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skos:note """ HIGHER
EDUCATION
IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
and a plan for
THE FUTURE
John B. Macdonald
HIGHER EDUCATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
and a plan for
THE FUTURE
HIGHER EDUCATION
IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
and a plan for
THE FUTURE
John B. Macdonald
Published by
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
VANCOUVER, CANADA, 1962
Experience shows that a society, however successful it may
have been in the past, will not long survive if it cannot cope
with the tasks of a new era. For this reason every civilised
society tends to develop institutions which will enable it to acquire, digest, and advance knowledge relevant to the tasks
which, it is thought, will confront it in the future. Of these
institutions, the university is the most important.
Cited by Eric Ashby in Universities Under Siege
Contents
Preface 1
New Dimensions: Higher Education in the Years Ahead 4
Excellence as a Goal 19
The Present Position of Higher Education 25
Kinds of Educational Institutions Required 47
Locations for Colleges in British Columbia 57
Assistance for Higher Education: Academic Board and
Grants Commission 77
Governing Bodies for New Institutions 87
Financing of New Colleges 91
Conclusion 104
Acknowledgements 106
Appendices 110
Tables
1 Enrolment in University of British Columbia, Victoria
College, and Senior Matriculation, 1955-62 8
2 British Columbia Population and Projections, 1921-75 11
3 Full-Time Graduate Enrolment by Province and Faculty,
1961-62 12-13
4 Graduate Students as Percentage of Total Enrolment at
Selected Universities 14
5 Educational Level of Students Admitted for the First Time
at University of British Columbia 30
6 A Classification of Parental Occupations as Stated by the
Students at The University of British Columbia,
1961-62 35
7 Professional Objectives of Students at The University of
British Columbia, 1961-62 36
8 Distribution of Registration by Regions During Regular
Session, 1959-62 38
9 Distribution of Full-Time Teaching Staff, 1956-62 39
10 Summer Session Enrolments, 1956-62 40
11 Projections of University and College Enrolment in British
Columbia 58
12 Total Student Pool from which First-Year Students Will
Be Drawn 62
13 Propensity for Higher Education: First Year-Grade XIII
Enrolment as a Percentage of the Student Pool 73
14 Estimated Operating Costs Western Lower Fraser
Valley 94
15 Summary of Capital Costs of Proposed New Institutions
for Phase 2, 1965-71 94
16 Estimated Operating Costs, Okanagan and West Kootenay
Colleges 94
17 Approximate Cost of Instruction per Full-Time Equivalent
Student by Faculty, University of British Columbia, 1961-
62 95
18 Allocation of Students to Existing and Proposed Institutions, 1965-66 and 1971-72, and Estimated Operating Costs
of These Institutions According to Projected Canadian
Averages 98
19 Estimated Amounts and Timing of Capital Expenditures:
Western Lower Fraser Valley, Okanagan College, and West
Kootenay College 102
20 First-Year Enrolment by Region, Actual 1961 and Projected 1965 and 1971 (Attached to Inside Back Cover)
21 Projected First-Year and Total Enrolment by
Institution 118-119
Figures
1 University and College Population as a Percentage of 18
to 21 Year-Olds, 1961 and 1971 9
2 Enrolment at University of British Columbia,
1915-1962 27
3 A Plan for Post-High School Education 52
4 Total Population by Region, 1961 63
5 Population Increase Past and Projected for Selected Areas
of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia 65
6 Travel Time by Automobile to University of British Columbia and Stormont Interchange 67
7 Okanagan Region 69
8 West Kootenay Region 71
9 Projected Total Enrolment, 1971 74
10 Proposed Channels of Communication for Self-Governing
Institutions 89
Appendices
A Floor-Space Standards for University of British Columbia
Teaching Departments/Basic Instructional Space for 1,000
Students 110
B Capital Costs for Okanagan College to 1971 112
C Capital Costs for West Kootenay College to 1971 113
D Capital Costs to 1971 of a Western Lower Fraser Valley
College 114
E Methods Used for Projecting Enrolments 114
Preface
In recent years many citizens of British Columbia have been
aware of a growing need for additional opportunities and
facilities in higher education. Unfortunately, the problems of
rapid growth at the University have been so pressing that
there has been little opportunity to study the long-term requirements for higher education throughout the Province.
The time has now come when plans must be made if British
Columbia is to provide those educational opportunities which
are essential for its social, economic, and cultural progress.
The matter is one of the gravest urgency.
As documented in this report, the anticipated growth in demand for higher education in the next eight to ten years will
require not only additional institutions, but also an extension
of the aims of the University itself, particularly in the field of
graduate studies. The physical facilities needed, the operational funds required, and the demand throughout the world
for qualified teachers and professors, all these pose problems
of a totally new dimension for British Columbia.
The critical need for realistic planning and the urgency of
reaching decisions are the basic reasons why this study was
undertaken. It represents the results of personal investigation
and a series of studies undertaken for me and at my request
by members of the Faculty. The studies have brought me into
direct contact with many groups and persons as shown in an
appendix, and I have profited greatly from their careful consideration of the needs for the future. However, the views expressed are my own, and thus represent my recommendations
about the course which should be taken if we are to develop
an adequate system of higher education in the Province. It is
my hope that my recommendations will be favourably considered by the Senate and Board of Governors of the University of British Columbia, its Faculty, the Victoria College
Council, the Provincial Government and the citizens of British
Columbia. In this report I endeavour to provide essential facts
as a basis for action. Doubtless some of my recommendations
will be debated. However, the urgency of the situation requires that decisions be made promptly. Let us recognize too
that delay is in itself a decision for which we will pay dearly.
I have had only one purpose in conducting these studies
and preparing this report: that has been to provide a plan for
the best possible development in higher education. Any effective plan must be consistent with our current development,
our potential for growth, and the wise and prudent use of our
resources to achieve excellence.
The preparation of this report involved the accumulation
and analysis of numerous data bearing on populations, school
performance, the economy of the Province, geography, cultural and artistic developments and aspirations, industrial and
scientific prospects, and the attitudes and objectives of various groups and communities. Visits relevant to the study were
made to such representative centres as Victoria, Abbotsford,
Chilliwack, Prince George, Nelson, Trail, Cranbrook, Pentic-
ton, Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops, Revelstoke, Salmon Arm,
and Nanaimo. I also had discussions with representatives of
the British Columbia School Trustees Association from the
Greater Vancouver area and the Lower Fraser Valley, the
Alumni Association of the University of British Columbia,
and the British Columbia Teachers' Federation. I have made
2
wide use of many studies on higher education in Canada, the
United States, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.
There is everywhere today an evident concern over the problems of higher education: a total of 153 studies have been
conducted since 1956 in the United States alone. Pertinent
data are not lacking.
For me this study has been very informative. The warmth
and enthusiasm with which I was greeted on my visits is something for which I shall be always grateful. I was particularly
impressed with the vision and understanding shown by many
persons I met. The briefs submitted to me by groups and individuals have been most helpful in the preparation of this
report.
At the time of writing, this report does not represent official
policy of the Board of Governors or the Senate of the University of British Columbia. While I must take full responsibility
for the views expressed, I am indebted to many of my colleagues for their wise counsel and assistance. They have made
my task the lighter and my satisfaction the greater.
John B. Macdonald
December, 1962
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, Canada.
New Dimensions:
Higher Education in the Years Ahead
The kind of new world into which we are plunging headlong
will bear little resemblance to the world we now know. If we
are wise enough and fortunate enough to avoid global warfare
and nuclear destruction, it will be because we embrace the
opportunities and responsibilities of this new world. Canadians and the Canadian nation have a vital role to play. In
the past, we have never been able to persuade citizens and
governments that they should support education at the level
which is required in the twentieth century. Yet education is
the major key to the progress of mankind and the preservation of those rights and privileges which we believe should
be shared by all men. The new knowledge of science, properly
used, will not only permit us to flourish as a nation, but also
allow us to bring the underdeveloped countries rapidly
through those stages of development which took richer and
more favoured nations centuries to attain.
In the realm of scientific and technological change and the
effect of these two forces on every aspect of human life, more
has been accomplished in the last half century than in all
previous human history. Advances in medicine and the science
of human nutrition, the discovery of nuclear fission, and the
4
whole vista of good and evil that it has opened up to us, new
modes of transportation which shrink the physical earth,
man's venture into space which explodes our mental horizons,
discoveries in electronics, the invention and perfection of computers which permit computations previously impossible in
the lifetime of one man—all these factors contribute to make
human society more complex and more demanding than it has
ever been before. At the same time, in the underdeveloped
areas, there is a new surge for self-advancement. Many countries that have been deprived of the basic and fundamental
needs of life are reaching out to seize their share of the
world's riches. By sharing the benefits of the new learning on
an international scale, humanity can reach a level it has never
before known. The improvement and amelioration of man's
lot can be markedly advanced by the effective and determined
application of scientific and technological knowledge to the
problems of human society.
Indeed, we are witnesses to the first act of a new scientific
revolution and each of us is a member of the cast. Our communities, our work, our play, our lives are shaped by that
revolution; and if man is to survive as a species, and if we
are to prosper as a nation and as individuals, we must strive
to understand the meaning of the revolution as we plan for
the years ahead.
As a measure of the pace of change, it has been stated that
90 per cent of all the scientists who ever lived are alive today.
In 1940 we knew nothing about the vast potentials of atomic
energy. At the moment, however, in 1962 the United States
of America is spending 2.5 billion dollars on this new field
and its many subdivisions; as a direct consequence, thousands
of new occupations have been created, and these demand men
and women who are trained in novel skills which can be
taught only by our institutions of higher education. Similarly,
space research, now the second largest sector of the economy
on this continent, was beyond our most extravagant dreams
a short ten years ago. Today this enterprise requires vast numbers of persons competent to deal with new technical problems in fields such as electronics, materials development,
5
fuels, fabrics, foods, medications, computor science, astronomy, physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, and instrument design. The list is endless and it goes on lengthening.
These are but a few of the challenges and opportunities of
a technological society, and Canada, in increasing measure,
must share in them.
It is for this new world when the skills of today become
obsolete tomorrow that we must fashion our education. The
days are rapidly disappearing when the man with little formal training can make an appreciable contribution to our
national strength. Muscle-power has been almost totally replaced by the machine. But what is of more importance and
direct interest to the individual is that in the world of the
twentieth century he must be so educated and his mind must
be so trained that he is able to live with some measure of
mental ease in a world of constant activity, turmoil and ferment. Education must be designed to permit individuals to
interpret and understand the revolutionary changes which are
occurring everywhere. The persons who will make the greatest
contribution to society will be those educated to the limits of
their capacities and talents, by the best kinds of educational
institutions we can finance and staff.
Human resources are our most important asset for tomorrow. The nation making inadequate use of its citizens through
failure to educate them will be a nation doomed to economic
distress at best, and economic disaster at worst.
What are the prospects for British Columbia in this age of
rapid change? The Province has been blessed with an abundance of natural resources which have provided a basis for
an expanding industrial economy. The population has soared
more rapidly here than in the rest of Canada: it is the only
Province which has shown an increase in population in every
decade since 1925. British Columbia has grown even faster
than the meteoric California, increasing by 41.4 per cent as
opposed to California's 38.8 per cent in the years 1945-1956.1
The growth in population in Canada during the same period
was 30 per cent.
Average incomes in British Columbia continue to be among
6
the highest in Canada. At the same time, there has been an
increasing shift away from the primary industries from which
the Province has derived its economic strength—agriculture,
forestry, fishing, and mining.
By 1959 these four industries employed only 11.6 per cent
of our labour force as compared with 29 per cent twenty years
earlier. Currently the percentage of persons engaged in vocations involving public or personal services, trade, transportation, storage and communications has increased to 60 per
cent of our total labour force.2 Finally, manufacturing occupies about 21 per cent of the employed population. Manufactured goods have been concentrated in relatively few items,
notably forest products, but increasing diversification in products is already noticeable. The United States is the chief
export market and continues to grow in importance. Growth
of exports to other countries has been slow. An increasingly
serious problem has been that of unemployment because jobs
for the unskilled become scarcer and scarcer as machines replace men. Concurrently the Province is experiencing a shortage of skilled and professional people.
There can be no doubt that the Province will continue to
grow. It is predicted that the population will be approximately two millions by 1971 and three millions by 1981.8 Power
development, improved transportation, natural resources and
access to foreign markets could attract a host of new industries, and thereby benefit the life of every citizen in British
Columbia. Encouragement will also come from the increased
domestic market in Western Canada (7-8 millions by 1981) .*
In final analysis, however, the increasingly complex and specialized industries of the future will be established only where
there is a pool of educated human beings, trained to serve
these industries. In consequence, a new challenge faces British
Columbia in the years that lie ahead.
Though we are blessed with a host of physical attributes
for a healthy economy, the key to competition and growth is
the condition of the human resources. Do we have the vision,
imagination, determination and courage to plot an educational
course which will ensure our position in the front ranks? Or
7
TABLE 1. ENROLMENT IN UBC, VICTORIA COLLEGE,
AND SENIOR MATRICULATION, 1955-62
(WINTER SESSION ONLY)
VICTORIA SENIOR
YEAR UBC COLLEGE MATRICULATION
1955-56
6,403
397
879
1956-57
7,699
575
814
1957-58
8,986
672
836
1958-59
9,950
866
1,003
1959-60
10,642
1,054
1,188
1960-61
11,621
1,413
1,400
1961-62
12,950
1,739
2,000
are we so submerged by our present creature comforts, our
past successes, and our confidence in the endless bounty of the
land in which we live, that we will pursue blindly a comfortable course that will lead us to ultimate failure?
At the end of the Second World War, the University of
British Columbia, together with most other Canadian universities, entered a period of unprecedented expansion brought
about by population increases and a mounting interest in college and university education. In the past seven years, the University of British Columbia and Grade XIII have seen enrolments double; enrolment at Victoria College has quadrupled.
(Table 1). The number of students registered in the University and colleges in British Columbia in 1961-62 was 14,710*
or 17.7 per cent of the college-age population, that is the age
group 18-21. This figure compares with 12.3 per cent in Canada as a whole and 39.5 per cent in the United States. (Figure
1). The low proportion obtaining higher education in British
Columbia and Canada as compared with the United States is
reflected in employment patterns. Because of our educational
history, less than one quarter of the Canadian labour force is
in skilled occupations. This contrasts markedly with the United States where one half of the labour force can be so classi-
D.B.S. #81-204: This total includes students at Royal Roads, theological
colleges, and private institutions.
UNIVERSITY and COLLEGE
POPULATION as a PERCENTAGE
of 18 to 21 YEAR-OLDS
1961 and 1971
British United
Columbia Canada States
75%
50%
25%
1961 1971 1961 1971 1961 197!
FIGURE 1
fied. Professional people account for only 6.2 per cent of the
Canadian labour force; the proportion in the United States
is three times as high, that is 18.6 per cent.5 In proportion to
the size of its population, Canada employs approximately one
half the number of scientists and engineers employed by the
United States.
I cite the case of the United States because we live in such
close association with them and because our economy is inevitably affected by trends in that country. We are often compared with them, not only in Canada but elsewhere across the
world. However, Russia's efforts, vigor, and accomplishments
9
in education have been more impressive than those of the
United States. Russian scientific accomplishments speak for
themselves. Although it is often said that Russian education
is geared to emphasize science and engineering, their whole
programme is most impressive in many fields, including the
humanities and the social sciences. Russian students receive
13,000 hours of schooling in eleven years contrasted with 11,-
000 hours in twelve years for United States students. Each
year Russia graduates more students in agriculture, health,
medicine, and engineering than does America. In a period of
25 years, Russia increased school enrolments from ten millions
to thirty-five millions, whereas the United States took 80 years
to accomplish this same measure of growth. It is estimated
that by 1965, Russia will have twice as many engineers as the
United States." Even though we make allowances for the size
of our population, it is clear that Canada falls well behind
both these giants, not only in the field of science and technology but in the whole area of education.
If Canada is to play the role that she ought to play in international affairs, our educational system must be nourished and
expanded at an unprecedented rate. Over the next eight or
ten years our task in the Province of British Columbia will
be one of paramount importance. Because our population is
growing at the rate I have indicated in Table 2, and because
of the quickened interest everywhere in higher education, it
is estimated that some 37,000 high school graduates will be
either seeking higher education or enrolled in our colleges
and universities by 1970-71. This means that 25 per cent of
the college-age population will be seeking entry to college
or university in British Columbia. In 1971, the proportion
in British Columbia will compare with about 21 per cent for
the whole of Canada and 45 per cent for the United States of
America.
No one has ever been able to measure what percentage of
a population has the intellectual endowment to profit by education beyond the high school, but if British Columbia could
select the ablest and best qualified 25 per cent of all students
in 1970, the outlook would be encouraging. In Canada as a
10
TABLE 2. B.C. POPULATION & PROJECTIONS, 1921-1975
fEAR
ACTUAL 1
3R0JECTI
1921
524,000
1951
1,165,210
1952
1,205,000
1953
1,248,000
1954
1,295,000
1955
1,342,000
1956
1,398,464
1957
1,487,000
1958
1,544,000
1959
1,570,000
1,598,040
1960
1,606,000
1,653,971
1961
1,629,082
1,711,860
1962
1,659,000 (est.)
1,771,775
1963
1,833,787
1964
1,897,970
1965
1,964,399
1966
2,033,153
1967
2,104,313
1968
2,177,964
1969
2,254,193
1970
2,333,090
1971
2,414,748
1972
2,499,264
1973
2,586,738
1974
2,677,274
1975
2,770,979
Source: Actuals—D.B.S. and Bureau of Economics and Statistics, Victoria. Projections from Royal Commission on
Education—Table 6, p. 30.
11
TABLE 3. FULL-TIME GRADUATE ENROLMENT
BY PROVINCE AND FACULTY—1961-62
CANADA
B.C.
ALTA.
SASK.
MAN.
ONT.
QUE.
N.B.
N.S.
N'FLD.
