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.