A6 - Nortl'I Shor'i:t News - Stmday; April 27� 2008

Change by degrees

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ORTH Shore residents -and
in fact British Columbians as
a whole - should watch with
interest the changes that will soon be
taking place at Capilano College in
the wake of its upgrade this week to
university status.
What exactly that means has yet to be
determined, but the outcome will have
significant ramifications for education
in British Columbia.
In the past, Capilano College has
filled the role traditionally played by
other institutions of that designation:
equipping students to enter professions
or preparing them to enrol in university.
But in recent years, that roll has been
blurring, with the college offering an
increasing number of degree programs,
primarily oriented toward professional
training. By all accounts they have been
popular and of a high calibre.

With its redesignation as a university
- a testament to its quality as an
institution -that roll will undoubtedly
continue to grow. But until we know
the outcome of that evolution, some
very important questions will remain
unanswered: Will the upgrade change
what it means to go to Capilano, or
will it change what it means to go to
university? Will it do both? And which
is preferable?
There is no question that post­
secondary education will continue to
be an ever-more-vital tool for young
people entering the workforce. That
fact only underscores how important
this change is to those moving through
the system.
Capilano College's evolution must
be negotiated with great care and great
attention. The future of our province's
youth depends on it.

Sunday: April 27, 2008- North Shore News - A5

Change may boost enrolment

Frompagel

variety of areas including business, tourism, jazz studies and music
therapy, and it had another eight in the works. But Plant's plan,
if adopted, would have seen that come to an end and the college
increased its lobbying for university status.
Capilano's upgrade is a necessary adaptation to the realities of
the modern workplace, said college president Greg Lee.
"The world has changed dramatically since that day (when
the college opened)," said Lee. "By all measures the world has
become more complex."
Post-secondary education has increasingly become a necessary
tool for young people both to get hired and to perform their jobs,
he said. The university label can only improve their chances.
The change should also help attract international students, who
currently contribute some $20 million to the college's budget,
added Lee.
Current students were on board with the idea, said fourth-year
student Stephanie Wood, who gave a short speech at the event.
"I'm proud to say I'll be grauuating from Capilano University,"
she said. "What was just a dream is now a reality."
When, exactly, the upgrade will take effect is not certain. The
legislature must first amend British Columbia's University Act,
and the college will likely have to make some changes in order to
meet requirements, such as hiring faculty with PhDs to head up
certain programs. "We know there's a lot of work ahead and we
can hardly wait to get going," said Lee.
Students who graduate from Capilano's degree programs after
the redesignation has been implemented will receive university
degrees; those who graduate beforehand will get college degrees
or diplomas. However, if they request an academic transcript in
the future, the institution will be described on it as a university,
said Lee.
The college is expecting no rise in tuition as a result of the

change, he added.
Capilano's redesignation comes the same week other colleges
announced downsizings as a result of provincial cuts. Vancouver
Community College said Thursday it would be cutting programs,
eliminating student spaces and laying off as many as 80 faculty to
make up for a $5.8-million shortfall. Malaspina College laid off
seven faculty members the same day.
But at a media scrum after the Capilano College event,
Campbell painted the funding cuts as more of a reallocation of
resources, saying the province had actually added $68 million to
post-secondary spending this year.
"We want to make sure resources are going to things that are
in demand," he said.

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