TOTAL
Arts
157
102
27
66
900
727
38
42
—
2,059
Pure Science
275
213
101
97
712
547
48
47
—
2,040
Arts, Science not included above
—
—
—
—
22
—
—
8
15
45
Agriculture
27
41
28
32
99
80
—
—
—
307
Architecture
—
—
—
1
25
6
—
—
—
32
Commerce & Business
Administration
12
—
—
—
297
185
—
—
—
494
Dentistry
—
—
—■
—
25
8
—
—
—
33
Education
194
29
6
—
*
111
3
—■
2
345
Engineering, Applied Science
85
56
47
24
257
134
51
6
—
660
Forestry
21
—
—
—
12
21
9
—
—
63
Household Science
—
—
—
1
—
—
—
—
•—■
1
Law
—
—
—
—
6
91
—
—
—
97
Medicine
2
22
16
34
438
197
—
41
—
750
Music
—
—
—
—
5
24
—
—
—■
29
Nursing
—
—
—
—
12
28
—
28
—
68
Pharmacy
2
6
1
2
6
1
—
—
—
18
Physical & Health Education
4
2
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
6
Physio, Occupational Therapy
—
—
—
—
17
13
—
—
—
30
Social Work**
27
—
—
30
*#
127
—
—
—
184
Veterinary Science
—
—
—
—
15
—
—
—
—
15
Others
2
—
—
7
55
7
—
—
—
71
808
471
226
294
2,903
2,307
149
172
17
7,347
'Included in undergraduate enrolment
'Includes Master of Social Work students only
Source DBS—#81-204—Fall Enrolment in Universities and Colleges, 1961
12
13
TABLE 4. GRADUATE STUDENTS AS PERCENTAGE OF
TOTAL ENROLMENT AT SELECTED UNIVERSITIES
TOTAL
UNIVERSITY ENROLMENT GRADUATE %
CANADA, 1961-62
British Columbia 12,602
Toronto 14,302
Manitoba 4,433
McGill 8,507
Queen's 3,352
U.S.A., 1958-59*
Chicago 6,817
Columbia 20,231
Harvard 11,038
Yale 7,773
Michigan 26,581
California 43,478
Indiana 23,531
Rutgers 15,308
Washington 16,202
Oregon 7,082
* Since 1958-59, the proportion of graduate students at some
of these universities will almost certainly have increased.
whole, we appear to be a long way from such an objective.
Throughout Canada only one half of the matriculants with
70 per cent or better go on to university, and half of those
now at the universities have grades below 70 per cent. More
striking evidence of the inadequacy of current selection in
Canada is the fact that of one hundred pupils entering Grade
II, only nine ultimately enter university and only six of these
graduate.7 According to a report produced by the Canadian
Universities Foundation, the 37,000 students in institutions of
higher education in British Columbia in 1970 will be part of
312,000 for the whole of Canada, i.e. two and three quarter
times as many as in 1960 (114,000) .8
14
798
6.3
1,531
10.7
292
6.6
924
10.9
281
8.4
4,606
67.5
12,730
62.9
6,500
59.0
3,885
50.0
9,012
33.9
12,292
28.3
6,798
28.9
3,650
23.8
3,349
22.9
1,168
16.5
The most crucial problem facing us as a result of this enormous increase will be that of producing and finding staff and
facilities for our colleges and universities. In British Columbia alone, for example, the number of additional full-time
staff members required to maintain the current staff-student
ratio will be more than 1,000; that is, about J25_jtpembers of
staff must be added each year. The alarming fact, however,
is that the whole of Canada is graduating annually only about
280 Ph.D's. This level of training is almost mandatory for a
successful career in university teaching. In the past, Canadian
universities and colleges have been obliged to recruit many
of their staff members elsewhere, drawing principally on the
graduate schools of the United States and Great Britain, with
a few coming from the universities of Europe. To meet the
crucial demand for college teachers and the equally critical
demand for highly qualified personnel for industry, commerce, science and engineering, will require a very substantial increase in the capacity of our graduate schools. The
present enrolments in graduate schools in Canada are indicated in Table 3. Every Canadian university lags far behind
the leading universities elsewhere on this continent. (Table 4).
British Columbia, with all its wealth and with the second
largest English-speaking university in the country, is well
behind seven other Canadian institutions and behind the very
low Canadian average. And yet, it is precisely from our graduate schools that our most distinguished scholars, scientists,
teachers and various other leaders will come. The magnitude
and gravity of this situation has not been grasped by the vast
majority of our citizens.
Second only to the problem of staffing our universities is
the need for an entirely new concept of financing higher education. I estimate that per student costs in 1970 will be double
those of the present day. This is in consequence of the increasing demand for higher education everywhere; the need
to strengthen our graduate schools and so attract and retain
superior university professors; the need to maintain salary
levels competitive not only with other universities on this continent, but also with business, commerce, and government—
15
all of which require men and women who have comparable
skills, aptitudes and abilities to those we require in university
teachers.
The present average cost of higher education in Canada is
$1,550 per student per year. It is expected to increase to $2,100
by 1965, and in my judgment, to $3,000 by 1970.9 Cost per
student over the last five years in Canada went up from $1,072
to $1,550.
May I cite an example of the competition going on for university staff members. The President's Committee on Education Beyond the High School, 1957, in the United States of
America has recommended that "the highest priority in the
use of available funds be given to raising faculty salaries with
the goal of doubling the average level within five to ten years,
and with particular attention to increasing the spread between
the bottom and the top of each institution's salary structure."
This objective is likely to be attained in the United States of
America, and it will be imperative for Canadian universities
and colleges to keep pace if they are to retain the staff members they presently have and encourage others to join the
faculty. In the recent past, 43 per cent of Canada's university teachers were recruited from other countries.10 Unless a
change comes about in the number of university teachers we
ourselves can train, that proportion can only increase.
If we now translate the projected cost per student for the
year 1970-71 into total operating cost of higher education in
British Columbia, knowing there will be 37,000 students demanding higher education, we arrive at a figure of 111 million
dollars a year. Some factors may operate to keep the figure
down: for example, decentralization, and further modification
and modernising of teaching methods. These factors, however,
will be more than counterbalanced by the very much higher
costs of graduate education. Graduate students need supervision and personal attention of the most careful kind by
highly qualified professors. The "library of instruments" they
need for carrying out original research work is extremely
costly. In consequence, the cost of training a graduate student
is many times that of a student at the first or second year level.
16
On the University of California campuses, for example, the
educational cost for one graduate student is from two to five
times as high as the cost of an undergraduate student. At the
Davis Campus, the average cost per year was over $6,000 in
1957-58.
Capital costs for the five years from 1960 for higher education in Canada according to Sheffield in his report for the
Canadian Universities Foundation could go to one billion dollars or $200 million per year.11 The population of British Columbia is approximately 10 per cent of that of Canada; therefore, proportionately the projection for British Columbia is
$20 million per year for a total of $100 million by 1965-66.
Clearly the task and cost of meeting the requirements for
higher education in the years ahead are of a new dimension.
These costs cannot be met by any single group within society,
but no group can avoid sharing in the responsibility. Paying
for higher education must become a matter of the highest
priority for the Provincial Government. The Federal Government, which at the moment supports higher education directly
at the rate of $2.00 per head of population, must now support
higher education on a new and imaginative scale. Municipalities must also be asked to share generously in providing funds.
Corporations and industry must nourish the source of their
growing strength. Labour must recognize the genuine contribution of higher education to the prosperity and the status of
the working man. Graduates of our colleges and universities
must meet their personal responsibilities to the institutions
that have helped them. The contribution of a university education to a life-time earning exceeds $100,000.12 College for
those who can qualify has been in terms of an investment the
best bargain they could buy.
Such are the dimensions of the tasks and such are the issues
which are dealt with in this report.
References
1 The British Columbia-Alberta Market, Western Development and Power Limited (no date).
17
2 G. R. Knight, "Status of the British Columbian," 13th B.C.
Resources Conference, 1961.
3 B.C. Energy Board Load Forecast, 1961.
4 The British Columbia-Alberta Market, Western Development and Power Limited.
5 A. V. Pigott, Education and Employment, Canadian Conference on Education, Study No. 9, 1962.
0 S. H. Deeks, "Democracy at the Crossroads" Report of the
Joint Planning Commission, Canadian Association for Adult
Education, 1961.
7 Pigott.
8 E. F. Sheffield, University Development: The Past Five
Years and the Next Ten, 1961.
9 E. F. Sheffield and C. M. Apsimon, University Costs and
Sources of Support, 1962.
10 Sheffield, University Development.
11 Sheffield and Apsimon.
12 S. E. Harris, Higher Education: Resources and Finance,
New York, 1962, p. 151.
18
Excellence as a Goal
It is axiomatic that we seek excellence in education: no lesser
goal is worth the effort. Nevertheless, excellence in education
is rare. It is to be found when carefully nurtured and cultivated ; in the absence of a good environment it is easily choked
out by the weeds of mediocrity. Excellence cannot be legislated ; it cannot be purchased; it cannot be proclaimed; and it
cannot be assigned. It can be sought and encouraged and rewarded, and this is the task in planning for higher education
in British Columbia—to seek, encourage, and reward excellence.
Two requirements are fundamental to the promotion of excellence in British Columbia's higher education. These are
first, diversification of opportunity, both in respect to the kinds
of educational experience available and the places where it
can be obtained. The second requirement is self-government
of individual institutions in respect to setting objectives, standards, admissions, selection of staff, curricula, personnel policies, administrative structure, and all the other things that go
to make up the operation of a college. These two elements—
diversification and self-government—together will not insure
19
excellence, but in their absence an excellent system of higher
education in British Columbia would be unattainable.
The reasons why British Columbia needs a number of different kinds of educational opportunity beyond Grade XII
should be obvious. Society demands many different kinds of
talents of its citizens. It would be a Utopian world perhaps if
every member of society had the required intellectual endowment and motivation to profit by a broad liberal education,
one which would successfully bridge Snow's two cultures, and
prepare each man for a role of informed leadership. But such
an ideal situation would require automation far beyond our
present prospects to undertake the many tasks of day-to-day
living which presently are performed economically and happily not by the leaders but by the great majority of our good
citizens. The fact is that such a Utopia is unattainable. Individuals may be suited intellectually and by aptitude and attitude for very many different kinds of vocation. A person may
become a theoretical physicist, electronics technician, agricultural scientist, statesman, school teacher, physician, pharmacist, lawyer, or astronaut. Clearly many different kinds of education are required for citizens whose talents and interests are
so different and whose vocations or careers are so dissimilar.
It is inconceivable that any one educational institution can
serve successfully the wide range of educational objectives
needed for the modern world. Any institution which sets out
to be all things to all people will end up doing many unrelated educational jobs, at high cost, and it is likely to do none of
them well.
The kinds of programmes needed to meet the varied demands are themselves numerous. They include one or two
years of purely technical training beyond Grade XII; combinations of technical training in arts and science over a two-
year programme; the first two years of a four-year college curriculum—either as a terminal experience or as preparation for
advancement for the able students; colleges offering a four-
year liberal education leading to a degree; and universities
offering college curricula plus the opportunity for specialization through graduate education in a variety of fields or pro-
20
fessional education in professional schools. All of these programmes are needed now in British Columbia and, as will be
shown subsequently, the costs of higher education can be reduced by having them all, rather than by trying to concentrate all training at the University and Victoria College.
The reasons for geographic dispersion of higher education
relate primarily to the critical need to seek out and attract to
higher education all those who can profit by the experience
and in so doing enrich our society. The dearth of educational
opportunity in the interior of the Province means that an important stimulus is missing which should be attracting all the
ablest students to college or university. Many potential leaders
remain unchallenged by the opportunities for higher education simply because they live in communities where the rewards of intellectual endeavour are not made evident by the
presence of a college.
An additional important reason for geographic decentralization relates to the resulting economies. The economies for
British Columbia are disclosed in analyses reported in a later
section of this report. The findings are supported by experience elsewhere. The California Master Plan, concerned with a
public higher educational system equal in size to that of all
Canada, shows that it can be cheaper in both capital and operating costs to provide education in a junior college than in a
state college, and similarly, cheaper in a state college than in a
university. The California report concludes also: "With a constant percentage (of students) housed, the estimated cost of
expanding an existing campus is so little less than that of developing a new campus, that such factors as land costs could
tip the scales either way. If, however, the alternative to new
campus development involves a significantly greater percentage of students housed on the expanded existing campus,
then the difference in capital outlay generally is clearly in
favor of the development of new campuses."1 This is the situation in British Columbia.
In order to develop an excellent system of higher education
for British Columbia, the individual institutions must be self-
governing in respect to their academic program. The most
21
important reason is that an institution can achieve excellence
only if it can define its own goals and organize its own programme in such a way as to achieve its goals.
In a study undertaken in Michigan the principles were summarized succinctly:
"The first important principle is that a state's program of
higher education is strong only as the individual institutions
are strong and maintain services of high quality in the programs that are offered. The primary purpose of a state system
of control and co-ordination should be to encourage the development of the greatest possible strength in the individual
institutions of the system.
"The second important principle is that the mere presence
of one or more strong institutions does not add up to an effective state program of higher education. All the institutions
in the system must be strong, if the service is to be effective.
This is particularly true in a state of large area, . . . because
students tend to go to whatever college or university is close to
their homes.
"The third important principle is that strength in an institution is closely associated with autonomy in the making of
essential decisions affecting the institution's operations. It is
virtually impossible to build a strong institution of higher
education unless it is given the maximum of self-determination in its operations."2
Those who favor a unified system with all institutions meeting identical standards, at least in theory, do so on grounds
that unification insures satisfactory standards. The argument
is in error. First, standards cannot be legislated. Simply to say
that the same course in chemistry will be offered by the University of British Columbia and a two-year college in the interior does not make it the same course. In the last analysis
the quality of the course will depend on the ability and qualifications of the teacher. If the objectives and character of the
curriculum at the University of British Columbia and a two-
year college are declared to be identical, which institution will
attract the better teacher? The University of British Columbia, of course, because the University of British Columbia can
22
offer the stimulus and challenge of many able confreres, the
possibility of participation in graduate education, the resources of research, extensive library holdings, and the complex
facilities of a large modern department of chemistry. The only
way the two-year college can compete for competent staff is
to offer a programme which is unique and to provide opportunities which contrast with those of the University, such as
small classes, seminar education, intimate association with
other disciplines, higher standards of admission, avoidance of
a complex administrative hierarchy, and greater emphasis on
experiment in education.
I have heard fears expressed that any new college given self-
governing independence is likely to be a substandard institution. I would remind those holding this defeatist viewpoint
that if this kind of thinking had prevailed fifty years ago the
University of British Columbia would never have been established.
There is a second fallacy in choosing a unified system. In
seeking to guarantee minimum standards, the system, in fact,
places a ceiling on standards. No institution can be better than
the next. Credits are freely transferable from one institution
to another—a grand design dedicated perforce to mediocrity.*
Whatever this is, it is not education at its best. No institution
and no one system has the answer to what is best in education.
Free enterprise here, as much or more than elsewhere in our
society, is the essential key to progress. The proposition was
expressed eloquently by Felix Schelling: "True education
makes for inequality, the inequality of individuality, the inequality of success; the glorious inequality of talent, of genius.
For inequality, not mediocrity—individual superiority, not
standardization—is the measure of progress in the world."3
* Transfer should be possible between institutions but it should be based
not on identity of courses but on performance of students. Admission
policies should be concerned less with prerequisites and more with
evidence of ability when students seek transfer from one institution to
another.
23
References
1 A Master Plan for Higher Education in California, 1960-75,
California State Department of Education, 1960.
2 John Dale Russell, The Final Report of the Survey of Higher Education in Michigan, 1958, p. 111.
3 Saturday Review, 19 May, 1962, p. 78.
24
The Present Position
of Higher Education
A brief historical sketch will illustrate the initiative, patience, and persistence that led to the establishment of institutions of higher education in British Columbia. The first official
reference appeared in the 1877 Annual Report of the Provincial Superintendent of Education, stating that a university
would soon be necessary to enable young men and women of
the Province to graduate in Arts, Law, and Science without
having to go elsewhere. With only 41 elementary schools and
one high school in the Province, no action followed However,
in 1890 an Act Respecting the University of British Columbia
was passed, but accomplished little because of a conflict of
local interests concerning the location of the University.
In 1898, 21 years after the first official reference, the high
schools of Vancouver and Victoria affiliated with McGill University to provide the first year in Arts. Eight years later the
Province granted incorporation to the Royal Institute for the
Advancement of Learning, to supervise McGill University College of British Columbia. The College, during its earlier years
starting in 1907, provided two years in Arts and one year in
Applied Science for credit at McGill; subsequently, another
year's work in each course was added.
25
In 1910 a group of educators from outside the Province,
appointed by the Government, recommended the establishment of the University on Point Grey, and in 1914 construction commenced on the Science Building. With the outbreak
of World War I work was stopped, and in September, 1915,
the University of British Columbia was established in the
Fairview premises of the Vancouver General Hospital, which
had been used by McGill University College since 1912. The
students and staff of the College provided the nucleus for the
University, the enrolment being 379. Victoria College, with
an enrolment of about 70 students, discontinued instruction at
that time. In 1920 Victoria College was re-opened in affiliation
with the University to give the first two years in Arts.
In 1923 work was resumed on the Science Building, and
some semi-permanent buildings were constructed. In 1925 the
University was moved to Point Grey. Student enrolment had
been increasing, having reached 962 in 1920-21 and 2,044 in
1930-31. (Figure 2). During the financial depression of the
1930s, the University's budget was cut, staff had to be reduced,
and the University was in danger of closing. But as economic
conditions improved the University resumed its advance, until
further development was checked during World War II.
The end of World War II marked the beginning of a period
of tremendous expansion. By 1947-48 the influx of student
veterans had increased the enrolment to nearly four times
what it was in 1944-45, with over 50 per cent of the total enrolment being veterans. As this wave of student veterans graduated, the enrolment dropped. However, as the increased population of the Province had its effect, enrolments at the University and Victoria College rose at a steadily increasing rate.
