Independence is one of the hallmarks of a great university and of the educational opportunities it provides. The independence of our institutions of post-secondary learning is perhaps in deeper jeopardy than at any time in recent history with the issuance and signing of mandate letters, Government Letters of Expectations, this past spring. Reading superficially through the letters doesn’t necessarily set off any alarm bells, but that’s precisely the weaselly nature of the document. These letters, and some addenda, are to be found on the Web at the links below, and all include the same material in the letter itself, it seems.
After the preamble on the purpose of the document we get:
In the spirit of collaboration and cooperation, the Institution agrees to:
– In establishing the Institution’s priorities, consider the Government’s goals of supporting our economy by controlling spending to balance the budget, job creation and investment in the province, and improving social programs that support families of every description and improve the lives o f British Columbians.
Notice the government buzzwords about social programs and families? Think of how good the balancing of the budget has been generally for families and social programs. Job creation and investment both look like code for “we will only fund programs that do what business wants.” It’s good that they only want the institution to consider the Government’s priorities.
– Work in partnership with the Government and Aboriginal communities, organizations and institutes to implement the Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education and Training Policy Framework and Action Plan in order to increase the participation and success of Aboriginal learners.
This tells me that the Government wants to do to Aboriginal communities what they’ve done to the rest of the citizens of the Province.
– Assist in advancing Government’s International Education Strategy, including promoting greater internationalization o f the education system, attracting and retaining more international students, and providing increased opportunities for students and educators to study and work abroad.
Here we see the drive to generate trade by importing international students we can soak for exorbitant tuition and housing while excluding needy students from British Columbia, all of whom should move to Peace River gas fields or go straight to Tar Sands Land.
– Continue to support the development and adoption of open education resources, including Government’s open textbook initiative, to increase affordability for students and their families.
Washes of material on-line, mostly unmediated, selected texts available for free while the real stuff hides out in bookstores for very real money, but keep this young riffraff off the campus and as far as possible from Gordon Head, Burnaby Mountain and West Point Grey.
– Support seamless delivery of education and skills training for students from high school right through entry into the workforce.
Start students down this path while they’re young and have neither choice nor discernment and keep hammering that message until they get let out with a mountain of debt to toil as drones with only the light of BCTV and National Post to inform them of their good fortune.
– Collaborate with Government to set targets for post-secondary graduates to ensure British Columbia’s current and future labour market needs are met.
We don’t do broad-ranging inquiry, research and knowledge. Cultural heritage? Take it elsewhere.
– Continue to minimize overhead costs and, where appropriate, consolidate functions across different post-secondary institutions.
Cut programs that don’t pay their way in the perhaps vain hope that one of those other universities will fill the gap. Not our worry.
– Undertake an institution-wide core review of post-secondary education programming to ensure student seats are being filled .
Core review is an oft-recurring code for insane cutbacks. A good way to ensure seats are filled is to create an artificial shortage.
– Comply with the Government’s tuition limit policy that limits tuition and mandatory fee increases. For 2014/15, fee increases will be limited to two percent. A copy ofthe tuition limit policy can be found on the Ministry’s website.
Meanwhile, what has been the direction and magnitude of salary increases for those close to the Premier’s office?
Under the heading General Institutional Accountabilities, we see the following:
– Conduct its affairs in a manner consistent with the spirit and intent of all applicable legislative, regulatory and policy framework established by the Government, and with the principles of integrity, efficiency, effectiveness and service.
Let she who is without blame cast the first stone.
– Ensure audited financial results (before endowment contributions) achieve a balanced or surplus position on an annual basis, and develop strategies to ensure this is achieved.
These strategies must include shredding of union contracts, keeping the faculty in line should they start to get uppity, or even restless, and offloading expenses down the hierarchy wherever possible.
– Conduct board matters in accordance with the Government’s best practice guidelines-
BC Governance and Disclosure Guidelines for Governing Boards o fPublic Sector Organizations, which can be found on the Ministry of Finance website.
How much did those Olympic Games cost? How about the Millennium Line? B.C. Place refurb? Site C?
– Ensure any board remuneration is publicly disclosed on the Institution’s website as required by the Public Sector Employers’ Council Secretariat.
Along with all the other financial shenanigans we’ve seen out of Victoria…
– Comply with the Government’s requirements to be carbon neutral under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act.
Carbon Neutral? Liquid.Natural.Gas. Let she who is without blame cast the first stone.
– Comply with the Government’s freeze on executive and management compensation announced September 2012.
– Comply with the 2014 Economic Stability Mandate which applies to collective agreements that expire on or after December 31 , 2013 . A summary o f the mandate is available on the Public Sector Employers’ Council Secretariatwebsite.
Remember those union guys? They’re a botheration on the spirit.Do whatcha gotta, but beat them back.