Ministry Overview and Core Business Areas

The Ministry of Advanced Education provides funding and policy direction for British Columbia's public post-secondary education system, and administers student financial assistance programs. The ministry also administers provincial statutes governing public and private post-secondary institutions and some professions. These activities are encompassed within the following five Core Business Areas:

1. Educational Institutions and Organizations

The ministry provides funding to British Columbia's public universities, university colleges, community colleges, institutes, and other organizations that support the province's public post-secondary education system.

2. Industry Training and Apprenticeship

The ministry provides funding to the Industry Training Authority (ITA), which oversees the industry training system in British Columbia. The ITA works with industry and the post-secondary education system to meet the needs of industry learners.

3. Student Financial Assistance

Student financial assistance is available to students at the post-secondary level attending public and designated private institutions. It combines repayable loans, non-repayable assistance, and debt reduction measures awarded on the basis of each student's need. It also provides merit-based awards. In addition, the ministry administers student aid programs on behalf of the Federal Government, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, and other British Columbia ministries.

4. Debt Service Costs and Amortization of Prepaid Capital Advances

The ministry provides funding to public post-secondary institutions to finance capital projects including upgrades, renovations, replacements, expansions, and new facilities and equipment. It services the debt associated with these projects and amortizes the resulting assets over their economic lives.

5. Executive and Support Services

The ministry provides leadership, establishes policy, and administers accountability and planning processes for British Columbia's public post-secondary education system. The ministry also establishes policy concerning private post-secondary institutions, and supports the Degree Quality Assessment Board, which administers a quality assessment process for new public and private degree programs. Support to the ministry in the areas of human resources, information systems, records management, financial management, and information privacy is provided by the Management Services Division, whose budget is reported by the Ministry of Education.