The establishment of the College of Education in 1956, bringing all teacher training under the University and Victoria College, increased the enrolment appreciably.
Until the end of World War II the Provincial Government
grant had increased very little beyond what it was nearly a
quarter of a century earlier. In 1920-21 the grant was $420,000;
in 1940-41, $425,000; and in 1944-45, $498,000. Under these
circumstances little or no expansion was possible. However,
26
13000
12000
1 1 000
1 0000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
/
/
I
/
\\
/
\\
/
\\
/
i|
/
Al
oo — ^r^OfOh-QFONOror^oro
— NNN»W|l)***llllOIII»
la a> — *i^6ig
392
2.9
Forestry
43
.3
Law
390
2.9
Medicine
371
2.8
Nursing
107
.8
Pharmacy
62
.4
Miscellaneous—
-Armed Services
115
.8
other
452
3.4
undecided
857
6.5
funds to assist students who would otherwise be unable to
finance a university course.
Table 7 shows the students' professional objectives as stated
for 1961-62.
Teaching and Education have the largest number, followed
by Engineering. By far the largest group of students are in
Arts and Science, and the indication is that the number will
increase more rapidly than in other more specialized faculties. As has been mentioned, the numbers planning to enter
Graduate Studies is disappointing, and is far from meeting
the need for qualified teachers for universities and colleges.
Table 8 shows that over 50 per cent of the total number
of students have come from the Greater Vancouver area, and
the percentage of these students has increased steadily over
the period dealt with. As shown in the footnote below the
table, about 40 per cent of the students came from Vancouver
city. In 1961-62 the Greater Vancouver area, apart from the
City of Vancouver, supplied 2,276 students, or 17.4 per cent
of the total enrolment at the University.
As is to be expected, relatively few students came from
Greater Victoria. It may be assumed that many of these enrolled in professional faculties rather than in general Arts
and Science. Since Victoria College has provided a full four-
year programme leading to University of British Columbia
degrees in Arts and Science, the numbers coming from Greater
37
TABLE 8. DISTRIBUTION OF REGISTRATION BY
REGIONS DURING REGULAR SESSION
1959-60 1960-61 1961-62
AREA Number % Number % Number %
Greater Vancouver*
5,847
54.9
6,548
56.3
7,431
57.4
Lower Fraser Valley
789
7.5
908
7.8
1,029
7.9
Greater Victoria
416
3.9
357
3.1
359
2.8
Remainder Van
couver Island
515
4.8
522
4.5
624
4.8
Okanagan
539
5.1
579
5.1
671
5.2
Kootenays
531
5.0
562
4.8
601
4.6
Kamloops, South
Cariboo
221
2.1
241
2.1
245
1.9
Central Interior
122
1.1
133
1.1
160
1.2
Coast
211
2.0
226
1.9
241
1.9
North
64
.6
68
.6
68
.5
Total for British
Columbia
9,255
87.0 10,144
87.3 11,429
88.2
Canada—
outside B.C.
770
7.2
840
7.2
888
6.9
Other Countries
617
5.8
637
5.5
633
4.9
TOTAL REGIS
TRATION
10,642
100%
11,621
100%:
12,950
100%
*Vancouver City
included above
4,405
41.4
4,713
40.5
5,155
39.8
Victoria have decreased, whereas those coming from other
regions have increased.
It will be seen that the percentages of students coming from
the various regions are highly stable from year to year. The
only areas showing decreases by as much as one per cent over
the period are Greater Victoria and "outside of British Columbia." The largest percentage increase is for Greater Vancouver, which doubtless reflects the fact that this area of the
Province has experienced the greatest population increase
over the period. However, as shown in the footnote, the percentage coming from Vancouver city has decreased, probably
38
TABLE 9. DISTRIBUTION OF FULL-TIME
TEACHING STAFF
1956- 1957- 1958- 1959- 1960- 1961-
57 58 59 60 61 62
Professors
127
132
136
143
148
157
Associate Professors
91
98
111
121
132
147
Assistant Professors
141
157
173
193
216
237
Instructors
86
116
110
121
140
123
Lecturers
19
34
92
77
39
37
TOTAL
464
537
622
655
675
701
as a result of the suburban areas of Greater Vancouver increasing more rapidly in population than the city. The rest
of the Lower Mainland shows a steady numerical and, since
1958-59, a percentage increase. The Okanagan and the Interior,
Central and Northern areas show a steady increase in numbers.
It will be noted that about five per cent of the students came
from other countries. In 1961-62 these students came from 53
different countries, the largest number coming from the West
Indies. This gives some indication of the international reputation of the University of British Columbia and the extent to
which it plays a role in support of our national policy of providing aid for less richly endowed countries. Of course, some
University of British Columbia students go abroad to receive
senior and post-graduate education in special fields.
University Teaching Staff. Table 9 shows the full-time faculty that is employed for teaching and research.
The number of students per staff member has increased
slightly. In the first two years where some very large classes
occur, the student-staff ratio is very much larger than for the
University as a whole.
The Summer Session. A regular Summer Session of seven
weeks' duration is held in July and August. Present enrolments exceed 5,000 students, of whom about 70 per cent are
school teachers improving their academic and professional
qualifications. A maximum of six units can be taken during a
summer session. Summer Session courses are the equivalents
of regular session courses. In addition, non-credit courses are
39
TABLE 10. SUMMER SESSION ENROLMENTS
CREDIT
NON-CREDIT
YEAR
COURSES
COURSES
TOTAL
1956
1,804
N/A
1,810
1957
3,507
860
4,367
1958
3,954
732
4,686
1959
3,754
729
4,483
1960
4,306
1,027
5,333
1961
5,156
979
6,135
1962
5,101
1,119
6,220
conducted during Summer Session through the Department of
University Extension. Visiting summer faculty come from
several countries to supplement those from the University
faculty. During the 1962 Summer Session 189 credit courses
were offered by a staff of 232 instructors. Table 10 shows the
Summer Session enrolments from 1956 to 1961.
The University has always served the whole Province in
that it has educated teachers, physicians, lawyers, engineers,
etc., who have worked in all our communities. In a more
direct way, moreover, it has served all areas through the Department of University Extension.
In its 25 years of existence, this Department has extended
the work of the University in almost every area of its operation. Credit courses—by lecture and by correspondence—non-
credit courses, short courses, conferences, workshops, and individual lectures have been offered in virtually every area of
the Province. Last year, for example, 2,379 people took credit
courses, 6,533 took non-credit courses, nearly 10,000 participated in short courses and conferences, and well over 100,000
attended lectures and talks. The range of subjects taught and
discussed has been very great indeed. Courses and lectures
have been given in fine arts, investment, religion, poultry husbandry, labour law, education, home economics, medicine, foreign languages, psychology, pharmacy, and dozens of other
subjects.
Affiliated Colleges. Three types of institutions are affiliated
with the University of British Columbia. Victoria College has
40
direct affiliation in that the courses in Arts and Science and
Education taken at the College are accepted for full credit
toward a University of British Columbia degree. The other
affiliated institutions are the theological colleges which occupy
land that was reserved for several denominations when the
University site was granted. The Anglican College and Union
College provide courses leading to their own theological degrees. St. Mark's College, St. Andrew's Hall, and Carey Hall
are residential colleges only.
The affiliated colleges are administratively separate from
the University, although those providing instruction are represented on the University Senate by their principals, and in
the case of Victoria College by two additional faculty members. It follows that affiliation is limited, and the terms differ
for different institutions.
The University also grants credit for equivalent courses to
students of good standing from other universities and nonaffiliated colleges. Such credit is granted on an individual
basis depending upon the nature of the courses taken and the
standards which the students have attained.
VICTORIA COLLEGE. Victoria College offers courses leading
to degrees in Arts, Science, and Education, and the first year
of Commerce and Business Administration. Courses preparatory to Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Architecture, etc., may be
taken at the College. The requirements for admission to the
College and the College fees have been the same as those for
the University of British Columbia. Students at Victoria College qualify for University of British Columbia degrees, in
that Victoria College conforms to the regulations of the University of British Columbia.
The College occupies two sites, and plans for the development of the more recent of these, the Gordon Head Campus
of 258 acres, are already well advanced.
To keep pace with the growth and expansion of Victoria
College, its library has undertaken an accelerated programme
of development and service. By the spring of 1962, the book
collection totalled approximately 90,000 volumes and was
41
growing at the rate of about 20,000 volumes annually. The
library regularly receives some 850 periodicals.
The College also operates a Summer Session like that at the
University of British Columbia. There is also an Evening Division for the benefit of adults who are not able to attend the
regular day session. In addition to the regular credit courses,
the Evening Division offers a limited number of non-credit
courses.
Following are the registrations in each of the faculties for
1961-62.
Faculty of Arts and Science 1,085
Faculty of Commerce and Business
Administration 19
Faculty of Education 631
Unclassified 4
GRAND TOTAL 1,739
Summer Session, 1961,
Credit Courses 817
Summer Session, 1961,
Non-Credit Courses 97
Registration figures for 1962-63 indicate a total enrolment
of 1,849 students.
It will be seen that the 1961-62 registration in the Faculty
of Education much more closely approximates that of the
Faculty of Arts and Science than is the case at the University
of British Columbia. Whereas the enrolment in Arts and Science at Victoria College is equal to about 17 per cent of the
enrolment in Arts and Science at the University of British
Columbia, the enrolment in Education in the College is about
27 per cent of the enrolment in Education at the University.
Greater Victoria provides approximately 74 per cent of the
College enrolment in Arts and Science, 40 per cent of Education, and 61 per cent of the total enrolment. The size of these
percentages is affected by the agreement between Victoria
College and the Greater Victoria Board of School Trustees
that no senior matriculation (Grade XIII) classes are provided in the Victoria high schools. The percentages coming
42
from other parts of Vancouver Island are 17 per cent in Arts
and Science, 21 per cent in Education and 19 per cent of the
total enrolment. The remaining 20 per cent of the enrolment
is widely scattered throughout the Province with the Trail-
Rossland and the Okanagan districts providing the largest
numbers. Very few students from Greater Vancouver and the
Lower Mainland attend Victoria College. Whereas the mainland of British Columbia provides only approximately seven
per cent of the enrolment in Arts and Science at Victoria College, the same areas provide 42 per cent of the enrolment in
Education.
NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, NELSON, B.C.
Notre Dame University College was established at the Grade
XIII level by the Bishop of Nelson in 1950 with an enrolment of 12 students. The following year, with the enrolment
doubled, the College became affiliated as a junior college with
Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington, and a second year
of Arts and Science was introduced. In 1954 classroom and
residence buildings were constructed to replace the improvised
premises that were occupied up to that time. Weekend labour
by students and faculty assisted in the construction. Further
construction was carried out in 1958 and 1961. The College
has residential accommodation for 168 men and 96 women.
Following the affiliation with St. Francis Xavier University,
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, in 1961, third and fourth year courses
were added. Enrolment in 1962-63 totalled 231 students, distributed as follows: Kootenays 40 per cent, Okanagan 15 per
cent, Greater Vancouver ten per cent, Victoria and up Coast
three per cent, Cariboo and Northern two per cent (total B.C.
70 per cent), Alberta and Saskatchewan 18 per cent (total
Canada 88 per cent), United States ten per cent, other foreign
two per cent.
The minimal academic qualification for entrance is high
school graduation in the University programme of the Province of British Columbia or the equivalent. Students of any
religious faith are admitted. In Arts and Science, the requirements for general B.A. and B.Sc. degrees are set in accordance
with those of St. Francis Xavier University. The curriculum
43
covers the principal fields of the liberal arts, the social sciences, and the natural and physical sciences. The equivalent
of the first two years of the St. Francis Xavier Bachelor of
Commerce course is offered. A two-year terminal programme
preparing teachers for positions in Catholic elementary schools
is given. The first year of this course comprises a full first year
of Arts and Science plus an introductory course in Education
and in observation and practice teaching. The second year is
given over largely to methods courses and practice teaching,
with supporting courses in psychology, philosophy, mathematics, and English. Each student spends not less than 55 days
a year in observation and practice teaching. A two-year terminal course in secretarial training, either medical or general, is
offered which combines appropriate Arts and Science courses
with secretarial courses.
PRINCE GEORGE COLLEGE, PRINCE GEORGE, B.C.
Commencing in October, 1962, with an approximate enrolment of 16 students, Prince George College offers Grade XIII
and in 1963 intends to offer a year beyond Grade XIII. The
College was founded by Bishop O'Grady, O.M.I., D.D., and
the Board of Advisers is composed of men and women of all
denominations. Students of any faith are admitted who have
obtained an average mark of 60 per cent in the B.C. Junior
Matriculation University Entrance Programme or its equivalent. Until such time as all available facilities will be required
by college classes, high school classes will be accommodated
on the campus.
TRINITY JUNIOR COLLEGE, LANGLEY. Trinity Junior
College opened with an enrolment of 17 students in 1962 and
a faculty of seven members. The College is controlled by a
Governing Board of nine, who are members of the Board of
Education of the Evangelical Free Church of America. "The
underlying purpose in its establishment is to provide particularly for its constituency the first two years of college education in the Arts and Sciences, with emphasis upon the Christian theistic view of the world and of man as central and furnishing a guiding perspective in all learning."*
♦Trinity Junior College Calendar 1962-63.
44
The general academic qualification for admission is high
school graduation (University Programme) British Columbia
or its equivalent. A chapel-library building has been constructed, and dormitory accommodation is available for 60 students.
It will be seen from the above that of the total number of
students enrolled in institutions of higher education in British
Columbia, 86.6 per cent attend the University of British Columbia, 11.6 per cent attend Victoria College, and the remaining 1.8 per cent attend the other institutions.
This report is necessarily concerned with public education.
I would not presume to make proposals about the role or
future of colleges which have been designedly set up as private
institutions. Some of the greatest universities in the world are
private. They have become great because they are free to meet
the special demands and beliefs of their founders and supporters. They have been able to restrict their enrolments to an
extent and in ways which no public university could accept.
They are, by definition and foundation, outside the realm of
the public system. Our tradition of education in British Columbia, at all levels, has involved the separation of public and
private systems. As a result, both have been able to accept
their respective responsibilities. I think that our tradition has
worked in the past, and I see no reason to depart from it.
The British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby
is intended to serve the needs of the whole Province. Its goals
and programme are still in their formative stage, and therefore it is not being dealt with in this report.
Depending on its character as it is developed, it may or may
not be wise to include it within the framework of public
higher education as defined subsequently in this study.
Future development in the field of higher education cannot
be planned realistically without an adequate knowledge of
existing circumstances. I have endeavoured to present these
circumstances in the description and analysis of institutions
which already exist. In major developments of this sort, uninformed proposals are not enough for a sound and sensible
expansion of an educational system. Sporadic growth would
lead to a confused and uneconomic result. It is imperative
45
that we view the whole situation in proper perspective, in
order that we may reach wise decisions, understood by and
acceptable to the people of this Province. Moreover, one of
the considerations that has been uppermost in my mind in the
preparation of this report has been the need to provide higher
educational facilities on an equal basis throughout the Province wherever possible. This ideal may not be fully achieved;
but the opportunity should be made available for every suitably qualified young person of this Province to acquire the
intellectual skills which are necessary, both for his own future
and the future prosperity of this Province. At the same time,
the current and future demand for persons trained to the most
advanced levels in the academic field cannot be met if the
University of British Columbia becomes inundated by the
numbers of students I have previously indicated. Provision of
facilities at a comparable level elsewhere in the Province will
not only equalize educational opportunity but at the same
time will enhance the academic standard of the provincial
University, and so permit it to pursue the goals recognized
everywhere as those of a leading university.
In the rest of this report I shall consider the kinds of new
institutions required and their location; agencies to provide
for the equitable and appropriate use of public funds for
higher education, and at the same time, to ensure acceptable
academic standards throughout the whole system; and finally
the financial implications of decentralization.
46
Kinds of Educational
Institutions Required
It will be clear from the preceding section that the resources
available for higher education in this Province have been concentrated on two main objectives: the development of the
University of British Columbia at West Point Grey as an institution for students proceeding to degrees in the liberal arts,
the sciences, the professions, and post-graduate studies; and
the development of Victoria College, first as a two-year institution and within the last three years as a four-year liberal
arts college giving the degrees of the University of British Columbia. Elsewhere in this report, I have already indicated the
growing concern about the number of students to be educated.
And yet, as I have stated, we have been and still are educating
too few of the suitably qualified students in the college-age
group who could benefit by education beyond the high-school
level, if we wish to maintain our cultural and economic status.
Rather, the problem is to provide for a larger proportion of
able young people, but at the same time to avoid undesirable
congestion in the present institutions.
The tremendous increase in the numbers of students since
the end of World War II merely emphasizes problems that
47
have been apparent for some time in Canada, especially in
British Columbia. The primary schools and the secondary
schools of the Province have already experienced a bulge. The
question to be posed now is this: what kinds of higher education should be made available, in which institutions, and how
should students be selected for the various kinds of institutions
which may be proposed?
Though there is evidence of change, our educational system
continues to perpetuate a division on a quite arbitrary basis.
Most people receive elementary education, some go on to high
school, and a few continue to university, but very few indeed
obtain graduate degrees. In the past, it has been relatively easy
to state which particular tasks in society demand a certain
level of education, and the distinctions between manual, clerical, and professional occupations were relatively clear and
sharp. Now, however, our occupations are much more varied
and complex. In modern society the demand for trained persons has become progressively more urgent. Doctors need
medical technologists with more training than high school can
provide; scientists and engineers need technicians; business
needs data processors and persons who can understand and use
complex schedules of time and quantities. Manual labour—the
kind that could be performed by practically all workers—is
diminishing. Farmers need to know something of marketing, food processing, genetics, costing methods, and so forth.
