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Ministry of Education now takes "At community colleges, many of our
direction from eight different academic students are not expecting
provincial bodies. to go to university, but they are taking

academic studies for the sake of the

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Now we have a situation where the ; ‘ ; .
studies. It's a pure education situation."

Douglas College Board is taking

instruction from three provincial Community colleges are no longer the "job
councils, four divisions of the shops" as some people once referred to them.
Ministry of Education and a Students are now coming for all kinds of
provincial standing committee," motives and colleges’ now mean a great deal
Day told the audience. to people.

Calling it a "chinese puzzle of "They help the student to understand
authority," Day points out that the themselves and the world better through
community colleges are no longer the studies they offer, which are freely
able to respond quickly to the needs available, cheap and locally situated,"

of the community. Day said.

"We can't change programs as quickly as In addition, the college's performance

we should be able to and we can't in job placement of graduates is

invent them as quickly, we're just excellent. B.C. college occupational

not able to react as fast’ as we should." program areas show that over 70 per

cent of graduates within six months are
working in areas directly related to
their training.

Response to community needs in
programming takes many forms,
including developing programs to

handle shifts in commerce and in- In job specific areas such as in the
dustry as is the case with the case of Douglas College's nursing
large redevelopment of New Westminster. © graduates, students are placed in 90
Changes in economic: conditions can per cent of the cases.

aiso bring rapid shitts in the age
and sex of the student population
at a community college.

"The colleges have done and are doing a
responsible, economical and effective

job of the things which they were supposed
Community colleges have responded to when they were set up," Day said.

to the challenge in the past and as
a result for the first time in
Canadian history, real education
opportunities in a post secondary What about colleges becoming specialized?
area are being made available to
females. Most college students in
British Columbia are female, slightly
over 50 per cent.

Day points to recent studies which show
people who take training in colleges have
little real choice as to where they
attend.... most can not travel to the

Day says this is a "social revolution" special purpose schools.

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and "a good one. "If people are going to get training,

Another change brought about by they're going to get it locally. The
colleges is that academic students in notion of travelling long distances
the colleges are not only taking academic doesn't hold up under examination.”

studies for university transfer, but
they are taking these programs for
personal development.

"All of this does not mean colleges
can't operate within a provincial
system of priorities, it just means
"There is a lot of talk about liberal it cannot survive if we ignore local
education and what it does for individuals concerns," Day concludes.

and yet we are all aware of the fact that
most university students are at university
because of a general job ambition," Day
said.