Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why change when Malaspina is already doing well?
2. What, exactly, will change if Malaspina gains university status?
3. Will Trades/Vocational programs continue as part of the University?
4. What is the vision for Vancouver Island University?
5. What do you mean by “comprehensive” and “regional”?
6. Why does your vision include the words “global reach”?
7. If Malaspina becomes a University, will tuition fees increase?
8. What will happen to programs at the Cowichan and Powell River Campuses and the Parksville/Qualicum Centre?
9. Will classes be larger when you become a university?
10. Will access be affected by a change in status?
11. Will research and scholarly activity be affected?
12. Will we measure up in Maclean’s rankings?
13. If Malaspina becomes a university, will there be increased costs?
14. Will Malaspina’s Athletic teams join CIS?
15. What is required to change the name to Vancouver Island University?

1. Why change when Malaspina is already doing well?

University status is the next logical step in our evolution – from a trades school in 1936, to a regional community college in 1969, a ‘meld’ with the BC Vocational School in 1971 and university college status in 1989, to a university.

To the public, “university” means a degree granting institution, and students who complete our bachelor’s degrees deserve the recognition inherent in the word university. Malaspina is already a ‘primarily undergraduate university’ in every way, except name. In addition to granting university degrees in a variety of disciplines, Malaspina demonstrates all of the characteristics associated with a primarily undergraduate university: membership in the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC)*, a commitment to teaching and learning, research connected to teaching, smaller class sizes, more face-to-face contact with professors, and personal attention from service staff. Maclean’s Magazine already recognizes us as a university and includes Malaspina and other BC university colleges in its Specialty Universities section.

The Ministry of Advanced Education is predicting a steady increase in the 18-29 age group until 2013, and the BC Progress Board has identified an above-average (56%) population growth for Nanaimo until 2031. Student enrolment in University Degree programs makes up 57.2% of the total enrolment, and demand for our degree programs is expected to increase.

Our communities will greatly benefit from the economic, social and cultural impacts of having a university in the region. University status would allow for greater access to federal and provincial research funds, improve our ability to attract private and corporate donations, enhance our ability to recruit and retain international students, and increase revenues from our international activities. It would also advance our success in recruiting and retaining new students, faculty and staff, and enhance our reputation for quality of programs and excellence in teaching and learning.

In Canada we already have small, mid-sized, and large universities, and the public is able to recognize the difference; no one confuses the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) with the University of British Columbia (UBC) or the University of Toronto (UT). By virtue of our size, we will be considered a mid-sized university.

*AUCC is considered ‘the voice’ of Canada’s universities and the closest thing in Canada to an institutional accreditation. Membership is based upon an exhaustive submission and review process, including in-person assessment by the AUCC review panel. Membership requires that institutional governance, administrative structures, mission statements, and academic goals are appropriate to a university and demonstrate commitment to teaching, research, scholarship, academic inquiry, and service to the community.

2. What, exactly, will change if Malaspina gains university status?

Not much will change, immediately, in our day-to-day operations. We will maintain our commitment to excellence in teaching and learning, our services for students, and our comprehensive range of programs – Trades/Vocational, Developmental, Career/Technical, and University Degrees. What will change, however, is the legal and public acknowledgement of our degree-granting status, which will allow us to continue to build, grow, prosper and compete with other similar institutions. Later, we will inevitably have to consider issues common to universities that we have not faced to date, such as a Senate, and rank and title; however, we will approach these issues in the knowledge that we are very comfortable with the way Malaspina operates right now.

3. Will Trades/Vocational programs continue as part of the University?

Definitely. We will continue our strong commitment to our Trades/Vocational programs and expect expansion in that area in the future. In fact, we see our ability to combine and integrate our college and university programs as a distinct competitive advantage for our students. Several countries – including Australia, Korea, Japan, the UK and USA – have universities that offer everything from trades/technology to doctoral programs.

Our Board of Governors has always embraced Trades/Vocational programs as an integral part of the mix of programs we offer, and the government can ensure that we continue to offer these programs by enshrining it in legislation – a move that we would encourage and recommend.

4. What is the vision for Vancouver Island University?

We see ourselves as a comprehensive, regional and community-based university with a global reach.

