Capilano College becomes
Capilano University
Province now holds 11

universities.
TOM FLETCHER

T

BLACK PRESS

he B.c;. government has bestowed
university status on Capilano College
and Emily Carr Institute of Art
and Design, going beyond the university
e�pansion recommended in a review of
the province's post-secondary system com­
pleted last year.
Capilano College president Greg Lee
outlined the projected impact of the re­
designation: "We're quite sure it will mean
greater recognition that we grant degrees
... secondly it will allow us to attract inter­
national students and faculty who want to
teach:'
The institution currently offers degree
programs, but Lee said he expects the num­
ber of degree programs to increase. He also
indicated hopes for increased enrolment as a
result of the degree designation.
Lee stressed the difference between tra­
ditional and special-purpose university
teaching, making the distinction between
traditional universities such as UBC or
SFU where "everyone in every faculty
must do research" and "teaching universi­
ties" such as Capilano where "we're look­
ing for (faculty who are) teaching people
with experience."
Those faculty should have applicable
real-world experience and at least master's
degrees, but not necessarily PhDs.
Lee said students graduating from

degree programs at the institution before
the re-designation is finalized, most likely
sometime in the next school-year, will
receive university degrees. Students gradu­
ating before the official re-designation will
receive co1lege degrees or diplomas.
The latest changes bring the total num­
ber of B.C. universities to 11. Last week
the province's three remaining university colleges, which were already offering
some four-year degree programs, were
granted university status. The creation
of Nanaimo-based Vancouver Island
University (formerly Malaspina University
College), Surrey-based Kwantlen
Polytechnic University and Abbotsford­
based Fraser Valley University fc:H1ows the
recommendation of former attorney-gen­
eral Geoff Plant's Campus 2020 report to
end the overlap between two-year colleges
and four-year universities.
The creation of North Vancouver-based
Capilano University leaves 11 community
colleges around the province. The promo­
tion for Emily Carr, a boutique art school
on Vancouver's Granville Island, leaves
B.C. with three institutes: B.C. Institute
of Technology in Burnaby, the Justice
Institute of B.C. in New Westminster and
Nicola Valley Institute of Technology in
Merritt.
Nicola Valley is the province's first
aboriginal post-secondary facility. Started
as a private college by Merritt-area native
bands in 1983, it became a provincial
institute in 1995 and last year opened a
campus in Vancouver.
-with files from Kelly McManus