Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Results

Overview

Ministry Goals

At the most fundamental level, all the work undertaken by the Ministry and our system partners is done to fulfill the following two goals:

1. Goal 1: Excellent public and private post-secondary education that meets the needs and aspirations of British Columbians;
2. Goal 2: Excellent research and innovation that supports economic and social development.

Linkage to the Five Great Goals

The Government of British Columbia has identified five great goals to be achieved by 2015. These goals will guide activities and focus efforts across all ministries and government organizations.

Government’s five great goals are listed below. Each is followed by a short description of how it will be fulfilled in part by the work of the Ministry of Advanced Education and our partners in post secondary education and research and innovation.

1. Make British Columbia the best educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent.

This goal pervades all activities of the Ministry of Advanced Education. Our contribution to reaching this goal will be made by increasing opportunities for post-secondary students.

Specific activities will include:

• Expanding the public post-secondary system, adding 25,000 student spaces by 2009/10;
• Devoting some of the 25,000 spaces to programs linked to government’s key economic and social priorities, such as health care, oil and gas, research and innovation, and the 2010 Olympics;
• Developing strategies to increase graduate student enrolment and research;
• Reducing barriers to post-secondary education by expanding student financial assistance programs, including debt reduction, interest relief and loan forgiveness programs;
• Broadening efforts to improve post-secondary participation and success for Aboriginal learners;
• Expanding programs designed to improve adult literacy and basic skills, including English as a second language, adult basic education and adult special education;
• Supporting online learning in British Columbia by expanding cross-institutional connections and student services via BCcampus;
• Exploring options for building regional innovation capacity to support partnerships between post secondary institutions and local industry; and,
• Encouraging internationalization of our post-secondary institutions by promoting British Columbia as a destination for international students and supporting study abroad by domestic students.

2. Lead the way in North America in healthy living and physical fitness.

Our contribution to reaching this goal will be made by increasing training in health care professions. Specifically, we dedicate funds to increase the number of student spaces in selected health care programs, and to provide student financial aid incentives for students in health care programs.

3. Build the best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, special needs, children at risk, and seniors.

Our contribution to reaching this goal will include providing student financial assistance programs and Adult Special Education programs and services that help people with disabilities participate in post secondary education. The Ministry also supports public post-secondary institutions’ efforts to offer a variety of programs that prepare students for positions in child protection, mental health services, hospitals, schools, youth correction agencies, infant development programs and other related areas. In addition, the Ministry of Advanced Education funds capital construction in public post secondary education institutions that are designed to be accessible to students with physical disabilities.

4. Lead the world in sustainable environmental management, with the best air and water quality, and the best fisheries management — bar none.

Our contribution to reaching this goal will be made by supporting researchers at public post secondary institutions in their efforts to develop clean energy options, fuel cell technology and improve environmental management and conservation practices.

5. Create more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada.

Our contribution to reaching this goal will be made by supporting partnerships between post secondary institutions and industry, and by ensuring post-secondary education is responsive to the needs of the economy. The Ministry generates a foundation of labour market data and research with which to analyze supply requirements and develop relevant training and education strategies. Specific activities will include:

• Developing strategies to increase graduate student programs at post-secondary institutions, including internships to support university-industry linkages and research;
• Exploring options for building regional innovation capacity to support partnerships between post secondary institutions and local industry;
• Supporting programs and efforts at post-secondary institutions to train students in high-demand fields, and to impart the knowledge, skills and training that entrepreneurs need to open businesses and create jobs; and
• Supporting consortia linking industry, government and post-secondary institutions to meet the training needs of key areas such as oil and gas, hospitality and tourism, and aerospace.

Cross Ministry Initiatives

The Ministry of Advanced Education will cooperate with other ministries and government organizations to achieve outcomes and meet government priorities in areas of overlapping responsibility. Our top priorities in these areas are identified below.

The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

We will work with the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts, and other ministries to showcase British Columbia through the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In doing so we will celebrate provincial accomplishments and create lasting economic opportunities. Our activities will include supporting the British Columbia Hospitality and Tourism Education and Training Consortium in its efforts to address education and training needs in British Columbia’s hospitality and tourism industries.

