From the world of post-secondary education!
The Council of Alberta University Students have released their submission for Alberta’s 2010 budget consultation process. While not the boldest recommendations that have ever come from CAUS (speaking as one of its former Chairpersons), it appears that the new reality for post-secondary education is to avoid becoming the target of massive budget cuts rather than advocating for bold increases (which is more or less a pretty savvy maneuver in a province that is running a record $6.9 billion deficit)
On Thursday, it is expected to be announced that after a long process, Mount Royal College will become a University. “MRU” will be Alberta’s fifth University and the first established since Athabasca University was created in 1970. Alberta’s other universites include the University of Alberta (est. 1908), University of Calgary (est. 1966), and University of Lethbridge (est. 1967). There have been some exciting changes happening within Alberta’s post-secondary education system since Doug Horner became Minister of Advanced Education & Technology in 2007, but I am still unconvinced whether Alberta needs a fifth University-level institution.
On a final post-secondary education note, I’m glad that I am not the only person to point out how ridiculous it is to suggest that Mount Royal’s transition to a University is a conspiracy to influence the September 14 by-election in Calgary-Glenmore, as Calgary-Varsity Liberal MLA Harry Chase suggested this morning. Please keep the coffee room conspiracy theories away from the media releases.
