Ominous news bites

Premier Graham might encounter some difficulties. There will be groups, among the bureaucracy and elsewhere, that will offer resistance and try to scuttle some or all of the plans. The reversal of the plan to turn the UNB Saint John and two northern U de M campuses into polytechnics provides an example. In that case, it appears that by moving the existing NBCC to a more independent basis and fostering greater interaction with universities, the premier has found another route to the same goal. If so, it’s a creative solution. (source)

The Saint John Board of Trade is pleased that UNBSJ will become a “centre of excellence” for applied courses in the province.

“We are very encouraged with this renewed commitment to existing programs at UNBSJ and focused growth in applied learning in response to emerging economic opportunities,” said Nathalie Godbout, board chairwoman.

In fact, the board proposes to play a key role in providing feedback and guidance to a new commission designed to review the relationship between the UNB campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, she said, and hopes for a “timely response” to post-secondary education reform on matters of both governance and funding for UNBSJ.

“These new announcements suggest that we are moving in the right direction to ensure the business community is prepared for the anticipated economic growth in our region,” she said. (source)

The premier’s stick-handling of the contentious issue is being heralded by one of the individuals who ignited the debate in September.

Rick Miner and Jacques L’Ecuyer led an independent commission that recommended polytechnic institutes be established in Saint John, Edmundston and Shippagan. On Friday, Miner said he doesn’t view the omission of the system of polytechnics from Graham’s state of the province address as a blow to his report.

Miner said the premier’s commitment to injecting additional applied courses into a more integrated system sounds very much like what he recommended – minus the inflammatory language.

“To me, it is not a win or lose, it is what is best for the province,” Miner said. “When you step back and look at it, it looks like what we recommended but the polytech word is not there.”

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Depending on how this concept is implemented, Miner said these specific missions could have a funding impact on the universities because it could designate specific institutions as the sole schools for research, a distinction that could bring in more funds. (source)