UBC’s Senate recently voted to “reluctantly” and “grudgingly” accept a government
mandated increase in enrolment of 3.2 per cent for the coming year. The vote
was a reversal of Senate’s decision in April to refuse to accept further enrolment
increases without an accompanying increase in funds.
Senator and Science Dean Barry McBride said a refusal to accept the increase
would have left the faculties in an even worse predicament than the one they
face this fall.
“Clearly Senate was unhappy to have to reverse its decision not to accept
any more students, but we felt the consequences were worse if we didn’t. The
dollar value was just too much,” he said.
Prior to passing the motion regarding enrolment, Senate amended it to read:
“that Senate reluctantly approve and grudgingly recommend approval by the Board
of Governors of the proposed enrolment plan, quotas and targets of the various
faculties and schools . . .”
The Ministry of Education, Skills and Training is withholding $2 million in
funding from UBC because the university did not meet the ministry’s targeted
enrolment increase this year.
Victoria had requested a four per cent enrolment increase in 1996/97 and a
further one per cent in 1997/98. UBC was also expected to make up a shortfall
from 1995/96, when enrolment was four per cent under funded levels.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education, Skills and Training has announced it
will reduce UBC’s operating grant to UBC by one-half per cent and has also frozen
tuition fees for a second year.
Dan Birch, vice-president, Academic, said the university was told to increase
its enrolment by 3.2 per cent — more than 800 students — in the coming academic
year.
McBride said he and Birch have met with senior ministry staff and are arranging
to meet with Education, Skills and Training Minister Paul Ramsey to convey Senate
concerns about the impact on academic quality.
“We want to express our very real concerns about the impact of what are essentially
severe cuts in our budget and our ability to deliver quality education, and
to carry out our mandate as a major research university,” McBride said.
“We want to assure the minister that we have been particularly effective in
increasing our efficiency . . . We have done our part in making this as efficient
an operation as we can. There just isn’t any room left to cut anymore without
seriously compromising research and teaching.”
Prof. Paul G. Harrison, chair of the Senate Admissions Committee, said Senate’s
decision not to resist the enrolment increases will have major implications
for the university next fall.
“In first-year courses we’re going to see the same sorts of problems that
were caused by increases last year,” he said, adding that last year’s bulge
of first-year students will now also pose a challenge as they move into second
year.
McBride said that the rising cost of “doing business” — in terms of materials,
staffing and other operating expenses — coupled with enrolment increases and
flat funding have led to fewer labs and larger class sizes in the Faculty of
Science and fewer resources for students. The Faculty of Arts and other faculties
face similar challenges.
