The Informer Page 7

December 12,1988

Summer ’89 Faculty Seminar

in the Soviet Union

Interested in changes taking place in the Soviet
Union? How does an opportunity to experience Glasnost
first-hand sound? The Northwest International
Education Association is sponsoring a travel seminar to
the U.S.S.R. June 18 - July 2, 1989. All interested
faculty and staff are invited to participate in this unique
educational opportunity.

Following a useful orientation in Seattle, June 15 -
17, the group will spend four days in Moscow. There, it
will meet with representatives of the State Committee
on Public Education and researchers at the Institute of
U.S.A. and Canada Studies.

Then it’s on to six days in Vilnius for lectures and
discussions at the Vilnius State University. As in
Moscow, these will directly relate to recent reforms in
Soviet higher education. Home visits with Lithuanian
families, tours of a collective farm or factory, anda
pioneer camp will broaden our experience to include a
slice of everyday life.

A trip to Leningrad for four days with visits at a
research institute or Polytechnic, sightseeing, and a
theatre or concert should provide an upbeat ending to
the experience.

The $3,000 price tag ($3,200 for non-NIEA
members) covers all expenses including the three-day
orientation. If you plan to join this remarkable journey,
we need to know soon. A down payment of $300 is due
by March 1, 1989.

For more information, contact your NIEA
representative, Doug Jardine, or the Association c/o
Mary Judd, P.O. Box 98000, Des Moines, WA 98198.
Phone (206) 878-3710, Ext. 248.

Staff P.D. Committee Named

Five staff members have been nominated to the
newly-constituted staff development committee. Robert
Turner, Dean of Student and Instructional Services, is
pleased to accept and approve the names of Lesley
Elchuk, Lynne Hamilton, Joan Hollman, Betty Merrall,
and Karen Waugh.

The Committee’s primary task is to make
recommendations on a newly-established staff
professional development fund to the Director of
Personnel, who will act in an ex-officio capacity. The
Personnel office will also supply clerical assistance as is
required for the committee to meet its mandate.

We are delighted with the prospects of having this
committee heighten the staff professional development
opportunities at Capilano College, and wish to extend to
them, in advance, our thanks for their future efforts.
Thanks too, to Steve Gallagher and others for helping to
get this initiative off the ground.

— Robert Turner, Dean of Student and Instructional
Services

Access Committee Report
Misses the Mark

The Provincial Government’s report on access to
advanced education and job training in B.C. missed the
mark totally by ignoring the impending crisis of access in
the Lower Mainland, says Academic Dean Frank Gelin.
“We have a problem now, it will be a crisis by the year
2000 if substantial action is not taken to provide more
space.”

The government’s 26-page report, which makes
several recommendations toward improving access in the
interior and northern regions of the province, and
improving access for natives, the disabled, and prisoners,
is “essentially an affirmative action report,” says the
Dean, adding, “I don’t disagree with that.” The report, he
points out, “rightly speaks to the problems of access by
the disadvantaged, but in terms of numbers, the problem
of access in the Lower Mainland may exceed by several
times the problems associated with the disadvantaged
populations or those affected by geographical location.”

Gelin is particularly concerned that the Access
Committee’s recommendation to establish a “University
of the North” (in Prince George with centres in the
outlying areas) could severely impinge on the quality of
education available in the Lower Mainland. “The
proportion of money available is fixed. If they build a
small university, it will exacerbate the problems we have
here.... Cap’s problems represent a microcosm of the
problems of the Lower Mainland. The growth we will see
east of Surrey in the next decade requires looking at
developing a university and more colleges here.” Frank
says he would not object to such a development, however,
if the government assessed the Lower Mainland’s needs
as well.

In addition to the Northern university suggestion,
the report recommends that a University-College System
be established in sparsely populated college regions,
whereby students could earn university degrees through
a co-operative arrangement between the colleges,
universities and the Open Learning Agency. Other
recommendations include giving degree-granting status
to Okanagan College, waiving tuition and textbook fees
for basic literacy courses, and increasing access for
natives, disabled, and prisoners. Funding
recommendations include giving educational institutions
multi-year commitments on operating and capital grants
so they are able to maintain program quality, making
more resources available for co-operative education
programs, and improving daycare facilities.

After releasing the report, mid-October, the
provincial government initiated a two-month
consultation period which will result in a final set of
recommendations and an action plan to go to Cabinet
early this winter.