Extending Access, Choice, and the Reign of the Market - Higher Education Reforms in British Columbia, 1989–2004

Oct 15, 2026

British Columbia implemented two major higher-education reforms over the prior 15 years: an “Access for All” policy that created university colleges and recognized college and institute authority to award “applied” degrees, and a newer reform encouraging a private higher-education sector to complement and compete with the public system. The reforms aimed to expand accessibility and choice through more degree opportunities and programs, while the later initiative opened higher education to market forces.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Developments in Post-Secondary Education in Canada

The Canadian Journal of Higher Education La revue canadienne dʼenseignement supérieur Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 pages 13–38 Extending Access, Choice, and the Reign of the Market: Higher Education Reforms in British Columbia, 1989–2004 JOHN D. DENNISON University of British Columbia HANS G. SCHUETZE University of British Columbia ABSTRACT British Columbia has implemented two signiﬁcant higher education reforms in the last 15 years. The ﬁrst was an Access for All policy, and in particular, the creation of a new breed of institution—university colleges—and recognition of the right of colleges and institutes to confer“applied” degrees. The second reform, more recent and potentially with wider effect, is the decision to allow and, in fact, encourage the emergence of a private higher education sector to complement and to compete with the public sector. Although both reforms had the declared objective of enhancing accessibility and choice by expanding opportunities to study for degrees, the more recent one, now being implemented, had the further objective of opening higher education to market forces. 14 John D. Dennison & Hans G. Schuetze RÉSUMÉ La Colombie-Britannique a mis en oeuvre deux réformes principales de lʼenseignement supérieur au cours des quinze dernières années. La première des deux, “Access for All,” fut marquée par la création de nouvelles entités administratives dans la province que sont les collèges universitaires, et en même temps, lʼoctroi aux collèges communautaires et aux institutsdʼétudes appliquées dudroitdedécerner des grades de 2e cycle. Une seconde réforme, plus récente et vraisemblablement plus signiﬁcativeau sens large, crée un secteur privé dʼenseignement post-secondaire, vouéà la complémentarité vis-à-vis du public, mais franchement compétitif. Les deux réformes ont comme objectif un niveau dʼaccès accru au système, avec au surplus une plus grande disponibilité des programmes dʼétudes. La deuxième cache pourtant un but à venir qui est de rendre lʼenseignementsupérieur beaucoup plus susceptible aux forces du marché libre. INTRODUCTION Since the end of WorldWar II, Canadian higher education has changed almost beyond recognition (Cameron, 1991) . Reform has been continuous in every aspect of the higher education enterprise, in organization, management, curriculum, accessibility, and ﬁnance. Much of this has been viewed as improvement, more particularly, as steps towards a more democratic, accessible, and responsive system (Schuetze, 2002) . But change is never without critics. Some have bemoaned the deterioration of academic standards and the diminished value of diplomas and degrees. Others, although acknowledging the value of representative participation in the governing structure of universities, have decried inevitable delays indecision making brought on by multiplication of bureaucracy and resulting pressure for effective management. We here discuss signiﬁcant developments in post-secondary education in British Columbia during the past decade, especially policies aimed at widening access to degree programmes and, more recently, opening higher The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 Extending Access, Choice, and the Reign of the Market 15 education to private providers. If public-system reform was intended to increase access—with the help of new kinds and quantities of institutions, degrees, and programmes—then the new pro-market Liberal government taking ofﬁce in May 2002 aimed primarily at opening higher education to the private sector. We map these changes and analyze them with regard to impact, already manifest or to be expected, on student access and choice on the one hand, and quality on the other. Before dealing with the situation in British Columbia, we turn to developments in Canadaʼs post-secondary education system overall, beginning with a brief note on the historical roots of the present system. DEVELOPMENTS IN POST-SECONDARY EDUC

FAQs

What were the two major higher-education reforms described for British Columbia?

The first was an “Access for All” policy creating university colleges and enabling colleges and institutes to award “applied” degrees. The second, more recent reform encouraged the emergence of a private higher-education sector to complement and compete with the public system.

How did the reforms aim to improve access and choice?

Both reforms declared objectives of enhancing accessibility and choice by expanding opportunities to study for degrees, alongside increasing the availability of programs.

What additional goal did the newer reform pursue beyond access and choice?

It aimed to open higher education to market forces by allowing and encouraging private providers as a complement and competitor to the public sector.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Blue Pony