ActNow

We will work with the Ministry of Health and other ministries on this initiative designed to encourage healthy living and physical fitness. Our activities will include providing funding and support to public post-secondary institutions to increase student spaces in programs to train health care professionals.

Aboriginal People

We will work with the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation and other ministries to ensure that the benefits of government’s five great goals are realized by Aboriginal people. Our activities will include consulting on a proposed post secondary education strategy.

Asia-Pacific Strategy

We will work with the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Education and other ministries to strengthen the Asia-Pacific Gateway. Our activities will include working with post-secondary institutions to expand quality international education activity, and marketing British Columbia as a study destination and reducing barriers that confront international students who choose to come here, supporting policy measures to ease transitions between study and post-graduation employment in British Columbia, expanding and diversifying academic links to the Asia-Pacific region, and helping establish the World Trade University as a private university.

Children’s Agenda

We will work with the ministries of Education, and Children and Family Development to improve outcomes for British Columbia’s children. Our activities will include expanding British Columbia’s public post secondary system so institutions can respond to student and community demand for relevant programming, such as early childhood education and social work. We will also improve access to education through student financial assistance programs, support family literacy projects in communities across the province, and work with the Ministry of Education on strategies to promote transition from K–12 to post secondary education.

Literacy

We will work with the Ministry of Education and other ministries to help make British Columbia the most literate jurisdiction in North America. Our activities will include supporting programs to improve adult literacy, including community-based literacy, adult basic education, adult special education and English as a second language training. We will also host a national forum on adult literacy in 2006 in partnership with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, and we will develop strategies to assist Aboriginal post-secondary students achieve participation and completion rates comparable to non-Aboriginal students.

Trades Training

While the Ministry of Economic Development now has responsibility for the Industry Training Authority (ITA), public post-secondary institutions continue to deliver the majority of trades training in British Columbia, so the Ministry of Advanced Education retains a key interest in trades training delivery. The Ministry of Advanced Education remains responsible for capital funding for the public post-secondary institutions, including trades facilities, and works with the ITA and the Ministry of Economic Development on capital requests for trades as well as on other industry training related issues.

Performance Plan

The Ministry’s goals and objectives described in this section are multi-year commitments for post secondary education and research and innovation in the province. These goals and objectives are consistent with the Ministry’s mandate and vision, and reflect the Ministry’s responsibility for providing leadership and policy direction to the post-secondary system, and supporting research, innovation and technology development in the province.

This section also provides brief descriptions of some activities and initiatives the Ministry will undertake to achieve its goals and objectives. Progress toward achieving the goals and objectives will be tracked by a series of performance measures. For each performance measure, baseline data and the most current available data are provided along with annual performance targets for the next three years. These targets reflect the ambitious agenda of the Ministry and function as ‘stretch’ targets.

The Service Plan has some changes from previous years. First, there is greater emphasis on the research and innovation sector due to the new mandate of the Ministry in this area. This is reflected in a new measure of research capacity.

As well, there has been a change to the performance measures, in line with the service plan guidelines, to focus on a smaller number of measures that present the most relevant and effective system-wide performance and accountability information to British Columbians. Measures that are no longer included in the Service Plan, but provide valuable planning information, will continue to be included into the Accountability Framework or otherwise monitored. Any changes to the measures will be discussed under the related objective. Another change arising from the service plan guidelines is that the baselines for the performance measures will provide the most current available data.

Finally, there have been two important changes in the calculation of student full-time equivalents (FTEs), which form the basis of several performance measures. First, there is a more comprehensive accounting of instructional delivery at colleges, university colleges and institutes, whereby all educational instruction is included in FTE calculations at the institution level. Second, the FTE counting methodology has been refined, with changes to program coding to align with other provincial jurisdictions, and the introduction of self-normed FTE divisors. A self-normed divisor identifies a normal full course load of a program as approved through the institution’s educational approval processes, and expressed in learning units . For more information on this topic, including a comparison of the old and new counting methodologies, refer to Appendix 1.

Underlying this goal is a desire to ensure students have affordable opportunities to pursue a wide range of high-quality post-secondary education and training programs. Further, these programs will be delivered in an efficient and integrated manner, and will foster knowledge and skills relevant to the social and economic needs of the province.

Core Business Areas:

• Educational Institutions and Organizations.
• Student Financial Assistance.
• Debt Service Costs and Amortization of Prepaid Capital Advances.
• Executive and Support Services.

