Performance Reporting

Performance Measure 28: Student aid application turnaround time

A key aspect of improving Ministry business practices is timely service to clients. Through automation and effective focusing of Ministry resources, the time required to process student financial aid applications can be reduced and additional verification and audit activities can be conducted.

This measure is the number of working days required to process complete student financial aid applications.

Interpretations of this measure must recognize that, as a measure of the time to process complete applications, delays that result from incomplete information are not included in calculating turnaround time.

Results:

Increased use of online applications (over 50 per cent in 2003/04) and the resulting reduction in missing information enabled the Ministry to meet this target, which demonstrates an improvement in Ministry business practices.

Performance Measure 29: Ministry program management budget as a percentage of overall Ministry budget

Efficiency in program management through reorganization will allow the Ministry to focus on core business and deliver New Era commitments. This measure compares total program management costs to the total operating costs for the Ministry and provides an indication of the efficiency in administering Ministry programs.

Results for this measure are obtained by comparing the program management costs to the total operating costs for the Ministry.

A potential risk associated with this measure is that negotiated wage settlements and external charges may affect results.

Results:

The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to the wind-up of the Industry Training and Apprenticeship Commission as well as efficiency in administering Ministry programs.

For greater clarity, this measure has been reworded for 2004/05 to "Ministry program management costs as a percentage of overall Ministry spending."

Performance Measure 30: Number of career training institutions required to be registered

This measure identifies the number of private career training institutions that are subject to legislated registration requirements. The new Private Career Training Institutions Act (PCTIA) will help reduce red tape for the private training sector by narrowing the scope of the registration requirement from all private post-secondary institutions to only those institutions offering career-related training programs that meet a time and cost threshold. This measure assesses the extent to which the Government has reduced red tape in this sector.

The Private Post-Secondary Education Commission (PPSEC) collects and maintains data on registered private training institutions on a continuous basis. When it is in place, the new Private Career Training Institutions Agency will collect and maintain this data.

It should be noted that this measure only addresses one regulatory component for the private training industry since this industry is also subject to a range of other regulatory requirements. The schedule for bringing the new legislation, and the narrowed registration requirement, into force will affect progress achieving the target for this measure. As well, there may be fluctuations in the number of private institutions offering career-training programs in response to changes in student demand and general business conditions, which may also affect achievement of the target.

Results:

The selection of the 2003/04 target for a reduction in the number of registered institutions was based on the assumption that the new legislative framework for private career training institutions would be implemented in early 2003/04.

The initial board was appointed in May 2004 and implementation of the new legislative framework will soon be underway. This measure has been deleted for 2004/05 since it focuses on a broader strategic activity (i.e., reducing the regulatory burden experienced by the private training sector) rather than a specific performance outcome/result (e.g., specific reduction in the number of regulatory requirements and/or related costs for private institutions).

Performance Measure 31: Number of AVED regulatory requirements

Government's New Era commitment to reduce the regulatory burden in British Columbia by one third is consistent with global trends in regulatory reform and management. The regulatory environment plays a key role in competitiveness and economic prosperity.

Regulation is an important tool Governments use to achieve public interest objects. However, the size and scope of regulation has increased in British Columbia as the complexity and interdependence of public policy objectives have increased. As a result, outdated or poorly designed regulation can dampen innovation and create unnecessary barriers to investment. Regulatory reform can boost efficiency, reduce costs, stimulate innovation, and improve competitiveness. Regulatory reform also helps Government promote policy goals such as consumer protection.

Aligned with the Government-wide commitment to reduce the regulatory burden by one third by fiscal 2004/05, the Ministry of Advanced Education committed to reducing its regulatory requirements by one third by 2004/05. This measure will track progress toward meeting the Ministry's commitment. It is measured with reference to the Ministry's baseline regulatory count as of June 5, 2001 (1,861 regulatory requirements) and amounts to the actual net number of regulatory requirements removed from statutes, regulations, and associated policies for which the Ministry is responsible. The Ministry's progress toward the measure is tracked in the Government-wide regulatory requirement database maintained by the Deregulation Office, Ministry of Small Business and Economic Development.

