WHEREAS colleges in northern and rural British Columbia provide closer to home education for those who otherwise cannot access training or education to provide necessary skills for employability; AND WHEREAS colleges in northern and rural British Columbia are challenged by distance and numbers when trying to meet the same requirements as colleges in more heavily populated areas; AND WHEREAS a large percentage of students looking to these northern and rural colleges have not completed high school: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the UBCM lobby the Government of British Columbia to develop a standard of college funding more closely reflecting the real costs of providing required training and education to the scattered population of rural and northern British Columbia.
Ministry of Advanced Education, Innovation Technology The Province recognizes the importance of quality post-secondary education to students, communities and employers in northern and rural British Columbia. Despite challenging economic conditions, the Province has maintained base operating grants to public colleges, universities and institutes, including higher average funding per FTE for northern and rural institutions compared to institutions in the South. In 201213, the Province will provide over 129 million in annual operating grants to the six colleges located in the North Island, Northeast, Nechako, North Coast, Cariboo, and Kootenay regions of the Province. In 201112, these institutions collectively provided instruction to over 10,000 full-time equivalent students. The resulting average Provincial operating grant per full-time student attending northern and rural institutions was over 10,000. In comparison, the Province will provide over 383 million in annual operating funding to the five colleges located in the South Island, Lower Mainland, and Okanagan regions in 201213. In 201112, these institutions instructed over 34,000 full-time equivalent students with an average operating grant of about 8,500 per student. Key provincial fiscal plan objectives are protection of essential health care, education, and social services and achievement of a balanced Provincial budget by 201314. Meeting these objectives requires maximizing resources and administrative efficiencies, including those within the post-secondary sector. Currently, post secondary partnerships and collaborations among institutions are an integral component of institutions capacity to develop and deliver new programs and opportunities for students.