The provincial government has launched an independent review of the post-secondary education sector’s sustainability, and the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) is representing island students in the review.
CCSS members attended a meeting in Vancouver on Tuesday, January 13 to bring student concerns from Camosun, Vancouver Island University, and North Island College to those undertaking the review.
“I went to Vancouver to talk about the problems we were having in not just Camosun [but] the island,” says CCSS Lansdowne executive Regina Cervantes. “It was amazing because we had a meeting with all these… students from BC as well, and we were all talking and chatting, and it seems like we all have the same problem, right?”
Lawyer Don Avison is overseeing the review and its results. Avison has previously worked for the Attorney General of Canada to litigate criminal cases involving interpretations of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As well, he was the first president of the University Presidents’ Council (now known as the Research Universities’ Council of British Columbia).
“You know what? I was actually surprised because I thought he was going to be just listening and being a good politician, but no, he actually mentioned that we sent him a document, and he actually read it,” says Cervantes. “He was like, ‘I read it and I am prepared, and I am ready to listen to you,’ and you could see he was taking notes. You kind of know when someone is interested; he was making very good questions. He said he was going to take it and talk about it, so hopefully he will actually do that. I think he actually wants to help, but, you know… it’s very hard to say.”
The CCSS discussed at the meeting with Avison how current budget strains are impacting course selection.
“You’re going to get no students, so we were talking about that, and he was very open, he was actually very nice about it,” says Cervantes.
Critics of the review have pointed out that the government has already indicated that it will not increase funding, which could lead to the current domestic student tuition cap being changed, something Cervantes says is unfair and unrealistic.
“The pathway to financial sustainability [for the region] will require additional provincial funding,” she says.
Cervantes also points out that if the review results point to raising domestic tuition but institutions continue to cut student services, this will have a negative impact.
“If you keep raising the tuition, and then you keep on cutting the student services,” she says, “well, you’re, like, making the students not graduate and most of them will just… be like, ‘I’m just going to drop it because I cannot graduate.’”
Cervantes says that because she’s a student, she has that firsthand knowledge she can bring to the table; she adds that the CCSS really cares for Camosun and for the community.
“We are very integrated with the community, so we want to make sure that students can educate themselves so that they can go out in the community and help.”
Cervantes says that the CCSS is representing students and are advocating for students.
“CCSS is up for that, so we are just trying to get ourselves there and just trying to help all the students,” she says.
The review, with its recommendations to the provincial government, is due by March 15.