Terrace Review — Wednesday, February 27, 1991 B7

=e EDUCATION _ }

Northwest has t to ) make needs known

fo university,

by Nancy Orr

‘Planning for the develop-
ment and delivery of courses for
the University of Northern B.C.
(UNBC) is of paramount impor-
tance in the forthcoming

months. We will only get what ©

we work for,’’ said Margaret
Dediluke, area representative on
the UNBC Interim Governing
Committee. ‘‘It won’t just hap-
pen. We won’t just be given
_ what we want,’’

The first reports from the Ad-
visory Planning Committees
were received by the council at a
Jan, 19 meeting and are being
actively discussed and analyzed.

‘‘There is a strong emphasis
on continuing education,” said
Dediluke, ‘‘particularly in the
nursing and education discip-
lines. There is a desire for the
opportunity to further education

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beyond the graduate degrees. In
forestry, there is a need to ad-
dress the environmental con-
cerns with research and study.”

Planning for these faculties
now becomes essential.

“This is the stage to involve
our Convocation,” she said.
**And I plan to call a meeting of
the group from this area as soon
as I have all the names from the
registrar.

‘‘Members of the public who
supported the original petition
and alumni from other univer-
sities and others are invited to
join the Convocation and
become involved at this critical
stage of development.’’

Recently the Minister of Ad-
vanced Education, Bruce
Strachan, announced the ap-
proval of $8 million to allow
planning for construction of the
administrative centre and main
campus for the university at
Prince George, and approved
$138 million for further devel-
Opment and construction after
April 1.

The initial stages include plan-
ning for the libraries and com-
munications, for buildings and
for residences as well as for
regional centres.

“The chairman of the plan-
ning committee for the Prince

local board rep says

Margaret Dediiuke: We will
only get what we work for... We
won't just be given what we
want.

George campus is Charlie

Lasser, Mayor of Chetwynd,’’.

Dediluke said, ‘‘and he has'a
very strong regional concept.
“There were sO many un-
knowns when we prepared our
estimates,”’ said Dediluke. ‘‘But
I am very pleased that our work
has been so well received and
with the money that has been
allocated to the university.’’

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COLLEGE STUDIES
THE COMMUNITY

Northwest Community Col-
lege wants to find out what the
people of Terrace want in post-
basic training and ‘continuing
education. College director Gary
Morrison said of the NWCC
study, ‘‘Our basic programs in
academic and vocational educa-
tion are pretty well established.
We need to know how best to
serve the community for up-
grading and learning for career
or personal development.”

The college’s study of the
community is a four-prong ef-
fort. ‘“‘We don’t want to re-
invent the wheel,”’ says project
coordinator Ella Goodlad. ‘‘We
have pulled together all the rele-
vant information from studies
done by other organizations
over the past two years. Also, we
are working with the Canada
Employment Centre, the
Chamber of Commerce and the
city’s Economic Development
Department, using many of their
information sources.”

The look at adult education

~ needs in Terrace will also include
a survey of all households and |

face-to-face meetings between
college representatives and
employers. ‘“We need to open

up the channels of communica-
tion between the college and the
business community,’’ says
Morrison. ‘“The best way to do
this is one-on-one, so our in-
structors can appreciate the
reality of the workplace, and
employers can take advantage of
the college’s training capabili-
ties.” The project will involve
up to 50 business and industry
employers, selected at random
from each main sector.

Another dimension of the
project is to make use of the ex-
isting links between college
employees and the various com-
munity organizations to which
they belong.

“The college is made up of
people who are very much a part
of this community,” explained
Morrison. ‘‘We simply have to
listen to ourselves from a dif-
ferent perspective, and use our
existing networks to keep in
touch with community needs.’’

Morrison expects the project
to start showing results in addi-
tional training services that
employees can take advantage of
later this spring, as well as pro-
grams to be offered to the public
next fall.

Provincial representative
meets with NWCC board

by Nancy Orr

‘Northwest Community Col-
lege should be proud of its work
in the communities of Northern
B.C.,”’ said Valerie Buchanan of
Chilliwack, Director of Eco-
nomic Development for the
Fraser/Cheam Regional Dis-
trict. ‘‘The college is obviously
sensitive to the needs of the area
and its residents.”’

Buchanan, president of the
Advanced Education Council of
B.C. (AECBC), and Gil John-
son, executive director of the
council, were in Terrace Feb. 8
and 9 for the regular monthly
meeting of the Northwest Com-
munity College board of
trustees. Last year, NWCC re-
joined the provincial associa-
tion, which was formerly the
B.C. Association of Colleges.

‘In my capacity as
president,” said Buchanan, “I
am attempting to make the
AEBC a council for sharing —
of ideas and issues, of access and
quality and information.

“The people who work in
education should realize the
value and prestige of their
work,’ she said. ‘‘Is there any
greater activity than to work to
build knowledge and expertise?

‘“We have to recreate and to
respond to what people want.
To enrich and broaden lives, to
provide expertise and knowledge
and to bring it to people in their
own communities.

‘“I'his is such a solid area,”
she continued, ‘‘with such a
great diversity of industry and
activities, and with its central
position, Terrace is obviously an
ideal base for the Northwest.

‘*The college is a vital part of
the economic and_ intellectual
development of the region. I am
very impressed with the response
of the college to covering such a
huge area and of the use of
modern technology. I am sure
we could all learn much from
here.

‘‘Education is an investment
you can’t measure,’’ said
Johnson. ‘‘The more you invest,
the more valuable it becomes.

‘‘These are the messages we
will be taking to our members,
who feel threatened by the crea-
tion of new educational institu-
tions (such as the University of
Northern B. C.) outside the
lower mainland.

In response to questions, the
president said that one of the
main fears seemed to be that
funds might be ‘‘redirected to
the new university and to north-
ern institutions, and that ex-
isting facilities might suffer.’

The AECBC will be holding
its annual general meeting at
Prince George in June.

“It will be an opportunity for
other college board members to
see at first hand the growth and
the potential of other parts ‘of
the province,” she said.

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