Government & Policy
Government Review of PSE System
In June, the Minister of Adv Ed, Dave Hancock, made public some details of the Government’s long-awaited comprehensive review of PSE in Alberta announced earlier this year. At this stage, ACIFA is still seeking clarification of what it is, exactly, that we, as stakeholders, are being asked to do – and when. We have been assured by Ministry officials (and by the Minister himself, when we met with him on June 13th) that we will be part of the process, and it does look as though there is going to be some opportunity to provide input and feedback, despite the fact that no faculty member was selected to sit on the Steering Committee. (We have complained about the make-up of the Steering Committee, but to no avail.)
According to the Minister, the Steering Committee will have responsibility for the design of a ‘strategic vision’ and ‘policy framework’ for the future of advanced education in Alberta, while much of the detailed analysis will necessarily fall to the Ministry’s internal ‘policy working groups’. ACIFA likely will be invited to participate in ‘structured discussions’ of key questions, and perhaps make a written submission, before the draft policy framework goes to the Standing Policy Committee in the fall, and the Minister’s Forum offers feedback in October.
ACIFA associations are invited to view the Government’s official news release and a Profile of the PSE System (PDF), together with the background discussion papers which Advanced Education staff have put together for key topics like affordability (PDF), accessibility (PDF), rural challenges (PDF), and investment (PDF) in the system. (Please note that ‘roles and responsibilities’ in our sector are also being reviewed.)
More details of the review process will be made available in due course.
John Nicholls
ACIFA Research & Liaison Officer