5. What do you mean by “comprehensive” and “regional”?

“Comprehensive” denotes the fact that we offer a mix of programs: 4-year University degrees, 2-year Career/Technical diplomas, Trades/Vocational certificates, and Adult and Continuing Education courses.

“Regional” means that we have strong connections to our communities. We serve four school districts: Cowichan Valley, No. 79; Nanaimo/Ladysmith, No. 68; Qualicum, No. 69, and Powell River, No. 47. Many of our research and scholarly activities are connected to regional economic, cultural and social development and serve the needs of community, business and industry. In North America, most universities are smaller, teaching-centred institutions with strong connections to their communities.

6. Why does your vision include the words “global reach”?

Malaspina has a long history of commitment to international understanding through education. We have been a leader in international education since the early 1980s, at a time when the government of the day imposed major cutbacks on post-secondary institutions, during the so-called “era of restraint.” Since then we have educated many international students, and Canadian students have greatly benefited from our international entrepreneurial activities through additional courses funded through International revenues, and through opportunities to take part in international field schools, study abroad, overseas practicum placements and research, and out-of-country co-operative education programs. These international experiences all serve to foster an understanding of other cultures and to develop skills for effective living and working in a global community.

7. If Malaspina becomes a University, will tuition fees increase?

Our tuition fees will continue to remain significantly below those charged at UBC, UVic, SFU, and other large research universities. This is in keeping with the ‘tuition principles’ adopted by the Malaspina Board several years ago.

8. What will happen to programs at the Cowichan and Powell River Campuses and the Parksville/Qualicum Centre?

They will continue to grow and develop in conjunction with community needs.

9. Will classes be larger when you become a university?

Our class sizes are flexible, depending on the discipline, and we will continue our commitment to smaller classes to maintain our emphasis on excellence in teaching and learning. In addition, our smaller class sizes allow faculty to incorporate research into the teaching and learning process; this is giving our students a distinct advantage when applying to graduate schools.

10. Will access be affected by a change in status?

We see student access increasing as the university sector grows, and we will be able to develop more degree programs. Malaspina has an entry point for most applicants because, unlike the traditional universities, our programs range from fundamental literacy skills and Career/Technical and Trades/Vocational programs to four-year University degrees, selected Master’s degrees, and post-degree diplomas. We offer ‘laddering’ opportunities between these programs. Increased revenues from International Education activities will also allow us to expand programs and increase course offerings, and invest in capital projects.

11. Will research and scholarly activity be affected?

University status will enhance research and scholarly activity at Malaspina. We will continue our commitment to incorporate research into the teaching and student learning process. Our students have reported high success rates at graduate schools, and they attribute it to this intertwining of research, teaching and learning. Malaspina has a focused research mandate in a number of applied areas of most interest and relevance for coastal BC regions. We see expanded opportunities to attract federal research funding and, since B.C. only ranks eighth in Canada for receiving federal research grants, university status for Malaspina will actually help BC attract a more equitable share of federal funding for research.

12. Will we measure up in Maclean’s rankings?

Rather than worrying about these and other university rankings, we believe we should take a positive approach and find ways to make the rankings work for us. This can be done by identifying aspects where we score well against larger universities – class size, full-time faculty teaching ratios, tenured faculty teaching first year, student satisfaction, etc. Given time, we may be able to move up the rankings as other universities have done as part of their maturing process.

13. If Malaspina becomes a university, will there be increased costs?

Not necessarily, since government funding will remain controlled by the Ministry of Advanced Education. A name change would reduce our reliance on government funding because it would enhance our ability to generate revenues from our entrepreneurial and fundraising activities. We also see expanded opportunities to attract federal and provincial research funding.

14. Will Malaspina’s Athletic teams join CIS?

Malaspina has applied for membership in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). We currently hold membership in the British Columbia College Athletic Association (BCCAA), and Canadian Colleges Athletics Association (CCAA) - which represents a wide range of post-secondary institutions including community colleges, universities, university-colleges, CEGEPs and technical institutes. The Malaspina Mariners have a tradition of excellence, and we plan to continue our record of being one of the top programs in BC and Canada no matter what league we play in.

15. What is required to change the name to Vancouver Island University?

First, it requires approval from the Ministry of Advanced Education; next it will require an Order in Council to make it a legal name change.