It should be noted that limited availability of space on the legislative agenda could affect the timing of implementing remaining deregulation amendments. In addition, introduction of new regulatory requirements in legislation, regulation, or policy could also potentially have an adverse effect on the Ministry's regulatory reduction targets. For the purpose of tracking progress toward achievement of the Government-wide target, legislation contributing to reductions in the Ministry's regulatory requirement count must be passed no later than June 5, 2004, and brought into force prior to December 31, 2004, while regulations and policy changes must be implemented by June 5, 2004. The Ministry's own timelines for implementation of measures have been adjusted accordingly. It is possible that operational requirements for institutions and/or agencies affected will not permit legislative, regulatory and policy changes to be implemented by these prescribed deadlines, but the impact of the planned changes underway will nevertheless be felt in future years.

Results:

There were delays in implementing deregulation initiatives on anticipated schedule, due to operational requirements of institutions and agencies affected. However, the Ministry remains on target for achievement of its contribution to Government-wide targets by prescribed deadlines. Consequently, this measure has not been included in the 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan.

Performance Measure 32: Length of time required to process web-based degree proposals

This measure is the length of time (in months) required to process degree applications using the Post-Secondary Institutions Proposal System from the time a proposal is submitted to the Degree Quality Assessment Board to when the Minister grants or denies consent or the application is withdrawn. The length of time provides an indication of whether the degree approval process is streamlined and efficient and contributes to the objective that Ministry business practices be effective and efficient. The performance target is evidence of a reasonable commitment to private and public institutions making application for new degree programs that the approval process will be streamlined and efficient.

A number of variables that may affect the processing timeframe are outside the control of the Ministry; for example:

• The quality and completeness of an application based on the guidelines and criteria;
• Feedback from the 30-day peer review process or public comments on the notice of intent that may result in an applicant making revisions;
• Delay by the applicant; and
• The ability to enter contracts with and schedule expert panels to conduct organization review and degree program review if required by the Degree Quality Assessment Board.

Results:

The Degree Authorization Act came into force on November 7, 2003. The quality assurance process conducted by the Degree Quality Assessment Board did not commence until that time so no applications had been received and processed to Ministerial decision by March 31, 2004.

This measure has been deleted for 2004/05 since it focuses on a broader strategic activity (i.e., reducing the time required to process web-based degree proposals) rather than a specific performance outcome/result.

Performance Measure 33: Per cent of colleges, university colleges, and institutes meeting established thresholds for accuracy, timeliness and completeness

The Post-Secondary Central Data Warehouse (CDW) is housed in the Ministry, and contains standardized student level data provided by the 22 public colleges, university colleges and institutes in British Columbia. The data are encrypted so that individual students cannot be identified.

In October 2002, the Ministry implemented a Data Quality Management Plan (DQMP) concerning information submitted to the CDW. The purpose of the DQMP is to ensure that the quality of the data is sufficient for research analysis and decision-making purposes, and to satisfy accountability requirements. Under the DQMP, the Ministry established expectations in the following areas:

• Timeliness — institutions must provide their submissions on or before the established deadline;
• Accuracy — institutions must complete processes established to ensure accuracy such as generating standard reports to review submissions, completing quality assurance checks and providing written registrar approval; and
• Completeness — completeness thresholds have been established for 14 of the 161 data elements collected in the CDW. The thresholds have progressively increased over the past three submissions, reaching the maximum threshold of 99 per cent for the November 2003 submission.

Institutions submit data to the CDW by May 30 and November 30 annually. The results for the November submission are used to calculate results for this measure. The Ministry reports on submission results in key areas and compares them to thresholds identified in the DQMP.

It should be noted that the results for this measure may be affected by the ability of institutions to submit data in a timely, accurate and complete manner; and by the large number of contributing institutions.

Results:

The 2003/04 target for this measure has been met. It should be noted that eight institutions met all three of the established thresholds, while the majority of institutions missed the threshold for one or two data elements by small margins.

Performance Measure 34: Post-secondary system accountability framework developed and implemented

The Ministry was tasked with developing a Public Post-Secondary Education Accountability Framework as a means to bring about enhanced results-oriented accountability in the post-secondary system.

This framework is a guide to the Ministry and the public post-secondary institutions in reporting publicly on what was achieved compared to what was intended. It consists of an annual cycle within which:

• goals and objectives for the system are identified;
• achievement of those goals is allocated to system partners;
• performance measures are developed to assess achievement of the goals;
• there is public reporting of information on performance; and
• the framework is periodically reviewed for continuous improvement.

This is a measure of progress toward development and implementation of the Accountability Framework.

Results:

The Accountability Framework was implemented in the 2003/04 fiscal year. Although the Framework will undergo continuous evaluation and review, the target for this measure has been reached. Therefore, the measure has been deleted for 2004/05.