Mechanics—who were virtually non-existent a century ago—
must be trained to handle the most delicate and intricate
pieces of machinery, and indeed they must be prepared to re-
learn part of their job whenever new equipment appears. The
cliche' that learning should be a life-long process is now becoming a cold fact of economic survival. Continuing education
is of greater importance than it has ever been in the past, because the individual must adapt his life and his work to the
very rapid changes which are taking place.
Young people and their parents are more than ever aware
that occupational opportunities depend upon advanced training. Yet our basic educational system is still much as it was
some fifty years ago. For example, only now are we developing
48
an institute of technology in British Columbia. We continue to
maintain our traditional institutions of primary school, high
school and university; and in general we offer students leaving
high school a college curriculum leading to a degree, or
nothing. In short, there is a great void in our educational system in British Columbia and in much of Canada. We need a
whole set of educational opportunities beyond high school to
fill society's need for a complex and constantly changing range
of twentieth century technologies.
When we examine critically what happens to students who
enrol for higher education, we must seriously question our traditional institutions and their methods. At the University of
British Columbia, approximately 40 per cent of the freshmen
do not return for the second year, and another 10 per cent do
not return for the third year. Fewer than 50 per cent of the
students who enrol as freshmen obtain a university degree.
Hence, it is evident that some of the students who come to the
University are, in one way or another, unsuited for university
studies. Some may not intend to take degrees; others may not
find what they want at the University; some may be incapable
of undertaking a university programme; others may have the
ability but not be ready for independent study when they arrive at university. All, however, have proved themselves reasonable students in high school. All have chosen to continue
some form of further education. It is certain that they would
benefit themselves and the community in which they live by
obtaining further education suitable to their interests, talents,
and aptitudes. And yet, by and large, we offer them academic
education or nothing.
The presence at the University of substantial numbers of
unsuccessful students constitutes a waste of time and money.
But what is more serious, these students tend to hold back
others who are eager and able to progress. The rate of progress
and the level of instruction are influenced, sometimes consciously and sometimes subtly, by the presence of students
who are not academically inclined. This situation can distort
the aims of the University. The University of British Columbia
has no entrance examinations of its own. By agreement with
49
the Department of Education, the University accepts high-
school graduation (university programme) as a minimal requirement for admission to the University. It does not necessarily follow that what is required of a student to obtain a
high school certificate on the university programme should be
the requirement for entry to the University. The high schools
of this province have a dual function: they not only provide
training for students who are preparing for positions in society
which require high school graduation as a basic qualification,
they also prepare students for entry to the University. It is,
therefore, wasteful to accept students as qualified for university only to fail a large proportion of them at the end of
the first or second year. Such students devote a year of their
time and their money to discovering that they are neither
suited for nor interested in a university education. Surely such
students would be better served by an institute of higher educational offering courses suited to their needs.
I see the need for two basic kinds of institutions of higher
education:
1. Universities and four-year colleges offering degree programmes and advanced training for those students who have
the necessary ability and aptitude.
2. Two-year colleges offering a variety of programmes of one
or two years of education beyond Grade XII.
To combine the ideal of providing suitable higher education
for all students who can benefit from it with the ideal of
equality of opportunity for all students throughout the Province wherever possible, provision must be made in two-year
colleges for those students who want to transfer to a four-year
college or a university later on. A two-year college, therefore,
might be designed for those students who plan to continue
their education at a degree-granting institution; those who
wish to take only one or two years of higher education—technical, academic, or a combination of both; those who are undecided about their educational futures; those who by preference or for financial reasons wish to remain in their own
locality.
Although each of these two-year colleges would have to de-
50
sign its programme to meet the requirements of the area in
which it is located, the objectives of two-year colleges might
include one or more of the following: (a) two-year academic
programmes for students who will either transfer to degree-
granting institutions or will complete their formal education
at this level; (b) technological and semi-professional courses
designed for students who want formal education beyond high
school but who do not plan to complete the requirements for
a degree; (c) adult education, including re-education to meet
the changing demands of technical and semi-professional occupations. (Figure 3).
The two-year college would be a new kind of institution for
British Columbia. It would have its unique character and
ideals, and offer enough courses parallel with those of degree-
granting institutions to enable the best students to pursue further studies. If such institutions are set up, the aims and functions of the degree-granting institutions will become clearer.
Although I expect two-year colleges to differ from one another in accordance with local needs, I believe that the differences will exist mainly in the non-academic areas of their
work. Such institutions could attract very able students and
professors by offering courses and facilities of distinctive character: seminar education, small classes, interdisciplinary studies, close personal contact between professor and student,
promotion based principally on accomplishment in teaching,
and so forth.
It would be unfortunate, I think, if the proposed two-year
colleges merely tried to duplicate the schedules, faculty,
courses, and organization prevailing at the University. Their
academic programmes must be parallel so that the best students can transfer to university, but parallel should not mean
identical. I suggest, for example, that the staff will be somewhat different in kind from those at the University, where we
normally expect a member of faculty to devote a significant
part of his time to research and the advancement of his professional field. The staff for the academic programmes in the
two-year colleges should have at least the equivalent of an
honours degree or a graduate degree in the subject they are
51
en
to
A PLAN FOR POST-HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION
>-
TYPE
OF
INSTITUTION
tuu-2
Q-0<
6
I
O
LU
J"o ' 2
l-<
3CS3Q
UJ
<
a.
o
HIGH SCHOOL
VOCATIONAL
FIGURE 3
teaching. But whereas the University emphasizes research and
the ability to supervise graduate work, I would expect the
two-year college to emphasize teaching ability and community
service.
The organization of the courses might well be very different
in the two-year college. I can see merit, for example, in organizing the college on the quarter or the semester system. On the
quarter system, it would offer four quarters of work, each
complete in itself, and the normal student year would consist
of three quarters. Such an organization has great advantages.
First, it provides a longer academic year for students who may
not move quite so rapidly as those at university. Second, it
provides for ready transfer from one programme to another
without serious loss of time. Third, if any three quarters make
up an academic year, students can find vacation work at varying times during the year and thus avoid the present situation
in which all students compete for summer jobs. Fourth, it
provides for more efficient and economical use of buildings
and facilities.
When I say that courses should be parallel but not identical,
I am envisaging some flexibility in the university entrance and
prerequisite requirements. For example, we will want to know
that the student is competent in the study of English literature,
not that he has studied particular, prescribed texts. Of necessity, the elementary science courses are likely to resemble one
another, but even in these, local emphasis may well be different. It is true that the syllabus in an elementary course
should be designed around the fundamental principles of the
subject, but faculties tend to work best when they are permitted some latitude to exercise their own initiative.
At the present time we require two kinds of degree-granting
institutions in British Columbia. We need the University concentrating on (1) undergraduate education in the humanities,
the sciences, the fine arts and the social sciences; (2) advanced
teaching and research connected with graduate work, and (3)
professional preparation, for example, in medicine, dentistry,
engineering, law, pharmacy, forestry, commerce, and education. In addition, we need four-year colleges offering degrees
53
in the liberal arts, science, and education. In the more distant
future as our population grows, it may be that some of the
four-year colleges will develop into comprehensive universities. For the time being, however, I see no need for more than
one institution giving the extremely expensive courses such as
medicine, engineering, and much of the advanced scientific
and graduate work. Currently, it costs at least $5,000 a year to
educate a medical student. Consequently it will be many years
before our population and resources justify more than one
medical school in this Province.
In all that I have said, I am not suggesting that one kind of
institution is academically superior to another. They have different functions to perform. There is nothing to prevent any
institution attaining a high standard of excellence consistent
with its aims and goals. The University will be different from
but complementary to the four-year colleges and the two-year
institutions. All will have an important place in our system of
higher education. To insist that each must train young men
and women in the same way is to confuse the aims and methods of education. An institution dedicated to the education of
theoretical physicists would probably produce very poor primary school teachers, and vice versa. The measure of the excellence and the quality of an institution must be its success
in doing what it sets out to do, that is its success in the light
of its own aims.
The character of universities everywhere has changed during this century. They have come to place increasing emphasis
upon the quality and level of research and scholarly production, and their reputation in the eyes of the academic world
depends largely upon this. In other words, they have recognized that their duty to provide new knowledge and to explore
the unknown is as important as their duty to propagate existing knowledge. In order that research may be carried out at
an appropriate level, there must be a critical mass, to use an
image drawn from the sciences. There must be a sufficiently
large number of teaching members to provide a sophisticated
academic environment. At the same time, the "library of instruments" and books required must be sufficient to enable
54
graduate students to carry out explorations in fields of their
choice. It is no accident that the University of California
with its huge graduate school has eleven Nobel Prize winners
on its faculty, nine of whom are men who were appointed as
assistant professors and who carried out their major work in
California.
Universities must provide a stimulating intellectual atmosphere in which the most able scholars can carry out their
teaching and research. To meet the unprecedented demand for
new faculty to staff the additional institutions here and elsewhere, Canada must begin to reproduce herself academically.
The training of the university professor may take six to nine
years following high school graduation, and the Ph.D. degree
or equivalent is now almost mandatory in most fields of university education. In addition to providing the kind of intellectual atmosphere in which the productive scholar can flourish, it must be pointed out that this kind of programme is demanding in terms of the money required to provide the facilities and equipment necessary.
It has been stated frequently in the past that one of the
methods that might be used for alleviating pressure in the
first year of university would be to encourage students to complete senior matriculation and then go directly into second-
year Arts and Science or first-year Engineering. Grade XIII is
well developed in some areas of the Province, and it provides
a very useful service for students to complete their secondary
schooling. It is also true that Grade XIII is a qualification for
entry into certain sub-professional positions in society. Yet the
academic environment of Grade XIII is not the same as that of
a university, and it is only moderately suitable as the equivalent of first-year university. The number of course options that
can be made available to the student is necessarily restricted,
and the instructional methods are largely those of a high
school system rather than a university. In brief, Grade XIII
should be looked upon as the continuation of high school and
not academically the same as the first year of university.
In summary, I recommend that, in addition to existing institutions of higher education, there be established one new
55
four-year degree-granting college, and in addition two-year
regional colleges located at those places which will serve the
largest number of young people of the Province. In the next
section of this report, I shall consider the problem of selecting
the most suitable locations. Naturally many areas desire an
institution located within their region; and during my visits
throughout the Province, I have been impressed by the keen
interest displayed by local groups. Nevertheless, in considering
the welfare of the whole Province, decisions must be reached
with full knowledge of the fact that some communities will
feel disappointed over the immediate outcome.
56
Locations for Colleges
in British Columbia
I have already referred to the figure of 37,000 students who
will be seeking post-high school education in 1970, an increase
of almost 20,000 over the number in 1962. This dramatic increase may seem unrealistic to some readers and so, before
considering the locations of colleges in the Province, I shall
examine the methods by which such indications are made and
compare the results from several different sources.
The recently completed census of Canada revealed that over
one third of Canada's population was under the age of 15 in
1961. During the next decade these young people will be seeking entrance to post-high school educational institutions. Not
only is the total number involved greater than ever before in
Canada's history, but the proportion of the total who want
and should have educational facilities available to them is also
steadily rising. In order to measure the challenge of these
conditions, several authorities have prepared projections of
the numbers involved; and, although their conclusions are
not identical, it may be seen from Table 11 that they are all
of the same order of magnitude.
The first three are arrived at by projecting a Provincial
total pool (e.g., 18-21 year age-group or Grade XII enrolment)
57
TABLE 11. PROJECTIONS OF UNIVERSITY AND
COLLEGE ENROLMENT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
1965-66
1971-72
Method I.
Method II.
Method III.
METHOD METHOD METHOD METHOD
I II III IV
23,000 24,900 24,300 22,700
39,200 34,800 37,000 Low 34,000
High 40,000
E. F. Sheffield, 1961. Based upon projection of
current trend, relating British Columbia enrolment to the enrolment of the whole of Canada.
Chant Commission Report. Based upon projection of college enrolment in relation to Grade
XII enrolment.
R. J. Rowan and J. Halpern, A Report on the
Problem of Higher Education in British Columbia, 1962. Based upon projected rate of increase
of 0.8 per cent per year of the proportion of the
18-21 age-group enrolled in college.
Method IV. J. D. Chapman and W. G. Hardwick. Based upon
projection of college enrolment as a proportion
of Grade 7 (1959-60) and Grade 2 (1959-60) on
a regional basis. (See Appendix E)
while the fourth is an aggregate or regional projections derived from 1959-60 Grade VII and Grade II enrolments.
The figures in Table 11 represent the projected total enrolment in all forms of post-high school institutions and Grade
XIII, and, therefore, include the numbers in all undergraduate years as well as those in graduate studies. Other tables
included in this report refer to projections of only one portion
of this total figure, namely first-year enrolment. Naturally in
any one year this figure is considerably less than the total and
represents the number of students entering post-high school
education for the first time.
Table 11 indicates that by 1965-66 in British Columbia
there will be some 24,000 students continuing their education
beyond high school. If by that time no additional facilities
58
have been made available, these students will be distributed
roughly as follows: 19,000 at the University of British Columbia, 3,000 at Victoria College, and 2,000 in senior matriculation. By 1971 a total of 37,000 students will continue their academic education beyond high school. If no new institutions
have been established by that time, it is estimated that 27,700
of these will enrol in the University of British Columbia, 4,000
in Victoria College, and the remainder will attend senior matriculation classes in the high schools of the Province. Such a
massing of students on the Point Grey Campus would create
a situation that would critically distort the whole structure of
the University, and it could not possibly be in the best interests of higher education.
I am convinced that such a situation would be an educational disaster for the Province of British Columbia. Even
now our facilities are taxed to the utmost, and, although we
realize that further expansion will be unavoidable, the possibility of accommodating close to 30,000 students on the Point
Grey Campus is beyond reasonable acceptance. Yet, unless
other facilities are made available immediately, such a possibility is inescapable. Otherwise, thousands of very able and
deserving young men and women of this Province will be deprived of higher education.
In view of all the evidence we are drawn to the inevitable
conclusion that the interests of the students, the people of the
Province, and the University will be served best by decentralization to provide higher education for the 37,000 prospective students.
In order that I might make recommendations about the
locations of new colleges, it was necessary for me to acquaint
myself with the possibilities available in the different parts
of the Province and to consider the general principles upon
which such decisions might be made. I visited a number of
representative communities throughout the Province. During
these visits I was privileged to discuss a plan for decentralization with the local school boards, members of the Chamber
of Commerce, Alumni of the University of British Columbia,
and other persons interested in the development of higher
59
education. In essence, however, my contacts were directly with
local school boards, since the present Public Schools Act
identifies them as the agencies which would make representations to the Council of Public Instruction for the establishment of any regional colleges. During my visits I met with
ready co-operation and cordiality which enabled me to obtain
important and useful information for the preparation of this
report. I was invariably impressed by intense local interest in
the early establishment of colleges, either in a preferred city
or town, or through co-operation on a regional basis.
As the result of my discussions with those concerned with
the development of post-high school education in the various
centres of the province and in the light of experience in other
parts of Canada and the U.S.A., it became clear that there are
several important criteria which should help us to decide
upon the location of new colleges. These are:
(a) the total population of the area concerned;
(b) the size of the "student pool" within this total;
(c) the number of students within commuting distance of
a particular centre;
(d) the proportion of this number which seems likely to
need post-high school education;
(e) the existing level and quality of cultural activities.
The most direct approach is to begin with a survey of those
areas within the Province which have a concentration of
population sufficient to warrant the establishment of an institution. It was therefore necessary to seek communities having
a fairly high density of population to act as centres, and to
which would be added students residing within one hour's
travel by car. Consideration was given also to the population
growth which is likely to occur in the chosen area, not only "
by natural increase, but also by in-migration. A further guide
to possible locations was the registrations in Grade XIII at
certain centres, and the number of students from those centres
attending the University in the first and second years.
A programme of decentralization of higher education in
British Columbia must be planned so that new institutions
will be assured of enough students to carry on a fairly compre-
60
hensive course of studies. "A potential enrolment of 400 full
time students at the end of five years would appear to be
necessary to provide adequate breadth of programme for a
two-year college," expresses the considered opinion of authorities on two-year colleges in the United States.1 Minimum starting enrolment must be about 300 students in a two-year programme. Most communities in British Columbia are not sufficiently large to supply a pool of qualified students and those
that are large enough owe it to their smaller neighbouring
communities to co-operate in a regional college programme.
Interest in higher education and in cultural activities which
have already been demonstrated by citizens in certain communities provides further evidence regarding possible locations. These interests are reflected in the size of the local library, the quality of offerings in adult education, theatre,
music, and fine arts.
Any local considerations must be seen in the broad perspective of the added benefits that can accrue to the citizens of
the Province at large. These new colleges are expected to
flourish and grow to meet the changing demands and requirements of higher education in the various regions of the Province. In this respect the regional college will act as a leaven
in the community. It will foster and promote higher education and cultural activities among the students who are in
attendance, and at the same time it will provide an opportunity for continuing education among interested citizens in a
changing society. Thus I foresee an enhancement of the cultural and educational status of the whole Province.
The existence of a regional college will, I am certain, encourage able young men and women to go and take additional
education. They might be denied this opportunity if they were
obliged to reside at an institution remote from their homes.
In even broader terms, the dispersal of institutions of higher
education will contribute markedly to raising the whole intellectual and cultual life of the citizens of British Columbia.
With the establishment of such institutions, I would expect
a new ferment and activity in higher education which would
reach out its beneficial effects to all citizens of this Province.
