
student spaces in BCs post-secondary institu-
tions.

BC Premier Gordon Campbell said that it’s
“part of our New Era commitments to
increase post-secondary access and help
build the fastest growing technology industry
in Canada.” The government has vowed to
help double the number of graduates from
computer science and electrical and comput-
er engineering programs in the next five

 

years, by funding the 825 new spaces this
year. The province must then create 3,400
new spaces in the next four years in order to
double the annual graduates from high-tech
programs.

Government funding for the new spaces will
be shared between BCIT, UBC, SFU, UVic,
UNBC, Kwantlen University College,
Malaspina University College, Okanagan
University College, the University College of
the Fraser Valley and the University College of
the Cariboo. The total government investment
will be $150 million over the five-year period,
or $12,000 per full-time equivalent undergrad-
uate student and $20,000 per full-time equiv-

alent graduate student.

The announcement followed a new program
declared on March 15 to double the number of
medical school students in the Province within
the next three years, bringing the number of
medical school spaces up to 224 and adding
1,400 new spaces for nurses and care aides.

There is a high demand for well-trained pro-
fessionals in BC. Advanced Education Minister
Shirley Bond added, “We want to make sure
our post-secondary resources are closely
linked to the needs of students and our
province,”

More information about high-tech education in
BC is available online at www.bcuniversities.ca