Achieving this objective will ensure that there is enough space to accommodate students who wish to pursue post-secondary education, in line with the government’s goal of making British Columbia the most literate, best educated jurisdiction on the continent.

Strategies:

To achieve this objective, the Ministry will work to increase the size of the post secondary system to meet the continued growth in the 18 29 population and increase British Columbia’s public post-secondary participation rate. This is most clearly demonstrated in government’s commitment to add 25,000 student spaces to the public post-secondary system between 2004 and 2010 along with the associated capital and student financial assistance to ensure that finances are not a barrier to pursuing post secondary education.

It is also anticipated that the new spaces will result in lower university admission requirements, such that students with a B average are admitted. Although it is no longer a performance measure, universities and the Ministry continue to monitor direct entry and transfer student entrance Grade Point Average (GPA) cut-offs. There has been an initial decrease in the entrance requirements for direct entry students to Arts and Science programs at the three largest public universities (UBC, SFU, UVic) from a weighted average of 83.9 percent in 2003/04 to 83.5 percent in 2004/05, and a similar decrease for students transferring into second or third year university Arts and Science programs from a weighted average GPA cutoff of 2.8 in 2003/04 to 2.7 in 2004/05. When UNBC is included in the total, the entrance requirement for direct entry students dropped from a weighted average of 83.4 percent to 83 percent between 2003/04 and 2004/05, while the requirement for transfer students declined from a weighted average of 2.7 GPA to 2.4 GPA. In addition, it is important to note that university colleges have an open enrolment policy, meaning that all qualified students are accepted.

Further, a portion of these new student spaces will be dedicated to programs that train students in strategic skill areas, such as health care, computer science and computer engineering. For example, to address the need for more physicians in the province, a major expansion of the University of British Columbia medical program is underway in partnership with the University of Victoria and the University of Northern British Columbia. Other strategies to achieve this objective include expanding online learning opportunities, working with institutions to expand campus facilities, and enhancing system-wide strategic planning.

Performance Measures:

Progress toward this objective will be tracked with performance measures focusing on student spaces in public post-secondary institutions, and on numbers of credentials awarded each year. The student spaces measures are calculated as student FTEs. Beginning in the 2005/06 fiscal year, an updated method for calculating FTEs was implemented at public colleges, university colleges and institutes. Consequently, the baselines and targets shown below will not be comparable with student FTE data published previously. Further, in the Ministry’s forthcoming 2005/06 Service Plan Report, FTE data for 2004/05 will also be shown as calculated using both the old and updated methods. For more information, refer to Appendix 1. To better reflect the service plan guidelines’ emphasis on results-based performance measures, the Ministry will work with institutional partners over the coming year to explore the feasibility of using graduate measures for the strategic skill areas.

The credentials measure includes all credentials awarded for all programs that lead to a formal qualification (as opposed to a certificate of attendance) at all public post-secondary institutions. This includes all forms of post-secondary education from vocational training to graduate programs.

1	A full-time equivalent (FTE) student represents one student completing all the requirements of a full-time program in a period that extends over one normal academic year. For most general degree programs, one FTE represents 15 units per year, 30 credits per year, or 10 courses per year. See Appendix 1 for details on the updated college sector FTE counting methodology.
2	The FTE target data for the most current final data year (2004/05) and subsequent year (2005/06) is included to increase reporting transparency.
3	This measure is based on a three year average of credentials awarded in the academic year (September to August). For example, data for 2004/05 is an average of 2002/03, 2003/04 and 2004/05 academic years.

Achieving this objective will ensure that opportunities are available for students to pursue post secondary education throughout the province, and that barriers such as financial or geographic limitations are minimized.

Strategies:

Numerous strategies will contribute to achieving this objective. Government will continue to limit tuition increases to the rate of inflation. Student financial assistance programs will be available to help eligible students manage costs associated with education. Developmental programs offered at institutions across British Columbia will provide preparatory training for adults entering post-secondary education, or who want to improve their English language skills, or who have disabilities or combinations of learning difficulties that hinder academic success. The Ministry will consult with key stakeholders regarding a proposed Aboriginal post-secondary education strategy.