61
TABLE 12. TOTAL STUDENT POOL FROM WHICH
FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS WILL BE DRAWN
ACTUAL
PROJE
CTED
REGION
1961
1965
1971
Vancouver—Lower Fraser
Valley
11,270
17,200
18,200
Victoria—Vancouver Island
3,272
4,800
5,200
Okanagan
1,851
2,500
2,600
Kootenays
1,561
2,100
2,100
South Cariboo
737
1,300
1,600
Central Interior
754
1,200
1,700
Coast
1,042
1,500
1,800
Peace River and North
437
800
1,100
TOTAL
20,924
31,400
34,300
In order to determine the regional distribution of population and the "student pool," I asked several of my colleagues
at the University of British Columbia to prepare information
from the recent census and other available records, so that I
might identify the regions in the province where the need for
new colleges was the greatest and the centres at which these
needs might be best met. Table 12 sets down the results of
these studies in terms of actual total population and "student
pool" in 1961 and projected student pool for 1965 and 1971.*
It is immediately clear that Vancouver and the Lower
Fraser Valley, with over half of the population of the Province, is the dominant population concentration. Furthermore,
while it is clearly the area with the most well-developed post-
high school education facilities, it is also the area with the
largest and most varied needs. Greater Victoria, with 183,000
population, is in a class which lies between the complex Vancouver-Lower Fraser Valley area and the other regions of the
Province. It is larger than the next three regions (the Okanagan, the Kootenays, and Central Vancouver Island) which in-
*See Appendix E, Methods Used for Projecting Enrolments.
62
900,. 890
800
TOTAL
POPULATION
BY REGION (1961)
30 0
200
100
£ - i= = o Jr
c E 3 3 a i_
OJ o o o x o
O ii OT Win z
FIGURE 4
elude only some 100,000 each. These three are all characterized by a greater dispersion of population but with several
individual centres. In the remaining regions of the Province
there are fewer people, even more widely dispersed, and with
their cultural and economic activity focussed more or less on
one centre only. (Figure 4).
VANCOUVER AND THE LOWER FRASER VALLEY. The
Lower Fraser Valley, with the largest concentration of population in the Province, becomes the focus of the University of
British Columbia. However, the University on the Point Grey
63
site was not established to give maximum accessibility to
people living in the Fraser Valley. In a day when travel habits
were very different, the site on the westernmost tip of the
region gave proximity to the residents of Vancouver. Students
from nearby municipalities have had to leave home and move
on or near the Point Grey Campus to get college training.
In the past fifteen years major changes have taken place in
the Lower Fraser Valley region. The population has increased
markedly and high population densities, once only characteristic of Vancouver city, have spread eastward into the western
Lower Fraser Valley municipalities. Individual mobility has
increased in terms of the widespread use of the motor vehicle,
and the proportion of the population demanding higher education has risen. All three forces have stimulated a rapid
expansion in the number of students having access and demanding entrance to the Point Grey Campus.
Over sixty per cent of the provincial pool seeking education
in the coming decade will come from this region. If the University is to stabilize its population, which I have argued
earlier to be a provincial necessity, then potential students
from this region will have to be housed elsewhere than on the
Point Grey Campus.
With these facts in mind, how can the needs of students in
Vancouver and the Lower Fraser Valley be served? Population is growing at an average rate of nearly four per cent
per year in this region. However, there are considerable area
variations in rates of growth. Between 1941 and 1961 Vancouver city's population remained relatively stable, while the
adjacent municipalities in the western Lower Fraser Valley
grew rapidly. On the other hand, the predominantly agricultural municipalities in the eastern Lower Fraser Valley have
grown slowly. If present trends continue, the municipalities
of the western Lower Fraser Valley such as Burnaby, Surrey,
Coquitlam, and Langley will exceed the total population of
Vancouver, West Vancouver, and Richmond within a decade.
(Figure 5).
A new four-year college will be required immediately to
serve the growing population of the western Lower Fraser
64
POPULATION INCREASE
PAST AND PROJECTED
FOR SELECTED AREAS OF THE LOWER
MAINLAND OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
650
600
550
500
z
o
w 450
ce
a.
_ 400
w
a 350
<
g 300
X
250
200
150
100
50
VALLEY ■ Burnaby, Surrey,
Mopie Ridge, Lonsiey,Delta,
Matsqui, New Westminster,
North Vancouver (East).
VANCOUVER Vancouver, West
Vancouver, Richmond, North
Vancouver (West), Delta (West).
:
!
i ,.
..{''
/
/
SOURCES:
Lower Mainland Regional PSanning
Board. POPULATION TRENDS IN
THE LOWER MAINLAND REGION.
1921,-1978, New Westminster B.G,
1956.
AND
Western Development and Power
Limited. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
STUDY. LOWER MAINLAND OF
BRITISH COLUMBIA. S951-I975,
Vancouver B.C., 1959,
{
EASTERN LOWER FRASER
VALLEY ■- Chilliwack, Sumas,
•-
19
21 1931 1941 !95S 1961 197!
FIGURE 5
Valley, an area not within easy commuting distance of the
Point Grey Campus. This institution, and this institution
alone, can most effectively alleviate the demand for undergraduate education on the Point Grey Campus. If a suitable
location can be selected, this institution could command a
freshman enrolment of 2,000 in 1965 and reach an enrolment
of about 7,000 in the four-year programme by 1971. A college
in this area will be well suited to a vigorous college programme along with extensive programmes of adult education.
The college should be located on the new Trans-Canada
freeway near the Stormont Interchange. See Figure 6. Such
a site would serve as a "least-aggregate-travel-time" point for
those neighbourhoods most inaccessible to the present campus.
This site would be equally accessible by automobile to those
65
students from North Vancouver, Surrey, and Langley municipalities. Such a college-site would be as convenient (in travel
time) for students living in these municipalities as the Point
Grey Campus is to persons living in the central sections of
Vancouver city.
A site further to the west would serve new areas of Vancouver and West Vancouver but would increase travel time
from Lower Fraser Valley centres. On the other hand a site
further to the east would serve the Lower Fraser Valley better
but would increase travel time from densely populated sections of North Vancouver and Burnaby. Several desirable
sites containing over 250 acres exist in this area, including the
Department of Veterans' Affairs George Derby Hospital site,
and municipally-owned land on Burnaby Mountain.
The Provincial Government has already established the
Institute of Technology about two miles west of the Stormont
Interchange. This will no doubt meet the needs of these municipalities for technical education, leaving for the four-year
college regular academic and adult educational activities.
Two regional two-year colleges will be desirable as well.
One should serve Vancouver and the adjacent municipalities,
particularly in the field of continuing education, terminal
academic education, and transfer facilities for students on the
academic programme. It seems apparent that it is the hope of
the Vancouver School Board to see the King Edward programmes develop along these lines. The second two-year college should serve the eastern Lower Fraser Valley. Initially
much of the region can be served by the four-year college.
However, as that institution grows in size, the two-year college
will be necessary. Precise location of this college would be determined by the changes in population density in the Lower
Fraser Valley over the next decade. The University, the four-
year college in the western Lower Fraser Valley, the Institute
of Technology and the two, two-year colleges would offer the
largest population concentration in the Province a comprehensive programme of post-high school education.
GREATER VICTORIA. The City of Victoria and those adjacent municipalities on the southern tip of Vancouver Is-
66
TRAVEL TIME
BY AUTOMOBILE TO U.B.C.
AND STORMONT INTERCHANGE
< 30 MINUTES TO U.B.C.
illfllHlii <30 MINUTES TO STORMONT
DUAL HIGHWAY
MAIN ROADS
Miles
0\\
-A
FIGURE 6
land form the second largest concentration of population in
the Province, and fittingly already have a four-year college.
Although growth in the region will be modest, Victoria College should expect continued growth as more and more students from the coastal regions find it desirable to attend Victoria College for college education. Victoria College can expect as many as 4,000 students by 1971.
Because of the size of the region I foresee the demand on
the part of students for the two-year college functions. I believe that other regions of the Province currently without
higher education facilities must be assured of new institutions before a comprehensive two-year college in the Victoria
area is justified. However, the school boards in Greater Victoria may find it desirable to enter into some agreement with
Victoria College to have a limited two-year programme
offered, perhaps on the Lansdowne Campus, as the major academic programme is transferred to Gordon Head.
OKANAGAN VALLEY REGION. Although 100,000 people
reside in the Okanagan region, they are found on farms and
in small cities and towns stretched along 160 miles of Highway 97. Because of the size of the regional population, I feel
that it is important that a four-year college programme be
available within the Okanagan Valley within the next eight
years. Although it could be argued that the Valley could support two, two-year colleges, perhaps at Penticton and Vernon,
I believe it desirable both from the standpoint of local interest in high quality education and from needs of the whole
Province that the people of the Okanagan unite to establish
one two-year college which in a few years will become a four-
year Okanagan College.
The location of Okanagan College should follow the same
principles of large population pool, accessibility, and local interest that are applied in other regions. The college should
therefore be located at a site near Highway 97 on the west
side of Okanagan Lake immediately opposite Kelowna. A college here would have a number of advantages. It would lie
mid-way between Penticton and Vernon by road and could
be reached from either centre in about one hour. Figure 7.
68
OKANAGAN REGION
NUMBERS OF CHILDREN IN SELECTED
GRADES FROM WHICH FRESHMEN
CLASSES WILL BE DRAWN
KELOWNA
O 3
VERNON
PENTICTON
COLLEGE 1961 1965
Grade 8 Grade 8
1955-56 1959-60
1970
Grade I
1959-60
SOURCES:
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF
BRITISH COLUMBIA
85th Annual Report. 1957
89th Annual Report. 1961
O
l_
10
_J Miles
o
POPULATION
SUMMERLAND
KELOWNA
26,000
PENTICTON
4,000
FIGURE 7
It would be tributary to the largest urban region, Kelowna,
which, with a population of 26,000, would provide the largest
contingent of students. It could offer facilities for adult education and community service to the Kelowna urbanized
region, but it should not officially be tied to that city. It would
occupy an impressive site overlooking Okanagan Lake.
Sites near Vernon or Penticton would not be centrally located and would not meet the maximum accessibility requirements. Kelowna has been chosen as the site for a Provincial
Vocational School. The reasons for this selection—accessi-
69
bility to the major population concentration, centrality within
the valley, reasonably good prospects for continued economic
and population growth, and proximity to important urban
functions—are similar for an academic college at a site near
Kelowna.
In order to serve a wider constituency than falls within commuting distance of this particular region, college residences
would extend educational opportunities to large numbers of
young people. Residential life has a profound influence upon
those who live within halls, and contributes greatly to the
whole tone and atmosphere of an academic community. In its
initial stages as a two-year college, I visualize limited demand
for residences. These will become essential at the time the
college becomes a four-year institution. Even from the beginning the college and interested citizens will need to ensure
that suitable living accommodation is made available for
students who cannot commute on a daily basis.
I would like to commend to the residents of the Okanagan
and other regions of the province the enlightened offer of
Revelstoke, made in a brief to me: "If Okanagan College is
organized, that School District 19 (Revelstoke) should provide on the campus, in conjunction with adjoining school districts, dormitory accommodation for the students of the school
district."
THE KOOTENAYS. The pattern of population distribution
in the Kootenays is one of dispersion with most people living
in small towns separated from one another by rivers or lakes,
served by ferries, or mountain passes. However, of the 98,000
persons in the region nearly two-thirds live in the West
Kootenay valley between Nelson and Trail. This region provides enough students to various institutions of higher education now to warrant the establishment of a two-year college.
Like the Okanagan, the population is not concentrated in one
centre, but distributed between several cities and towns.
(Figure 8).
The choice of Nelson as the site for Notre Dame University
College did not result from maximum accessibility considerations. Although the College has been in existence for over
70
WEST
KOOTENAY NELS0N
REGION 7,100
Kootenay
Lake
FIGURE 8
a decade, a large number of students from Nelson are enrolled
either in Grade XIII or are attending the University of British
Columbia or Victoria. Trail has the largest population (11,-
500), but a college there could not adequately serve the whole
valley on a commuting basis. Moreover, as a smelter town on
a restricted site, a satisfactory college site might be difficult
to secure.
The towns of Castlegar and Kinnaird (1961 combined
population 4,500) should be given serious consideration as
the site of a West Kootenay regional college. Kinnaird is
situated on the Columbia River seventeen miles north of Trail.
71
It will be the junction of the new Trans-Provincial highway
which by-passes the Cascade-Rossland mountain highway to
the west and will be linked with S'almo and Creston to the
east. With the completion of the new highways, Fruitvale and
Salmo may be within commuting distance as well. Although
Nelson is within twenty-seven miles of Castlegar, a ferry crossing lengthens the travel time, but construction of the Columbia River bridge will overcome this obstacle. Both Castlegar
and Kinnaird have experienced rapid growth in the past five
years. Rossland and Trail have remained static. The construction of the Celgar pulpmill at Castlegar has materially strengthened the economy of the region. With possible construction
of the Columbia River Treaty Dams, additional population
growth may be expected. A two-year Kootenay Regional College at Castlegar could have 500 students in 1965 and 900 students by 1971. Residents of the East Kootenays would have to
decide between offering Grade XIII and establishing residential dormitories at the College in Castlegar.
CENTRAL VANCOUVER ISLAND. The Nanaimo, Alberni,
and Courtenay areas together have over 90,000 persons. At
present students seeking higher education either attend Grade
XIII in their home town or attend the University of British
Columbia or Victoria College. In total these three centres
and their environs could well support a two-year college. However, the distances between the cities are greater than those in
either the Okanagan or West Kootenays. A college site might
be selected in the vicinity of Parksville or Qualicum, a compromise location which might serve the whole region. However, with the large commuting distances involved and the
lower propensity students appear to have for higher education and also because of the relative convenience of Victoria
College, I suggest that any development in central Vancouver
Island be delayed until other areas of the Province with more
pressing needs have established institutions.
CENTRAL INTERIOR. Prince George acts as a focus for a
large region extending from Quesnel in the south, McBride
in the east, to perhaps Smithers in the west. The city of Prince
George is growing rapidly and the numbers of children in
72
TABLE 13. PROPENSITY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
First Year-Grade XIII Enrolment
as a Percentage of the Student Pool*
REGION PERCENTAGE
Vancouver-Lower Fraser Valley
Vancouver 42
Lower Fraser Valley 25
Greater Victoria 36
Okanagan 26
Kootenays 23
Central Vancouver Island 25
Central Interior 16
Kamloops-South Cariboo
Kamloops 38
Peripheral 4
Other Regions 13
* Enrolment: UBC, Victoria College, and Grade XIII (1961-
62) ; Student Pool: Grade VIII (1956-57) plus in-migration.
This should not be construed as the percentage of the college-age group (18-21) attending university. See Appendix E.
early years of school are large. The propensity of students for
higher education is low. (Table 13). The city itself is not large
enough at this time to support a college. Even when residential dormitories are provided it certainly would not command
the same priority rating as the Okanagan or West Kootenays.
KAMLOOPS, SOUTH CARIBOO. Although this region has a
smaller population than the other regions, I appreciate that
it has a very important core city, Kamloops. The population
is rapidly increasing. There are more school-aged children in
Kamloops than in any other city in the southwestern interior.
Furthermore, the propensity of Kamloops students to seek
higher education is amongst the highest in the province. The
growth potential of the Kamloops region would appear to be
favourable, particularly when one notes the important trade
and transportation focus of the city and the potential indus-
73
\\
V\\
•w
CARIBOO
V
V
Pentiotoni
Vernon
okanagan)
Kelowna (I I
Nelson
KOOTENAY
ii-nir»i Gostlegor-Kinnaird
WEST LOWER FRASER VALLEY
EAST LOWER FRASER VALLEY
VANCOUVER
PROJECTED
TOTAL ENROLMENT
1971
UNIVERSITY OF B.C. 17,850
4-YEAR COLLEGESO
W. LOWER FRASER VALLEY 6,950
VICTORIA 3,650
OKANAGAN 2,400
2-YEAR COLLEGES ||)
GREATER VANCOUVER 2300
E. LOWER FRASER VALLEY 950
KOOTENAY 850
CENTRAL VANCOUVER ISLAND 850
CENTRAL B.C. 700
SOUTH CARIBOO 500
TOTAL 37,000
"\\
FIGURE 9
trial development within the region based upon mines and
forests.
Kamloops must be considered as one of the sites of two-year
regional colleges to be established by 1971.
OTHER REGIONS. The remaining major regions of the province have relatively small populations. No one area is important enough to warrant a college until the next decade. It appears that Grade XIII will have to continue to be provided in
the larger centres such as Kitimat and Dawson Creek, and students seeking further training will have to move to one of the
two or four-year institutions in other regions. It is likely that
the Peace River will approach the college threshold shortly
after 1970.
RECOMMENDATIONS. Priorities must be established. In so
doing it is well to remember that York University was established in an old, remodelled private house and that on the
Point Grey campus huts and other temporary quarters were
used to facilitate rapid expansion. It would be possible in
some centres to use parts of the high school buildings in the
same way that Carleton University in Ottawa did in its early
development. If this alternative is adopted, there must be
complete separation of high school and college functions. The
utilization of such premises would permit an early start for
college classes while plans were readied and new buildings
were under construction.
Based upon the above considerations and (a) appreciating
the necessity for providing for the largest numbers of students; (b) meeting the needs of areas which have not benefited from institutions of higher learning up to the present;
(c) stressing the need to stabilize the University of British
Columbia's enrolment; and (d) being realistic about financing
higher education, I recommend immediate action on the following :
1. that Victoria College should have the privilege of deciding
to become an independent degree-granting college;
2. that a four-year degree-granting college be established in
the western Lower Fraser Valley;
75
3. that the school districts of the Okanagan Valley co-operate
in establishing a two-year regional college with the expectation of its becoming a four-year degree-granting college by
1970;
4. that a two-year regional college be established in the vicinity of Castlegar to serve the school districts from Trail to
Nelson;
5. that a two-year regional college be established in metropolitan Vancouver.
Further, I see the desirability of two-year regional colleges
being planned for operation by 1971 in the following regions:
1. Central Vancouver Island Region;
2. Kamloops and South Cariboo Region;
3. Central Interior (Prince George) ;
4. Eastern Lower Fraser Valley.
Total projected enrolments for 1971 at the various centres
I have recommended are shown in Figure 9.
Reference
1 D. G. Morrison and S. V. Martorana, Criteria for the Establishment of Two-Year Colleges, U. S. Department of Health,
Education and Welfare, Washington, D. C, 1960, p. 61.
