April 28, 2014
Proposed Legislation would help Post-secondary Institutions Respond to Labour Market Needs, Keep Education System Affordable: Minister Allum
New legislation introduced today would merge the Council on Post-Secondary Education (COPSE) into the Department of Education and Advanced Learning, Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum announced today.
“The Manitoba government’s priority is steady growth and good jobs. This move will allow post-secondary institutions to be more responsive to labour market needs, which will give students more opportunities to prepare for the work world,” said Minister Allum. “In addition, it will streamline the system, which will help to keep our education system affordable and reduce red tape for universities and colleges so they can focus more of their resources on students.”
The program approvals process for universities and colleges would also be streamlined, allowing institutions to adapt their programming to the changing needs of Manitoba’s economy, the minister added.
Currently, COPSE exercises authority for the co-ordination of the post-secondary system including the allocation of funds to public post-secondary institutions, program approvals for colleges and universities and oversight of tuition and fees at universities.
The advanced education administration amendment and council on post-secondary education repeal act would create a new Advanced Education Advisory Committee that would provide advice to the minister on the broad strategic direction for the post-secondary education system.
Members of the new strategic advisory committee would be drawn from a variety of stakeholders from the education sector. The committee would serve to generate advice on the learning continuum from kindergarten to career.
The Manitoba government would directly allocate funding to colleges and universities, regulate programs of study, and regulate tuition and fees at universities, ensuring that post-secondary education remains affordable and accessible, Minister Allum said.
Under the leadership of the minister, the change would support more efficient and effective
decision-making and stronger system co-ordination. Specifically, the transferred duties and powers to be vested in the minister responsible would include:
- allocating funding to colleges and universities;
- ensuring accountability in respect of government funding;
- regulating programs of study at universities and colleges;
- overseeing the limits on increases to tuition and fees at universities;
- leadership in support of system co-ordination including developing mandates for colleges and universities; and
- supporting the development of credit transfer arrangements.
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