Accessibility is partially dependent on capacity in the sense that for students to access education, there must be space to accommodate them. Therefore, along with the strategies described above, the strategies linked to the capacity objective will also contribute to this objective.

Performance Measures:

Progress toward this objective will be tracked using four performance measures. The first measure focuses on public post-secondary participation among 18 29 year olds in British Columbia. It is important to note that there are also a substantial number of students enrolled in private post-secondary institutions that are not captured by this measure. The second measure focuses on the number of Aboriginal post-secondary students, and the percentage of the overall post-secondary population that is Aboriginal. The third measure focuses on student spaces in developmental programs. The fourth measure, which will be developed in the coming year, will focus on the affordability of post secondary education.

1	Data is based on headcount enrolment in the academic year.

Achieving this objective will ensure students are able to progress through the post secondary system and complete courses and programs in a reasonable amount of time.

Strategies:

The strategies to achieve this objective include providing funding and support to the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT). BCCAT works with post secondary institutions to facilitate transfer arrangements among institutions (both public and private). These arrangements enable students to receive credit for courses or programs taken previously at one or more institutions when pursuing further studies at other institutions.

Another strategy is Prior Learning Assessment. This is a service offered at institutions that allows a student to earn credit toward courses or programs if the student can demonstrate knowledge or skills equivalent to what would normally be acquired through conventional studies.

This objective will also be achieved through ongoing efforts to enhance system-wide strategic planning.

Performance Measure:

Progress toward this objective will be tracked with a measure focusing on the proportion of students who graduate within seven years of direct entry into their baccalaureate degree program, and proportion of university transfer students who graduate from their baccalaureate degree within five years of admission to university. The Student Financial Aid Turnaround measure, is no longer a Service Plan measure, in accordance with the service plan guidelines to not include operational level measures. However, student financial aid turnaround will continue to be monitored internally to ensure continued improvements. The Student Satisfaction with Transfer measure is no longer included, as it is more operational in nature and the Degree Completion Rate effectively captures the desired outcome, but will continue to be reported on in the Service Plan Report.

1	Students often choose to discontinue their studies temporarily for reasons unrelated to the efficiency of the post-secondary education system. (e.g., to pursue employment opportunities).

Achieving this objective will ensure that the education and training post-secondary students receive in British Columbia will exhibit a standard of excellence that is comparable or superior to that available anywhere in the world.

Strategies:

To achieve this objective the Ministry will work with post-secondary institutions to ensure that the high standards of excellence in British Columbia’s post-secondary system are maintained and enhanced, and that post-secondary education in the province is meeting students’ needs. Specific activities include a variety of means for gathering feedback from students, and using this information to identify areas with potential for improvement. For example, system-wide outcomes surveys are conducted annually to gauge former students’ perspectives on aspects of their education experience. Institutions also obtain student input through student participation on program development committees, student membership on governing boards, senates and education councils, and from student feedback forms.

Quality in new public and private degree programs is assured through the Degree Quality Assessment Board, which scrutinizes new degree proposals according to rigorous assessment criteria before determining whether programs should be approved. Similarly, the Private Career Training Institutions Agency provides quality assurance mechanisms for accredited private non-degree training institutions.

In addition, BCcampus ensures that educators have the technical support and resources they need to provide quality online instruction.

Performance Measure:

Progress toward this objective will be tracked with a measure that focuses on how former students assess the quality of the education they received.

1	Performance data for the 2006/07 Service Plan Report, based on the 2006 CISO and 2006 BGS, will be reported for Degree Graduates separate from totals for Diploma, Certificate and Other level former students. Sector totals will no longer be calculated or reported as a performance measure.
2	Baseline and performance data have been adjusted based on changes to this survey question and response scale starting with the 2004 survey, which aligns the response scales for the university and college sectors. The benchmark has been designed to incorporate these changes.
3	Survey responses collected using a five point response scale will be recalculated to the equivalent of a four point response scale, effective with the 2005/06 Service Plan Report, to allow greater comparability of responses between sectors. Baselines will be recalculated as appropriate. The existing target factors in the anticipated impact of the recalculated results.
4	Data is based on responses from former students who were registered in programs between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004 and who did not return to that program by January 2005.
5	Data is based on responses from graduates in the calendar year 2002.