76
Assistance for Higher Education:
Academic Board and Grants
Commission
In order to establish confidence in the system of higher education I have recommended, and to keep faith with the people
of the Province, particularly with the young people and their
parents, it will be necessary to ensure the academic standards
of the various regional colleges that will be established. With
the best intentions young people may choose a local college
which they assume has an academic standing equivalent to
that of a university. This being so, the standards in academic
programmes of regional colleges must be such that able students can transfer to the University of British Columbia, Victoria College, or any other degree-granting institution. In
brief, in any programme of decentralization the public must
be assured that new institutions will not only maintain existing standards but indeed will help to raise the entire level of
academic education throughout the Province.
I propose the establishment of an Academic Board that will
guarantee the standards of new institutions. The services of
such a Board would be of great value, for example, in fostering the growth and academic development of the new institutions I am recommending, and at the same time it would assist
77
in gaining public support for those essential facilities and resources to be made available in attaining the goals the college
has set for itself. It is not suggested that this Board would
dictate to the institution; rather, it would offer wise and sympathetic advice to guide the institution in the course of its
development. For example, the Board might negotiate with
larger institutions to procure proper facilities, staff and so
forth for a fledgling institution. In addition it could, from
time to time, arrange for the temporary exchange of academic
personnel between established institutions and new colleges;
in this way the whole system of higher education would work
more effectively in order to promote excellence. Moreover, a
regional college would have the advice and assistance of the
Board in seeking well-qualified staff. Through such a Board,
the transfer of students from one institution to another could
be facilitated. It would pay regular visits to the regional colleges in order to aid them in planning and expanding their
academic programmes, and thus a constant review of the academic standards would be maintained in regional colleges.
The Academic Board would have no direct responsibility
for the distribution of funds to the regional colleges. However,
academic considerations must take precedence over all others
in the whole system of higher education. It is essential that
close liaison be maintained between the Academic Board and
the Grants Commission I shall propose, in order that scholarly
interests may be served in an imaginative way. The Grants
Commission would be the facilitating agency to support and
promote the academic aims of the institutions, and hence the
advice of the Academic Board regarding the programme, staff,
and standards of the colleges would be a matter of first importance.
If there is any indication that the academic standards of a
regional college are not being maintained in relation to the
goals which it has set for itself, the Academic Board would
investigate and give assistance for correcting the situation. If
conditions were not acceptably improved, the Board would
withdraw its recognition of the college, and in consequence
the Grants Commission might in turn consider withdrawal of
78
financial support from public funds. The Academic Board
would become, therefore, an accrediting agency; and it would
be understood that any institution eligible for public financial
support would have to be approved academically by it. This
body would review and pass judgment upon the quality of
courses offered, the qualifications of the teaching staff, competence in new areas and new disciplines that might be offered
as the institution grew, and keep under constant review the
achievements of students who come from these colleges to
other institutions. Such an Academic Board might be composed of nine persons initially; three from the University of
British Columbia, three from Victoria College and three appointees of the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council. All should be
selected on a basis of academic knowledgeability and they
should represent a wide variety of fields and disciplines.
In order that the regional colleges may pursue the goals
they have set for themselves without restraint, the Academic
Board would not participate directly in the internal management or affairs of the colleges. As I have said elsewhere local
interests must be served, and citizens resident in the region
are expected to exercise initiative and encourage support for
academic undertakings promoting the objectives of higher
education both within their own region and throughout the
Province. Although the governing bodies I shall propose for
new institutions will include representatives from school
boards which have given wise and effective leadership in the
area of elementary and secondary education, few of them can
be fairly expected at this time to have extensive knowledge
about higher education. For that reason, they will seek the
advice and guidance of the Academic Board I have recommended.
I turn now to the problem of financing new institutions.
The financing of the two-year institutions should come from
three sources: local, provincial, and federal. On the other
hand, higher education at the college and university level
cannot be a regional matter, since such institutions are created
to serve the entire Province.
In order to provide for a balanced and harmonious develop-
79
ment within the provincial system of higher education and to
achieve a consolidated plan for advancing the educational
ideals I have envisaged, it is most important that responsible
and effective representations be made to the Provincial Government concerning the financial support which should be
given each institution. Requests by individual institutions
must be considered in terms of the overall programme for
higher education of the Province. Any means established
should ensure the equitable distribution of funds among institutions and, at the same time, provide encouragement and
support for colleges during the early stages of their development. The methods for making representation to government
should guarantee the best possible use of public funds by-
avoiding a duplication of expensive course offerings, laboratories, professional schools, libraries, and equipment for specialized teaching and research.
In addition, just as it is important that the needs of the
universities be presented to Government through some systematic procedure, it is also important that by this same procedure the needs of the Province and the country be interpreted to the institutions of higher learning. Educational
bodies supported by public funds have a deep responsibility
to the communities which they serve and lead. The United
Kingdom University Grants Commission has served both national and institutional needs and aspirations because it has
fulfilled the mission for which it was established: namely, "to
assist, in consultation with the universities and other bodies
concerned, the preparation and execution of such plans for
the development of the universities as may from time to time
be required in order to ensure that they are fully adequate
to national needs."
An examination of practices used elsewhere reveals that
there are three principal means whereby submissions could be
made to the Provincial Government for the financial support
of institutions of higher education.
1. Each institution would be permitted to make separate submissions to the Government for the capital and operating
funds it requires to accomplish its goals.
80
2. A Council might be established consisting of the chief executive officers of the four-year and university institutions
throughout the Province. Such a system is used extensively
in the United States, where the purpose is to achieve some
measure of agreement between competing institutions before any representations, separate or collective, are made to
the government.
3. A separate and distinct Grants Commission could be established to survey the institutional needs throughout the Province and to advise the Council of Public Instruction on the
allocation of capital and operating funds for universities
and colleges.
In varying degrees each of these three means provides a
solution to a vexing and complex problem; each also has its
limitations. Separate representation by individual institutions
to a government may create an impression that allocation of
available funds might be made on some basis other than an
objective appraisal of academic needs and objectives. Skill of
presentation or persuasive ability by regional boards might
conceivably work to the disadvantage of those regions which
cannot draw upon the services of experienced negotiators. It
is almost impossible for any institution to be objective about
its own needs relative to those of others, and excessive competition for funds might impair the unity of the whole structure
of the educational system. It is wasteful of the time of government and inefficient administrative practice to establish a
system whereby cabinet ministers are required to analyse, appraise, and adjudicate submissions from institutions that vary
in size, complexity, and stage of development. Such a situation
of separate representation contributes to an unnecessary atmosphere of uncertainty and instability with respect to the
annual budget of each institution; and it hinders drastically
the effectiveness and conviction with which each may plan for
the future. The institutions comprising the system must be
assured of sympathetic and equitable support.
These inherent limitations pertain equally to the second
method—that of a Council comprised of the chief executive
officers of each institution. It removes none of the difficulties
81
associated with separate representations. On the contrary, it
adds a further complication: it places a chief executive officer
in the difficult position of having to weigh the legitimate
claims of his own institution against the equally deserving
submissions of sister institutions.
In California, in Michigan, in Australia, in New Zealand,
and, since 1919, in Great Britain, such difficulties have been
largely overcome by the establishment of an impartial coordinating Board, sometimes termed a Grants Commission or
a Commission on Higher Education. After investigation each
has chosen as the best solution a separate and autonomous
Commission on Higher Education. On the basis of my own
studies and experience, I am in favour of the establishment
of such a commission in British Columbia.
The establishment of a commission would eliminate many
of the objections associated with the first two alternatives.
However, in fairness I should make reference to the principal
objections that have been raised against such a method.
It has been said that a Commission on Higher Education
might deny direct access to the government by governing
bodies of the institutions by interposing an unnecessary body
between them and the Government. Moreover, it might not
have the same intimate knowledge or grasp of a regional
situation as would the governing body of a particular institution in that area. As a consequence, decisions taken by the
Commission concerning the allocation of funds might create
an impression of remote authoritarianism, and the fear that
local needs and aspirations might not receive full and sympathetic consideration. It has even been suggested that, because
at present there are only two institutions making submissions
to the Provincial Government, such a commission is unnecessary. However, if my recommendations are acted upon and
new institutions are created, this argument becomes invalid.
I am not suggesting any unnecessary interference with the
autonomy of institutions, rather, I am suggesting the provision
of a stable, permanent, knowledgeable and impartial agency
which will assist all institutions in their development. In terms
of higher education, knowledge of both provincial and local
82
conditions is necessary; they cannot be considered in isolation
from one another. A system must be established and maintained that will permit consideration of both in depth and
perspective. Thus, despite the existence in this Province at
present of only one four-year college and one university, I
foresee the need in a short time for the establishment of a
University Grants Commission. It is important that an impartial and respected Board having the confidence of the
Provincial Government be in the position to carry out negotiations at the highest level on behalf of new and small institutions which might experience considerable difficulty in urging their case, simply by virtue of the fact that they are small
and young, and so in competition with major and more senior
institutions.
Furthermore, this Commission, if it is to discharge to the
full its responsibility for colleges and universities, must recognize that its decisions will influence directly the general welfare of education throughout the Province.
It is only by careful appraisal of local needs in higher education and in consultation with regional institutions that such
a Commission can carry out its principal task, which is to
ensure a general standard of excellence in education. I envisage that such a Commission would confer regularly with
the local governing bodies of regional institutions, and, in
particular, there should be the closest possible liaison with the
Academic Board in order to foster an atmosphere of understanding and goodwill. Any unplanned or sporadic development without reference to the advice of the Academic Board
and of the Grants Commission would lead inevitably to a confusion of educational aims and a dissipation of provincial
funds. In other words, the Commission would be responsible
not only for planning to meet current issues, but would have
as part of its responsibilities the assessment of long-range developments in the years ahead.
The kind of Commission I envisage would be vested with
the specific responsibility of appraising the requirements of
the institutions and of satisfying governments of the soundness
of the proposals. Such a Commission, I am convinced, would
83
be extremely useful as a senior advisory body to the Provincial
Government, not only for immediate projects but also for
long-range planning and the continuous development of education within the Province. There is, in short, the need for a
body to view the problem of higher education as a whole, to
make overall financial recommendations, and to arrive at estimates which have a sensible relation to government budgets.
The presence of an informed committee, commanding public
respect, would increase the confidence of the Government
itself and of the people that every safeguard had been taken
prior to decision. The experience of the United Kingdom
Grants Commission has shown that if such a safeguard is to
be provided, the Commission should enjoy complete independence and should not be dominated by any single institution
or by government.
The functions of the Grants Commission would be:
1. To analyse and appraise the needs, aims, and future plans
of individual institutions in relation to the whole development of higher education in this Province.
2. To seek and gather systematically pertinent information
and advice from the institutions themselves and from all
available sources.
3. To recommend to the Provincial Government policy, both
long and short term, with respect to the continuing operation and financing of higher education.
4. To receive and study the budget estimates for both capital
and operating needs of each institution.
5. To make a combined submission on behalf of all institutions
to the Provincial Government for support for the operating
and capital revenue of each.
6. To exercise an executive function by distributing the funds
which the Provincial Legislature assigns for higher education.
7. To distribute the grants made by the Federal Government
towards the operating revenue of institutions of higher
learning.
8. To submit an annual report to the Legislature.
If the Commission is to discharge these functions properly,
84
it is essential that it command the respect of the Government,
the institutions, and the public. The Commission would act
primarily in a staff relationship with the Government—the
staff possessing the responsibility of a recommendation, the
Government the responsibility of taking action with respect
to these recommendations. Of course, the Government cannot
be committed to implement any or all the recommendations
it receives. It should nevertheless be expected to pass official
judgment upon them after formal consultation with the Commission prior to decision regarding annual provincial budgets
for higher education.
In the light of these considerations, I recommend a Grants
Commission having the following membership:
1. A Chairman appointed by the Lieutenant - Governor - in-
Council. Because of the inseparable connection between
academic and financial matters, this person should also act
as chairman of the Academic Board.
2. One member nominated for a three-year term by each of
the institutions whose work the Commission embraces. The
number of members will have to be increased as new institutions are established. It would be desirable if the Faculty
of each institution had a voice in the appointment of the
representative.
3. An equal number appointed for a three-year term by the
Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council. The choice of these members should be left to the Government, but it is suggested
that they include representatives of business, labour, and
the professions.
4. A full-time, paid Executive Director, a Financial Officer,
and secretarial staff who will act jointly for the Academic
Board: these persons should be employees of the Commission.
Provision should also be made for calling in advisors on
campus planning, building and other aspects of the physical
design and development of colleges. Since much of the initial
work will be done by the institutions themselves, it would be
unnecessary to create a large staff.
I have not attempted to specify in any detailed manner how
85
either the Academic Board or the Grants Commission will
carry out their work. Experience indicates that such boards
and commissions elsewhere have defined their own terms and
procedures as they carry out their responsibilities. This is
especially the case during the formative years of a new and
diversified development.
86
Governing Bodies for New Institutions
Since the new two-year institutions I have suggested will
draw much support and encouragement from the local areas
they serve, it is important that citizens of those areas have a
voice in the government of these institutions. Within the
Province, those agencies which have the widest knowledge and
experience in financing and developing educational facilities
are the Boards of School Trustees. They are now responsible
for ensuring that a level of excellence in primary and secondary schooling is provided, and I have been impressed by the
wisdom and the sophistication of these Boards during my
travels throughout the Province. In my opinion, they are well
suited to appraise the educational needs and goals of areas
within the Province, and for that reason they should have a
large measure of responsibility for higher education in two-
year regional colleges.
If new institutions are established on a regional basis by
agreement between the Provincial Government and a group
of Boards of School Trustees, I recommend that a governing
body be established for each institution, composed as follows:
1. One representative named by each of the co-operating
Boards of School Trustees;
87
2. One representative named by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-
Council;
3. One representative named from their number by the superintendents of schools in the co-operating school districts;
4. One representative named by the Academic Board;
5. One representative named by the Grants Commission;
6. The President or Principal of the institution, who shall not
be a voting member;
7. One representative named by the Faculty of the institution,
who shall not be a member of that Faculty.
This governing body would have authority over the financial and academic affairs of the institution. Financial affairs
include property; investments; rights of expropriation; buildings; all appointments, promotions and dismissals; salaries; fund-raising; fee-structure; borrowing powers. Academic
affairs include curriculum, granting of diplomas; establishment of scholarships, prizes, bursaries and loans; time-table;
examinations; calendar; library; entrance requirements.
Lesiglation as recommended by the Academic Board and
the Grants Commission will be required by the Provincial
Government to establish these new institutions to provide for
governing bodies, and to establish by statute the Boards of
School Trustees which will co-operate in the continuing financial support of a regional college.
In respect to the procedure in establishing a four-year college in the Western Lower Fraser Valley, I recommend that:
1. The Provincial Government, after consultation with the
Academic Board, proceed with the immediate appointment
of a Board of Governors.
2. When this Board of Governors is established, it should appoint a President, and, in consultation with him, draft for
the consideration of the Provincial Government, appropriate Legislation for the establishment and operation of a
four-year college. This Legislation should provide for the
establishment of a Senate.
3. With reference to the membership on the Board, and without prejudice to the recommendations of the Academic
Board, I suggest that provision be made for:
PROPOSED CHANNELS
OF COMMUNICATION FOR
SELF-GOVERNING INSTITUTIONS
COUNCIL OF
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
ACADEMIC
BOARD
H
SECRETARIAT
H
GRANTS
COMMISSION
UNIVERSITIES
4-YEAR
COLLEGES
2-YEAR
COLLEGES
FIGURE 10
(c)
(a) appointments by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council.
(b) appointments to the Board from the Senate, when
established.
the election by the Faculty of the institution of at least
one Board member. This will provide for academic
representation on the Board. By this means the Faculty
can have a voice in the election of those they consider
to have the experience, the scholastic repute, and the
specialized knowledge to assess the teaching and re-
89
search being carried on. Such representation would
probably be of assistance to the Board in obtaining
a full appreciation of university affairs, the differences
between the various disciplines, the complexities of
academic status, and staff structure.
I do not think any nominee for such election should
be a salaried employee of the institution itself. It
would be invidious to place a Faculty member in the
position of having to vote on his own appointment and
it would be difficult for him to be dispassionate about
his own area of academic interest. Distinguished graduates and distinguished Faculty members from a sister
institution are the sort of persons who might be asked
to stand for nomination in this category.
(d) The Chancellor of the institution to be a member of
the Board of Governors.
(e) The Board to elect its own Chairman.
(f) The President to attend all Board meetings in his role
and function as chief executive officer. Because he is
chief executive officer, I think it inappropriate that
the President should be a voting member of the Board.
(g) all members of the Board, whether elected or appointed, to serve for a three-year term and no member
should be eligible to serve consecutively for more than
two three-year terms.
(h) the first members to be appointed for one, two and
three years respectively so that thereafter an equal
number shall retire each year.
The relations between the various advisory boards and the
institutions are shown in Figure 10.
90
Financing of New Colleges
In estimating costs for the development of higher education
recommended in this report, it is convenient to consider the
anticipated development in three phases:
Phase 1: The present to 1965.
Phase 2: 1965-1971.
Phase 3: 1971 onward.
Quite apart from gathering a faculty for a new institution,
it will take at least two years to plan buildings and complete
them. Even with the immediate acceptance of the recommendations in this report, it will not be possible to have other
institutions of higher education in newly constructed premises
until the academic year 1965-66, or the year following, although the use of temporary accommodation may permit an
earlier beginning.
During Phase 1, the expected increase in school-age population will continue to overtax the resources of existing institutions. The building programme at the new Gordon Head
Campus of Victoria College is well under way and will permit
accommodation of the approximately 3,000 students predicted
for this institution by the end of Phase 1. The situation at the
91
University of British Columbia will be different. A study of
capital needs is currently being undertaken, but it is tentatively premised on the developments which will take place in
the Province at large and on the urgent need to expand and
strengthen the graduate programme. No estimate of capital
requirements can be provided at this time.
