Service Delivery and Core Business Areas

Service Delivery

The Ministry provides leadership and direction, establishes policy, and provides funding to the post-secondary and research and innovation sectors.

The majority of public services for which the Ministry is responsible are delivered by institutions and organizations within the post-secondary system and research and technology sector. As these are partially or completely independent from government, various mechanisms are in place, such as legislation, funding agreements and reporting requirements, to ensure accountability for public funds.

Public post-secondary institutions in British Columbia, like those in other provinces, have a significant and appropriate degree of autonomy from government in many areas. This autonomy affords institutions the necessary independence to determine how to meet the needs of their students, their communities and the province most effectively. These institutions develop and deliver programs and courses, provide education and training to students, undertake research, and serve the educational needs of their communities.

The balance between institutional autonomy and the need for government to address post-secondary priorities is maintained through the Public Post-Secondary Accountability Framework, which supports funding agreements and reporting requirements that emphasize outcomes-oriented service delivery targets. The Ministry consults with representatives from public institutions to ensure that targets are reasonable while reflecting government's priorities. These are communicated to institutions in annual budget and accountability letters outlining service delivery and outcomes targets and the funding the Ministry will provide. Public institutions allocate Ministry funding as they deem necessary to meet their targets, and provide the Ministry with information needed to ensure accountability for outcomes and public funding. Institutions also issue annual three-year service plans to inform the public of their goals, objectives, measures and targets, and annual reports to inform the public of the outcomes achieved.

The internal and external governance and accountability structures for most public post-secondary institutions are set out in legislation: the University Act, the College and Institute Act, the Royal Roads University Act, and the Thompson Rivers University Act. Each act provides for a board of governors with responsibility for operational and financial matters. Statutes also outline academic governance structures with responsibility for decisions concerning academic matters, including credentials, curriculum and standards. See Appendix 1 for a list of legislation administered by the Ministry.

In addition to public post-secondary institutions, British Columbia also has a diverse private post-secondary sector that offers a range of education and training programs. Unlike their public counterparts, private post-secondary institutions are not directly funded by the Ministry. However, private degree granting and career training institutions are subject to legislative and regulatory frameworks including the Degree Authorization Act(DAA) and the Private Career Training Institutions Act (PCTIA). There are currently 548 private institutions registered under the PCTIA and six private and out-of-province public institutions with consent under the DAA.¹

Part of the Ministry's expanded mandate for research, innovation, and technology includes funding and liaising the activities of the British Columbia Innovation Council (BCIC). BCIC supports the transfer of leading-edge research into industry and accelerates commercialization of world-class technology-based products for the economic benefit of British Columbia.

As a Crown Agency, BCIC conducts its affairs at arms length from Government. Under the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act, BCIC provides a service plan and service plan report to the Ministry. This service plan and service plan report requirement aligns BCIC with the performance expectations and objectives of the Government.

The Ministry provides direct service to the public through the British Columbia Student Financial Assistance Program (BCSAP), which provides loans and grants to eligible students for education and living costs. The BCSAP is a needs-based, publicly-funded program created to help eligible students with the costs of post-secondary studies while enrolled at public and designated private institutions. The Ministry also administers student loan and grant programs on behalf of the federal government, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation and other ministries and agencies.

1	Under the DAA, a private or out-of-province institution may be granted consent by the Minister of Advanced Education to offer a degree program or to use the word "university".

Core Business Areas Overview

The Ministry's core business areas are:

Core Business Area: Educational Institutions and Organizations

The Ministry provides funding to British Columbia's public universities, university colleges, community colleges, institutes, and other organizations that support the province's public post-secondary education system and research and innovation.

Core Business Area: Research and Innovation

The Ministry is also the Ministry Responsible for Research and Technology in the province, with the goal of providing both social and economic benefits. This includes funding and liaison support for the activities of the British Columbia Innovation Council and the Premier's Technology Council. These include a mandate to fund provincial post-secondary institutions that conduct basic and applied research, to fund the province's major research infrastructure program, the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund, and to liaise with the Leading Edge Endowment Fund, which funds research chairs.

Core Business Area: Student Financial Assistance

Student financial assistance is provided to make post-secondary education and the associated personal and societal benefits accessible to all students, irrespective of financial circumstances. It is available to eligible students at the post-secondary level attending public and designated private institutions. It combines repayable loans, non-repayable assistance, merit-based awards, and debt reduction measures. In addition, the Ministry manages student aid programs on behalf of the federal government, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, and other British Columbia ministries and agencies.

Core Business Area: Debt Service Costs and Amortization of Prepaid Capital Advances

The Ministry provides funding to public post-secondary institutions to finance capital projects, including upgrades, renovations, replacements, expansions, and new facilities and equipment. The Ministry services the debt associated with these projects and amortizes the resulting assets over their economic lives.

Core Business Area: Executive and Support Services

The Ministry provides leadership, establishes policy, and administers accountability and planning processes for British Columbia's public post-secondary education system. The Ministry also establishes policy and legislative frameworks for private post-secondary institutions, and supports the Degree Quality Assessment Board, which administers a quality assessment process for new degree programs at public and private post-secondary institutions. Support to the Ministry in the areas of human resources, information systems, records management, financial management, and information privacy² is provided by the Management Services Division, whose budget is reported by the Ministry of Education.

2	Research using student information may be done in conjunction with other ministries and post-secondary institutions. To exercise due diligence regarding this type of personal information, information sharing agreements between the government and institutions are developed in accordance with privacy protection provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.