INside ...

The Douglas College Newsletter

 
 

m New Westminster Campus, David Lam Campus & Thomas Haney Campus

Budget forum report:
dealing with the deficit

Douglas College President Susan
Witter has confirmed the College
will increase tuition fees and cut
some programs and services to
eradicate the $4.2 million deficit
projected for the 2002-2003
fiscal year.

Speaking at the College budget
forum on Thursday, March 21,
Witter said “There will be no
across-the-board cuts to all
faculties. We're looking at phasing
out whole program areas using
the Budget Guidelines. It’s a
strategic decision to position
Douglas College in the post-
secondary environment created
by this government’s New Era
policies.” The Budget Guidelines,
distributed throughout the
College in January, outlined
factors such as enrollment
demands and graduation rates
which will be considered before
programs are reduced. BC public
education institutions cannot
legally operate with deficit
budgets.

The College will be unable to
subsidize non-core programs that
are not cost-recoverable, said
Witter, which means that services
such as the Prison Education
Program at the Burnaby
Correctional Centre for Women
may be reduced or discontinued.

Vice-President of Finance Karen
Maynes also addressed the
meeting, quantifying the scale of
the deficit and discussing a range
of tuition-fee options. The $4.2
million deficit is the equivalent of
57 full-time faculty positions or
455 class sections or 12,000
individual student seats. This

would be comparable to all
sections in Humanities and Social
Sciences, or all of Language,
Literature and Performing Arts, or
all of Science and Technology
plus half of Child, Family and

Community Studies.

In terms of staff positions, the
amount represents 100 jobs or
40 percent of total staff at the
College. To illustrate the deficit in
another way, Maynes added, to
some laughter and clapping, that
the College would have to cut all
administrative positions and

would still be left with a shortfall.

“We've never faced anything of
this magnitude before,” she said,
adding the College will face
additional challenges in 2003-
2004 when salaries and projected
costs will again rise between $1.5
to $2 million.

Maynes then reviewed various
tuition-fee options and their
respective impacts on the College
deficit. A tuition-fee increase of
10 percent would reduce the
deficit to $3.3 million; a 20
percent increase would leave a
$2.5 million deficit; 30 percent
increase - $1.6 million deficit ; 40
percent increase - $837,000
deficit. A 40 percent increase
would mean that a full-time
student taking 10 courses ina
year would have to pay an
additional $528 per year.

With colleges and universities
throughout BC facing similar
challenges, Witter said there is
currently extensive consultation
with other post-secondary
institutions to set rates that are
comparable and fair.

Douglas College is also examining

anew student fee for registration,
assessments, appeals and other
services that are currently free at
the College. Maynes said two
options being considered would
be either a flat fee for all credit
students, ora scaled fee based on
the number of credits being

taken.

Following the meeting, Witter
said that given the size of the
deficit she expected the tuition
fee increase will have to be of

significant magnitude to limit the

cuts to programs and services.
“Some students can afford an
increase in fees, while others
cannot. To lessen the impact on
those who can least afford it, a
portion of the new fees will be
used for additional student aid.”

She said that for now, the College

is waiting for the official budget
letter from the Ministry of
Advanced Education.

“We hope to receive our budget
letter from the Ministry by the
third week in March. Then we
will know exactly how much we
have to work with. After we have
those figures, Senior
Management Team will draft a
plan which we expect to
distribute within the College by
Friday April 12. Our next
budget forum will be on

Thursday April 18.”

Witter says this will give time for
feedback and allow two months
for responses before the College
Board gives their approval. To
send your comments to President
Susan Witter, e-mail her at
witters@douglas.bc.ca.

 

IN

Douglas College

    

Dragons dance
through College on
Chinese New Year

The Douglas College Daycare celebrated Chinese New Year
on February 12 with a traditional dragon dance through the
concourse and cafeteria, featuring hand-made dragons
crafted by students and daycare kids. “The making of the
dragon has been going on for about 15 years,” said Early
Childhood Education instructor Diana Stewart. “The daycare
children come to my children's literature class, and using
recycled materials like Christmas decorations and old
sheets they create their own dragons with the help of the
ECE students. There were lots of smiles and interaction and
negotiation going on about what would work and what
wouldn't, and we had an absolutely fabulous time.”

 

Seven new community members appointed to Douglas College Board

The Douglas College Board
welcomes seven new members
from the community following
appointments announced
recently by the Ministry of
Advanced Education.

The new board members are:
Candy Hodson, Director of
Regional Sales and Development

at Metro Valley Newspapers;
New Westminster's Ben Kendall,
investment advisor with CIBC
Wood Gundy who serves on
various boards and committees
such as the Royal City Rotary
Club and the BC Coalition for
the Elimination of Abuse to
Seniors; Ann Kitching, former
principal of both private and

public colleges and a member of
the Port Moody Economic,
Tourism and Arts Development
Committee; Diana Miles, human
resource manager for Sears
Canada Pacific Region with past
involvement in the Coquitlam
Figure Skating Club and
Coquitlam Summer Games;
certified general accountant June

O’Connor,a member of the New Custom Yachts and a director of

Westminster Rotary Club; Neal

Steinman, a civil and commercial

the Pitt Meadows airport.
litigation lawyer who practicesin “Weare privileged to welcome
downtown Vancouver,amember new board members with such a
of the New Westminster Heritage range of experience as well as
Preservation Society, and an outstanding records of service to
their communities,” said
Harbinder Kainth Jassal, Douglas

College Board Chair.

officer of the Canadian Jewish
Congress (Pacific Region); and
Andrew Taylor, CEO of Crescent

 

Quote of the Month

“Oppression can only survive through silence.”

Carmen de Monteflores