During Phase 1, operating costs will inevitably be increased.
As I have pointed out, The University of British Columbia has
operated at a lower annual cost per student than the rest of
Canada. This cannot continue, and to correct it will require
by the end of Phase 1 that operating costs per student at the
University be increased to $2,100, in accordance with the
projected Canadian average cost per student for 1965-66.
Special mention should be made of the situation in the City
of Vancouver, where the King Edward School was converted
in 1962 to a centre for continuing education. During the current session, 1962-63, some 750 full-time students are completing all or part of their senior matriculation in a college
environment, quite different from that of a high school. It
would be desirable for the Vancouver School Trustees to extend this operation to include, by 1963-64, second year courses
in Arts and Science. With the Vancouver School of Art and
the Vancouver Vocational Institute, the city will have a well-
rounded regional college offering.
By the summer of 1965, initial construction should be completed for the four-year college in the Western Lower Fraser
Valley and the two-year colleges in the Okanagan and the
West Kootenays.
During Phase 2, 1965-71, the college in the Lower Fraser
Valley will continue to grow rapidly and further construction
will be necessary during this period. Early in Phase 3, it is
probable that this college will have become an institution of
some 7,000 students. About the same time, the college in the
Okanagan will be reaching a point where it might soon become a four-year degree-granting institution. Phase 2, therefore, will be a period of growth and consolidation for the first
new institutions, and one of planning for the regional colleges
which should start operation in Phase 3.
92
The Grants Commission and Academic Board should assist
in implementing these recommendations. These bodies should
determine the priorities for the establishment of colleges in
regions such as Prince George, Kamloops, Nanaimo-Parksville-
Qualicum-Alberni and Abbotsford-Chilliwack-Mission-Hope.
All of these areas can anticipate regional colleges early in
Phase 3, when in each a minimum of 400 to 500 students in
the academic programme can be assured.
CAPITAL COSTS: Details of how the costs set forth below
were estimated are given in Appendices A to D. In giving cost
estimates for the construction and the furnishing of buildings,
I have used throughout the figure of $20 per sq. ft., which is
the average cost of recent permanent construction and furnishings at the University, and I have used areas per student based
on standards developed here. (See Appendix A) In the Okanagan and the West Kootenays, it is possible that the local
communities would make available both the site and basic
services. Consequently, in listing the capital expenditures,
I have not included these costs. The capital costs, year by
year for a four-year college in the Western Lower Fraser
Valley, and two two-year colleges (Okanagan and West Kootenays) are estimated in Tables 14 and 15.
For a college in the West Kootenays, which is typical of
most other regional colleges to be established later in Phase
3, we assume an initial registration of 500, growing in five
years to 900. It should be noted that the smaller the registration in a two-year college the higher the per student cost for
both capital and operation, since, for example, the size of
library, the cost of books, size of administration building and
bookstore and other overhead costs are approximately the
same for both smaller and larger institutions. In addition, to
provide an adequate offering of courses, the student-faculty
ratio will be lower in a small institution than in a larger one.
I set out below approximate capital cost figures for buildings and furnishings required to the end of Phase 2. It should
be stressed that I am not making a blueprint for these institutions; rather, I am giving approximate estimates of what
buildings and furnishings might cost. (Table 16) The figures
93
TABLE 14. ESTIMATED OPERATING COSTS
WESTERN LOWER FRASER VALLEY
1965
1971
ESTIMATED APPROXIMATE APPROXIMATE
No. OF COST PER TOTAL OPERA-
STUDENTS STUDENT TING COST
2,400
7,000
$1,650
$2,350
$4,000,000
$16,000,000
TABLE 15. ESTIMATED OPERATING COSTS
OKANAGAN AND WEST KOOTENAY COLLEGES
COST
OPERA
No. OF
PER
TING
STUDENTS
STUDENT
COST
Okanagan 1965
750
$ 900
$ 675,000
1971
2,400
$1,300
$3,000,000
West Kootenays 1965
500
$900
$450,000
1971
900
$1,300
$1,170,000
TABLE 16. SUMMARY OF CAPITAL COSTS
OF PROPOSED NEW INSTITUTIONS
FOR PHASE 2, 1965-71
Western Lower
Fraser Valley
Okanagan
West Kootenay
INITIAL COSTS
1963-64 1964-65 1965-71
$2,000,000
11,000,000
$450,000
$2,000,000
$1,000,000
$450,000
$5,000,000
$1,500,000
$800,000
$3,450,000 $3,450,000 $7,300,000*
'"" For the five years 1965-71, about $1,460,000 per year.
94
TABLE 17. APPROXIMATE COST OF INSTRUCTION
PER FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDENT
BY FACULTY, UBC, 1961-62
APPROX. TOTAL COST
OF INSTRUCTION PER
F.T.E. STUDENT
TAUGHT BY STAFF OF
FACULTY
THE FACU1
Agriculture
$3,610
Applied Science (including Schools)
2,030
Arts and Science (including
Schools)
765
Commerce and Business
Administration
1,130
Education
1,110
Forestry
1,320
Law
1,070
Medicine (including Rehabilitation)
5,170
Pharmacy
1,180
OVERALL COST F.T.E. $ 970
* Includes cost of academic services.
Note: Graduate students are allocated to individual faculties.
include only minimal allowances for student services such as
lunch rooms, lounges, and gymnasia, and no residences are included, since if needed, the latter can be built on a self-liquidating basis. Nevertheless, these estimates, included only as
an example, cannot be considered final because they may be
modified by various factors such as programme characteristics,
inflationary trends, regional differences, and local initiative
in respect to rate of development.
The estimated capital costs for the Western Lower Fraser
Valley total $9,000,000 up to 1971. Total capital costs for
the Okanagan in the same period are estimated at $3,500,000
and those for the West Kootenays at $1,700,000. I must emphasize that these capital costs are not new costs to be im-
95
posed on the Province by decentralization. They are capital
requirements which must be met to accommodate the students
who will be demanding advanced education over the next
eight years. If the capital requirements are not met by decentralization, they will have to be met through equivalent
expansion of undergraduate and ancillary facilities at Point
Grey. Based on experience elsewhere, the costs at the University would be higher. Such has been the case in California.
One reason is that residences would be required for many
more students at the University than at regional colleges.
OPERATING COSTS. It would be inaccurate to use the predicted Canadian average costs per student per year in arriving
at probable operating costs for new colleges. The reason, of
course, is that the average is derived from figures which include all of the expensive graduate and professional schools in
all our universities. Arts and Science programmes cost less
than the national overall average. No Canadian estimates by
type of education have yet been published, and I approach
this problem, therefore, without prior experience. In Table 17
I show the approximate cost per full-time equivalent student
in each faculty at UBC for 1961-62. While UBC's overall average is lower than that for Canada*, the proportional expenditure per student in each faculty provides an estimate of the
relation which exists between costs by type of education. If
these proportions are applied to the predicted Canadian average cost for 1965, it can be seen that for an Arts and Science
programme for the Western Lower Fraser Valley the cost will
be $1,650 per student per year. This figure may rise by 1971
to $2,350 per student per year, while the overall provincial
average is expected to be $3,000 per student per year.
* Actually, UBC average costs per student are about $400 lower than the
Canadian average (in 1961, Canada—$1,550; UBC—$1,128). Teaching
sections in the first two years of Arts and Science are large, an average of 62 per class, and in some cases as large as 200 per class. The
programme, therefore, tends to be impersonal, and this fact contributes to a disturbingly high failure rate. Outright failures in 1961-62
amounted to 26 per cent of the first year enrolment. Only 36.4 per cent
of the students in first year Arts and Science passed in all their
courses.
96
The total operating costs per year in 1965 will approximate
four million dollars, and in 1971,16 million dollars. Incredible
as this may seem, it must be remembered that our best estimates for total cost of higher education in British Columbia
in 1971 are of the order of 100 million dollars per year (see
page 16). Canada, as a whole, will be spending one billion
dollars a year.
Many studies have been made of the operating costs of two-
year colleges. While costs differ from community to community, the "instructional" expenses are always approximately
equal to the "non-instructional" expenses, (c.f. A Master Plan
for Higher Education in California 1960-75, pp. 156-160). In
estimating annual operating costs, I assume, therefore, that
the total cost, when the institution has passed its organizational stage, will be approximately double the cost of faculty
salaries.
By 1971, the Okanagan will have 2,400 students and 120
teaching staff, and Castlegar will have 900 students and 45
staff. The problem of estimating average salaries eight years
from now is difficult, and all we know is that academic salaries
will increase substantially. If we assume that the average staff
salary will be $9,000 per annum in 1965, the present UBC
average, the staff salary cost for each institution will be $450
per student. Doubling this, we get an estimated operating cost
per student of about $900 in 1965. This can be expected to increase by 1971 (proportionately to the Canadian overall average) to $1,300 per student per year. Thus, the total operating
costs for these new colleges may be approximately as shown
in Table 18.
At present, the local municipalities adjacent to the University of British Columbia or Victoria College do not contribute directly to either capital or operating costs of these institutions. When new institutions are established, a decision
will have to be taken as to whether they shall be wholly financed, as at present, by governments (Federal and Provincial)
and student fees, or whether some part of the cost will be provided by the regions in which the new colleges are built. I
have given much thought to this question, and, while I realize
97
CO
TABLE 18. ALLOCATION OF STUDENTS TO EXISTING
AND PROPOSED INSTITUTIONS, 1965-66 and 1971-72,
AND ESTIMATED OPERATING COSTS OF THESE
INSTITUTIONS ACCORDING TO PROJECTED
CANADIAN AVERAGES
1965-66
1971-72
1965-66
APPROX.
1971-72
APPROX.
APPROX.
OPERATING
APPROX.
OPERATING
ENROLMENT
COST
ENROLMENT
COST
University of British Columbia
13,400
$28,000,000
17,600
$53,000,000
Victoria College
3,000
5,000,000
3,700
8,700,000
Western Lower Fraser Valley
2,400
4,000,000
7,000
16,500,000
Okanagan
750
675,000
2,400
3,000,000
Kootenay
500
450,000
900
1,000,000
King Edward, Vancouver
1,500
1,350,000
2,300
3,000,000
21,550
33,900
Grade XIII
750
Additional Regional Colleges
and Grade XIII
3,100
TOTAL
22,300
$39,475,000
37,000
$85,200,000
that the final decision must be left to others, I make the following recommendation:
The two-year regional college, if it is to fulfill its function,
to a great extent must embody the characteristics and aspirations of the community and the region it serves. These colleges
will, therefore, require regional and community financial support. This has been the pattern in most successful two-year
colleges in the USA. However, once a college becomes a degree-granting institution and so serves the needs of the Province at large, it should be supported as are other provincial
institutions, not only in British Columbia, but also in the
other provinces.
I recommend that the costs of establishing and operating
two-year colleges be apportioned as follows:
Capital: One third of the total capital cost (including land,
buildings, equipment, and libraries) should be borne by the
community or region which the college serves, and two thirds
should come from funds supplied by or through the Provincial Government. If a portion of the capital cost is paid by
the Federal Government under the Vocational and Technical
Training Act, the Provincial Government's share would be
reduced.
Operating: About 25 per cent should come from student
fees, at least 25 per cent from the community or region, and
not more than 50 per cent from government grants (Provincial
and Federal). This is analogous to the pattern recommended
in a study undertaken for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in the United States—one third state, one
third local, and one third fees.
Colleges, such as the one proposed in the Lower Fraser
Valley area, which from the beginning are planned as four-
year institutions, should be financed on the same basis as the
University and Victoria College, both for operating and capital costs.
When and if two-year regional colleges develop to the point
where they change their function and become four-year degree-granting colleges, the regional share of operating costs
99
would be taken over by increases in grants from the Provincial
Government and students' fees, so that their financing would
be on a par with other four-year institutions. However, a
region, because of local pride in its college, may wish to continue all or part of its support, on the understanding that this
would not reduce the Provincial contribution. In this way
regions could develop colleges with unusually high standards
or special areas of interest. I would hope that most regions
would continue their support for these reasons.
Since the regional colleges in the Okanagan and the West
Kootenays are the only ones on which a start must be made
as soon as possible, I indicate below the implications of my
financial recommendations for these regions. In this connection I found most helpful the briefs submitted by communities
in these regions.
OKANAGAN COLLEGE. With an initial registration of 750
and initial capital costs in the first five years of $3,500,000, we
have:
Total building costs $3,500,000
Regional share $1,170,000
Provincial share $2,330,000
The regional share could be financed by a 20-year bond
issue guaranteed by the Provincial Government, which would
involve a sinking fund payment of $58,500 and interest charges
of about the same amount, a total of $117,000 a year in all.
Operating costs, as indicated earlier, would amount initially
to about $900 per student or $750,000 annually. This would be
distributed as follows:
Fees 25% or $169,000 ($225 per student)
Regional Cost 25% or $169,000 ($225 per student)
Federal Government $133,000 ($177 per student)
Provincial Government $204,000 ($272 per student)
The total regional cost, therefore (operating and capital),
would approximate $286,000 annually initially—$169,000 operating and $117,000 debt charge. The Provincial Government's total cost initially (operating and capital), including
a debt charge of $233,000, would total $437,000, or $583 per
100
student. The per student cost will decrease significantly as the
number of students increases.
WEST KOOTENAY COLLEGE. With an initial registration
of 500 and initial capital costs in the first five years of $1,700,-
000, we have:
Total building costs $1,700,000
Regional share $567,000
Provincial share $1,133,000
The regional share could be financed by a 20-year bond
issue guaranteed by the Provincial Government, which would
involve a sinking fund payment of about $29,000 and interest
charges of about the same amount, a total of $57,000 per year
in all.
Operating costs, as indicated earlier, are estimated at about
$900 per student initially, or $450,000 per annum. This would
be distributed as follows:
Fees 25% or $112,500 ($225 per student)
Regional Cost 25% or $112,500 ($225 per student)
Federal Government $88,500 ($177 per student)
Provincial Government $136,500 ($273 per student)
The total regional cost, therefore (operating and capital),
would approximate $169,500: $57,000 debt charge and $112,-
500 operating. The Provincial Government's total cost (operating and capital), including a debt charge of $113,000, would
total $249,000 or about $500 per student initially. This will
decrease somewhat as the number of students increases.
It should be remembered that not all of the local community's contributions—or the Province's—will represent
additional expenditures. Some of the new costs will be balanced by savings resulting from the closing down of senior
matriculation in regions with colleges.
How should regions finance their share of the costs? Many
alternatives are possible, but the one which seems to have the
greatest merit was proposed in a brief submitted by the Southern Interior Junior College Society. The proposal was based
on the fact that the school district where the college is located benefits the most. Adjacent school districts within commuting distance (one hour's travel time) benefit to a decreas-
101
TABLE 19. ESTIMATED AMOUNTS AND TIMING OF
CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
APPROX.
BUILDING No. OF
PERIOD COSTS REMARKS STUDENTS
Western Lower Fraser Valley (see Appendix D)
1963-64 $2,000,000 Initial construction
1964-65 2,000,000 Initial construction
1965-66 1,000,000 Operation begins Sept.,
1965 2,400
1966-71 4,000,000 Estimated enrolment
by end of Phase 2 7,000
Okanagan College (see Appendix B)
1963-64 $1,000,000 Initial construction
1964-65 1,000,000 Initial construction
1965-66 — Classes begin 700
1966-71 1,500,000 Estimated enrolment
by end of Phase 2 2,400
West Kootenay College (see Appendix C)
1963-64 $ 450,000 Initial construction
1964-65 450,000 Initial construction
1965-66 — Classes begin 500
1967-71 800,000 Total enrolment by
end of Phase 2 900
ing degree the further they are from the college. Thus, the
mill rate should be decreased as the distance of the college
from the school district increases. This method of financing
is being used successfully by the two-year college at Leth-
bridge, Alberta, and I recommend its adoption for regional
colleges in British Columbia.
The total financial implications of the plan I propose for
the whole Province, except for the capital requirements of the
University and Victoria College (these are not currently available), for the years 1965 and 1971 can be seen from Tables
18 and 19. Capital costs, according to this plan, will be limited
by restricting the necessity for construction of residences for
102
an estimated 5,000 students who, by reason of decentralization,
will be within commuting distance of their college. Parents
will benefit financially by not having to meet the expenses
involved in sending these 5,000 students away to college—
currently estimated at more than $1,200 a year.
Aside from the many important, indeed crucial academic
reasons for decentralization, the proposed programme offers
the most economic development of our higher educational
system.
103
Conclusion
I now return to the beginning of this report in order to repeat the central theme, the basis for the recommendations
which I have made. British Columbia is facing in the immediate future an enormous increase in demand and need for education beyond high school. The numbers of young people
qualified for and seeking higher education by 1971 will more
than double. The task of providing for them requires a "new
look" in higher education in this Province, planned for immediately, and followed by prompt action. The requirements
include new institutions, new methods of financing, new methods of organization, and a new dimension in our approach to
providing the highly qualified specialists needed to staff all
our institutions of higher learning.
The recommendations are based on recognition of the need
for diversification of opportunity, both in respect to the kinds
of educational experiences available and the places where
they can be obtained. The recommendations are based also on
the all-important requirement of self-determination by individual institutions in respect to the operation and design of
their programmes. Academic strength comes from pride, de-
104
termination, thoughtful assessment of goals and the ways of
achieving them, freedom to explore new approaches, and
application of imagination directed towards the goal of excellence. All these attributes depend on autonomy in the
essential decisions which together determine the character of
an institution.
Let us keep those goals in mind as we now proceed to remould higher education to meet the demands of our times,
and let us face the tasks with the kind of positive confidence
which was characteristic of those who founded the University
of British Columbia in the midst of an academic wilderness.
If we today can have the same courage, our children will
look back with respect and admiration for our generation
which successfully met its challenge.
105
Acknowledgements
In addition to the conversations I held with many groups in
the Province, I received a number of very helpful briefs. They
provided me with detailed information about the various districts, their educational programmes, their willingness to support new colleges, and the kind of colleges they wanted.