Achieving this objective will ensure that education and training offered through the post secondary system are relevant to the knowledge, skills and abilities needed in the labour market.

Strategies:

To achieve this objective, the Ministry conducts research and analysis of the labour market and socio-economic trends. The findings of this research are made available to students to help them identify careers with good employment prospects, and make informed education and training decisions. Further, these research findings are available to post-secondary institutions, which are responsible for developing, evaluating and revising instructional programs.

Post-secondary institutions also maintain and enhance relevance through links with industry and employers to ensure that, where appropriate, programs provide up-to-date knowledge and skills needed by employers and entrepreneurs in a modern economy. In some key areas of the economy, such as aerospace, oil and gas, and hospitality and tourism, consortia have been established that link industry, government and institutions to ensure the current and long-term training needs of these sectors are met.

Performance Measure:

Progress toward this objective will be tracked with a measure that compares the unemployment rates of former post-secondary students to those of British Columbians without post-secondary education.

British Columbia will enhance its reputation as a world-class centre for research and innovation in a diverse range of fields and disciplines. The discoveries, innovations and knowledge created through research will create social and economic benefits throughout the province.

Core Business Areas:

• Research and Technology.
• Educational Institutions and Organizations.
• Student Financial Assistance.
• Debt Service Costs and Amortization of Prepaid Capital Advances.
• Executive and Support Services.

Achieving this objective will ensure that researchers in British Columbia have the personnel, resources and facilities necessary to fulfill the Ministry’s research goal.

Strategies:

To achieve this objective, the Ministry will provide funding and support to public post secondary institutions that conduct basic and applied research. This will include providing university operating grants, portions of which universities dedicate to research activity. The Ministry will also fund and administer the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF), which is the province’s major research infrastructure program. The BCKDF provides public post-secondary institutions, teaching hospitals and affiliated non-profit agencies with capital funding for research equipment and facilities. The program is designed to expand and improve British Columbia’s research infrastructure, thereby enhancing business opportunities and helping organizations develop and grow with a changing economy. The Ministry will also provide student financial assistance to eligible graduate students, who are an important component to British Columbia’s research infrastructure.

Performance Measure:

Progress toward this objective will be tracked with a measure that focuses on the resources that public universities have at their disposal for research and innovation. The highly qualified personnel measure was originally intended to be a measure of research quality, but through discussions with the Performance Measures Working Group (PMWG), it was decided that it better captured an aspect of research capacity. The Ministry, with the PMWG, will continue to explore the possibility of an effective research quality performance measure. As well, the Ministry will explore the possibility of a performance measure that reflects a wider range of research activity in British Columbia.

1	Highly qualified personnel include faculty, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Although the university colleges, colleges and institutes conduct applied research in British Columbia, this measure includes only the research universities (UBC, SFU, UVic and UNBC). It also does not reflect the wider range of research that occurs in British Columbia.

Achieving this objective will ensure that research activity in British Columbia produces results with relevant social and economic benefits.

Strategies:

To achieve this objective, the Ministry will contribute funding and support to the post secondary universities, to the BCKDF, and to agencies that facilitate the commercialization of new technologies. One such agency is the British Columbia Innovation Council (BCIC). BCIC is guided by a four-part mandate to support research and innovation in the province. First, it helps expedite the introduction of technology-based products to international markets. Second, it accelerates the transfer of research with economic potential from universities and research institutions to the commercialization process. Third, it partners in the development and promotion of a province-wide strategy for science, innovation and technology. And fourth, it builds public awareness of the achievements of the province’s research sector, and encourages youth to pursue research- and technology-related careers.

This objective will also be achieved in part through the funding and support the Ministry provides to public post-secondary institutions that conduct basic and applied research, and to the BCKDF.

Performance Measure:

Progress toward this objective will be tracked with a measure that focuses on the commercial applications that result from research at public post-secondary institutions. Currently, this measure is based on a single year result, which provides valuable annual information, but may not effectively represent the multi-year research cycle. This measure will be reviewed in consultation with the Performance Measures Working Group to better address the realities of the research cycle, including the necessary time lag between funding and commercialization, and fluctuations between years.

1	Data for this measure is based on administrative data provided to the Ministry by SFU, UBC and UVic for the fiscal year indicated.

Ministry Performance Plan Summary