Briefs were received from:
1. Abbotsford
The Director of Adult Education
The Board of School Trustees, School District 34
2. The British Columbia School Trustees' Association
3. Castlegar
The Board of School Trustees, School District 9
District Citizens' Group
4. Chilliwack, Board of School Trustees, School District 33
5. Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce
6. Creston Board of School Trustees, School District 5
7. East Kootenays Boards of School Trustees
8. The Faculty Association of the University of British Columbia
9. Fraser Valley University Association
106
10. Kamloops Region, Board of School Trustees, School District 24
11. City of Kelowna and Board of School Trustees, School
District 23
12. The Kelowna Junior College Survey, and the Supplement
to the Kelowna Junior College Survey
13. Kelowna Branch of the UBC Alumni Association
14. North Central B.C. Branch of the UBC Alumni Association
15. Nelson, The Board of School Trustees, School District 7
16. Prince George, The Board of School Trustees, School
District 57
18. Prince George College
19. The Prince George Industrial Development Commission
20. Revelstoke, Citizens' and Board of School Trustees,
School District 19
21. City of Rossland
22. Salmon Arm, The Junior College Committee
23. The Southern Interior Junior College Society
24. Trail and District Branch of the UBC Alumni Association
25. Trail, The Board of School Trustees, School District 11
26. Vernon, The Board of School Trustees, School District 22
27. Vernon District Council of Women.
Though I must take full responsibility for the content of
this report, it would not have been possible to complete it
without the many careful studies and analyses conducted by
my colleagues.
I should like to express my warmest thanks and appreciation to the following members of the Faculty and Staff of the
University of British Columbia for the assistance they gave me
in the preparation of this report:
Miss Dora Hart
Miss Mary Laidlaw
Mr. R. J. Baker, Department of English
Dean S. N. F. Chant, Faculty of Arts and Science
Dr. J. D. Chapman, Department of Geography
Professor G. 0. B. Davies, Department of History and International Studies
107
Dr. W. G. Hardwick, Department of Geography
Mr. R. R. Jeffels, Department of Romance Studies
Dr. S. A. Jennings, Department of Mathematics
I am grateful to the senior students in cartography in the
Department of Geography who assisted in the preparation of
the graphs and illustrations used in the report; and to Mr.
James Banham, who supervised the publishing.
108
Appendices
109
APPENDIX A
1. Floor-space standards for UBC Teaching Departments
I will set out below an abbreviated version of the square
footage standards used at The University of British Columbia
for analysis of space requirements for teaching departments.
The space per undergraduate is expressed as square feet per
full-time equivalent student (F.T.E.). For example, if 1,000
students take one course in Chemistry each, this would be
counted, on the basis of 5 courses per student, as 200 full-time
equivalents in Chemistry.
Sq. ft.
undergraduate,
non-lab. in
Sq. ft. informal and
lab. instruc
Staff office
research.
Shops
structional
space per
F.T.E.
tional per
F.T.E.
students
preparation
space per
staff member
storage
and
misc.
GROUP I
Humanities, Social
Sciences (except
Geography)
Mathematics 12
7.5
170
5%
GROUP II
Geography and
Education 12
15
280
10%
GROUP III
Physics, Chemistry
Biological
Sciences, Geology 12
70
280
10%
I use these figures to calculate the basic number of sq. ft.
for 1,000 students enrolled in an academic programme which
is essentially "Liberal Arts" and Sciences. Such a programme
is very similar to that taken by the majority of students at
Victoria College at the present time. I assume one full-time
member of the teaching staff for 20 students (student/faculty
ratio 20:1).
110
2. Basic Instructional Space for 1,000 students with 200 F.T.E.
in Group II subjects and 200 F.T.E. in Group HI subjects
and 50 staff, 10 in Group II subjects, and 10 in Group HI
subjects
SQ. FT.
600 Group I F.T.E. Students
(19.5 sq. ft. each)
30 Group I Staff (170 sq. ft. each)
Plus 5%
200 Group II F.T.E. Students
(27 sq. ft. each)
10 Group II Staff (280 sq. ft. each)
Plus 10%
200 Group III F.T.E. Students
(82 sq. ft. each)
10 Group III Staff (280 sq. ft. each)
Plus 10%
Total space for 1,000 students and 50 staff 47,780
To the above must be added space for library, administration, bookstore, cafeteria, student lounge, gymnasium-auditorium, and power plant. In appendices B, C, and D, I combine
these with instructional space to produce estimated total
square footage for the Colleges in the Western Lower Fraser
Valley, Okanagan, and West Kootenays.
Ill
11,700
5,100
16,800
840
17,640
5,400
2,800
8,200
820
9,020
16,400
2,800
19,200
1,920
21,120
APPENDIX B
Capital Costs for Okanagan College to 1971
1. Total square footage estimates for Okanagan College to 1971
The initial registration will be about 750, growing to 2,400
by 1971. As registration grows, additional buildings will be
added over the period 1965-71.
SQ. FT.
Total instructional space for 2,400 students 114,672
Administration—Bookstore 7,000
Cafeteria—Lounge 7,000
Auditorium—Gymnasium 20,000
Library—(initial development to house 10,000
books at 10 books per sq. ft., 600
readers at 25 sq. ft. each, and 2,000
sq. ft. for staff and working space) 18,000
Total square feet 166,672
It is estimated that a power plant to service this much space
would cost $120,000 (building and equipment).
2. Capital costs for Okanagan College to 1971
In addition to normal building costs, there are a number of
other capital costs involved. Furniture for classrooms, laboratories, offices, equipment, books, and architects' fees are the
major items, but there will be many other minor items impossible to enumerate here. If an overall cost of $20 per sq. ft. is
used, it is reasonable to assume that the total cost, other than
books and equipment, will be covered, since good quality
construction can probably be obtained at less than this figure.
It is on this basis that the following rough estimate is given.
Buildings—166,000 sq. ft. @ $20.00 per sq. ft. $3,320,000
Power House (estimated total cost) 120,000
Books—10,000 volumes at $6 plus $3 per volume
for cataloguing and purchasing costs 90,000
Miscellaneous equipment 50,000
Total estimated cost $3,580,000
Estimated capital cost per student (2,400 students) $1,490
112
APPENDIX C
Capital Costs for West Kootenay College to 1971
1. Total square footage estimates for West Kootenay College
The initial registration will be 500, growing to 900 by 1971.
Additional construction will probably not be needed until
after 1971.
SQ. FT.
Total instructional space for 900 students 43,002
Administration, bookstore, cafeteria-lounge 10,000
Auditorium-Gymnasium 15,000
Library (to house 10,000 books at 10 books
per sq. ft., 200 readers at 25 sq. ft.
each, and 1,500 sq. ft. staff and
working area) 7,000
75,002
2. Capital costs for West Kootenay College
The remarks I made earlier regarding the use of a figure of
$20.00 per sq. ft. apply here. On this basis the following rough
estimate is given.
Buildings 75,000 sq. ft. (a $20.00 per
sq. ft. $1,500,000
Power House (estimated total cost) 75,000
Books—10,000 volumes @ $6 plus $3 per
volume, cataloguing and purchase
costs 90,000
Miscellaneous equipment 35,000
Total estimated cost $1,700,000
Estimated capital cost per student (900 students) $1,890
Once again, I stress that this figure is a rough estimate.
Notice also that it costs more per student to accommodate 900
students than 1,500 students.
113
APPENDIX D
Capital Cost to 1971 of a Western Lower Fraser Valley College
The development at Burnaby is totally different from all
other developments in the Province. It is likely to become, by
1971, a principal centre in the Province for undergraduate
instruction in the Liberal Arts, Sciences and Education. Its
rate of growth in the ten year period following its establishment will be extraordinary. I shall not attempt, because of the
complexity of the problem, to indicate the types of buildings
required on this campus. It would be idle, to pick just one
example, to suggest how large a gymnasium will be needed
without knowing whether or not compulsory Physical Education will be part of the institution's educational philosophy.
Instead, I estimate minimum cost figures on the basis of UBC's
experience, knowing that my estimates are minimal.
There will be about 7,000 students registered at Burnaby
College in 1971-72. The square footage for basic instructional
space for them will be 334,460 sq. ft. At $20.00 per sq. ft. this
means for instructional space alone, an expenditure of about
$6,680,000. Add to this a minimum undergraduate library of
50,000 volumes and space for 1,000 readers, minimal student
lunch-room and lounge facilities, and the necessary administration space, and a total expenditure of about $9,000,000 to
1971 is obtained. The estimated cost per student (7,000 students) is $1,290.
This is for bare essentials. Nevertheless, the per-student
capital cost will be lower than at colleges in the Okanagan
and West Kootenays.
APPENDIX E
Methods Used for Projecting Enrolments
In this study projections of the "student pool" (i.e., the
number of students from which those seeking post-high school
education will be drawn) have been made for each region of
British Columbia and summed to provide a provincial total.
This approach permitted the recognition of:
(a) the regional basis for the decentralization of higher education;
114
(b) the regional variations of population growth and, of more
significance, the growth of the student pool;
(c) the regional variation of the proportion of the student
pool seeking higher education.
For many purposes a regional breakdown of the Province
by census division and sub-division is appropriate. However,
for the present purpose the school district has been used as
the basic unit because it permits the recognition of a more refined regional structure and, statistically and administratively,
it is of greater practical significance. In addition to determining the major regions of the Province, it was also necessary
to locate those centres which are accessible to the largest number of students. The resulting regions and sub-regions are
indicated in Table 20 along with the school districts of which
they are composed. (Table 20 is attached to inside back
cover).
In order to arrive at the student pools shown in Table 20,
the enrolment in Grade 7 and Grade 2, 1959-60 was totalled
for the school districts involved. These grades were selected
because they represent the potential student pool for 1965 and
1971 respectively. However, use of these figures alone takes
no account of the in-migration of children during the period
1959-71. To compensate for this, estimates were made of
regional in-migration by taking the total increases of population of the region for the period 1956-61 and subtracting the
number attributed to natural increase. The figure for the student pool was then adjusted to take account of the percentage
annual increase attributable to in-migration (Table 20, Cols.
1, 4, and 7).
The 1965 and 1971 student pool for each of the regions
once determined, it was then necessary to estimate what proportion the First Year-Grade XIII enrolment would be of
that pool. To do this, the actual First Year-Grade XIII enrolment in 1961 (Table 20, Col. 2) was expressed as a percentage (Table 20, Col. 3, 5, and 8) of the appropriate student
pool (i.e. Grade 8, 1956-7 plus in-migration). It is important
to note that this figure, referred to as the "propensity" for
115
higher education, includes not only those students who went
directly from school to post high school institutions but also
those who delayed entry, those who were repeating all or
part of their first-year programme, and those from outside
British Columbia.
In order to determine this projection of the First Year—
Grade XIII enrolment in 1965 and 1971 (Table 20, Cols. 6 and
9) it was necessary to take account of the increasing propensity as the result of the growing need for higher education,
the influence of additional institutions accessible to a larger
proportion of the student population, and the widening curriculum offered. Thus for each of 1965 and 1971 a "low" and
"high" projection was made on the basis of different propensities. The actual 1961 propensity was used to produce the
1965 "low" figure, whereas the "high" figure for that year
and both figures for 1971 were based upon propensities which
take account of the factors mentioned above.
Projections for the First Year-Grade XIII enrolment by
regions having been determined, it was necessary to allocate
these students to existing and proposed institutions. Experience elsewhere in Canada and the USA has shown that most
students prefer to attend a college within commuting distance
of their homes, while the majority of students who must leave
home—those beyond commuting distance to the nearest college—are expected to show a preference for attending the college nearest their homes, provided the educational opportunities offered are comparable to those of other institutions.
This latter condition will not be met for those seeking professional training which will remain at the University of British Columbia. Taking these factors into consideration, allocations were made to existing and proposed institutions for both
1965 and 1971 as shown in Columns 1 and 3 in Table 21.
With projections made for the first-year enrolment at existing and proposed institutions, the final step was to project
the total enrolment of each institution. This involved the determination of the number of students in each year of studies
offered at each institution. In the absence of any other data,
116
the totals shown in Columns 2 and 4 of Table 21 were derived
on the basis of the disposition of the 1960 freshman class and
those arriving for the first time from Grade XIII at the University. For the University additional allowance was made for
those students coming from all areas of the Province to begin
professional training (assumed to be ten per cent of each
regional freshman-Grade XIII pool), transfers from other provincial institutions, enrolment in the graduate school, and
students from outside the Province.
The derivation of these projections of enrolment has been
made on a different basis from those previously available. By
approaching the problem from a regional point of view, deriving the student pool from school enrolment (in grades
other than Grade XII) and allowing for in-migration, it may
be expected that the results are more refined than previous
estimates based upon gross provincial or national totals.
Nevertheless, the methods used here have not been fully
tested by experience, and the figures in Tables 20 and 21 may
suggest too great a precision. It can certainly be claimed, however, that they are of the right order of magnitude. In addition, they confirm the urgency of the situation before us. They
provide an adequate basis for decentralizing higher education
in the Province in a manner compatible with the interests of
the greatest number of young British Columbians.
117
TABLE 20. FIRST-YEAR ENROLMENT BY REGION
ACTUAL 1961
PROJECTED 1965
PROJECTED 1971
Student
First Year-
Student
First Year-
Student
First Year-
Pool
Grade XIII
Pool
Grade XIII
Pool
Grade XIII
Region
(Gr. 8, 1956 First Year-
as
(Gr. 7, 1960
as F
irst Year-
(Gr. 2, 1960
as I
"irst Year-
(School Districts
plus in-
Grade XIII
Percentage of
plus in-
Percentage of G
rade XIII
plus in-
Percentage of G
rrade XIII
by number)
migration)
1961
Student Pool
migration)
Student Pool
1965
migration )
Student Pool
1971
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(51
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
VANCOUVER-LOWER
FRASER VALLEY
1. Vancouver 37(pt.), 38,
5627
2366
42
8509
Low 42
3600
8300
Low 45
3700
39,44(pt.),45,48,U*.
High 45
3850
High 48
4000
2. Western Lower Fraser
4548
1181
26
7145
Low 26
1860
8200
Low 29
2400
Valley 35, 36, 37(pt.), 40,
High 29
2075
High 40
3300
41, 42, 43,44(pt.).
3. Eastern Lower Fraser
1095
226
21
1510
Low 21
320
1737
Low 21
370
Valley 32, 33, 34, 75, 76.
High 21
320
High 30
530
VICTORIA 61, 62, 63, 64,
2133
760
36
3066
Low 36
1100
3303
Low 38
1260
65, 66, U*.
High 38
1160
High 40
1320
CENTRAL VANCOUVER
1139
281
25
1715
Low 25
430
1862
Low 25
470
ISLAND 67, 68, 69, 70, 71.
High 25
430
High 30
560
OKANAGAN
Low 27
385
Low 33
470
1. Central 15, 22, 23, 77.
1043
287
27
1433
High 33
470
1414
High 38
540
2. Peripheral 12, 13, 14, 16,
808
199
25
1100
Low 25
275
1151
Low 27
310
17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 78.
High 27
300
High 30
345
KOOTENAYS
Low 30
360
Low 33
380
1. Central 7, 8, 9, 11.
891
144
25(30)*
1198
High 33
400
1144
High 35
400
2. Peripheral 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
670
143
22(25)*
941
Low 25
240
1004
Low 25
250
6, 10.
High 25
240
High 30
300
KAMLOOPS-SOUTH
CARIBOO
Low 38
270
Low 38
270
1. Central 24.
375
143
38
717
High 38
270
710
High 40
285
2. Peripheral 25, 26, 27,
362
16
4
595
Low 4
25
918
Low 6
55
29, 30, 31, 82.
High 6
35
High 10
90
CENTRAL INTERIOR
Low 16
190
Low 20
345
54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 28.
754
118
16
1202
High 20
240
1733
High 25
430
COAST 46, 47,49, 50, 51,
1042
154
15
1539
Low 15
230
1841
Low 20
370
52, 53, 72, 73, 74, 79,
High 20
310
High 25
460
80, U*.
PEACE RIVER-AND
Low 10
75
Low 10
105
NORTH 59, 60, 81, U*.
437
41
10
763
High 10
75
1048
High 16
170
TOTAL
20,924
6134
31,433
Low
High
9360
10,175
34,365
Low
High
10,755
12,730
*U—unattached schools.
TABLE 21. PROJECTED FIRST-YEAR
AND TOTAL ENROLMENT BY INSTITUTION
1965
1971
FIRST-YEAR
TOTAL
FIRST-YEAR
TOTAL
INSTITUTION
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
University of B.C.
Low
3410
13,330
Low 2630
16,500
High
3665
13,585
High 3025
19,350
Victoria 4-year
Low
1185
2920
Low 1360
3485
High
1275
3010
High 1460
3745
Western Lower Fraser Valley 4-year*
Low
2045
2320
Low 2370
5840
High
2235
2510
High 3115
7615
Okanagan 4-year*
Low
575
685
Low 760
2215
High
680
790
High 870
2555
Kootenay 2-year
Low
445
500
Low 480
820
High
480
535
High 540
925
Greater Vancouver 2-year
Low
900
1440
Low 1370
2270
Eastern Lower Fraser Valley 2-year
High
1000
1540
High 1470
Low 430
2420
710
Central Vancouver Island 2-year
High 620
Low 470
1020
770
Kamloops 2-year
High 565
Low 270
935
445
Central Interior 2-year
—
—
High 305
Low 355
High 455
505
605
780
Grade XIII
Low
740
740
Low 200
200
High
775
775
High 240
240
Subtract Kootenay Students from
Low
(60)
Low (60)
Public Schools to Notre Dame
High
(65)
High (65)
College
TOTAL
Low
9300
21,935
Low 10,695
33,860
High
10,110
22,745
High 12,665
40,090
In 1965, only first two years will be enrolled. Second-year enrolment is assumed to be
"transfers" from 1964 Grade XIII.
VO
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