ssues & ideas EDITOR SCOTT DRAKE THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016 7 The changing face of education New challenges exist at all levels of teaching, learning and paying for education in B.C. Fee Payment Options INTERAC ONLINE | Through your myLa ) INTERNET OR TELEPHON Through, insti Amount in dollars G co students in British Columbia are the highest in Canada. Source: Statistics Canada’s National Graduate Survey, 2014. New student fees cropping up ™ | Government student loan | |debt for college graduates Quebec Ontario New Brunswick Newfoundland PELL Nova Scotia Manitoba Alberta Canada Saskatchewan CHAHIRA MERARSI photo/SCOTT DRAKE graph Top: Payees line up to settle student fees at Langara College’s student accounts window. Right: Debt from government loans for college Some British Columbia colleges are introducing new student fees By CHAHIRA MERARSI Ithough B.C.’s universities and colleges are abiding by the an- nual two per cent cap on tuition ee increases, student advocacy groups are concerned that they are us- ing service fees to make students pay the price for budget short falls and, in the process, making student debt worse. New student service fees, like the $139 fee at Selkirk College for health, wellness and support for the transition to employment, and increases to lab fees of up to $2,000 at Vancouver Com- munity College, are set to hit students in the 2016-2017 school year. The Canadian Federation of Stu- dents says these fees are being used by post-secondary institutions to make up for money that is not coming from the provincial government. “A lot of these fees are coming out of the woodwork and they aren’t being clearly designated to particular things,” said Jenelle Davies, secretary- treasurer for the CFS-BC. “They’re de- veloping new fees as a way to shorten those gaps in their budget and unfortu- nately that means that students are expected to pay even more for their education.” The fee increases have to be for new services and they cannot increase al- ready existing fees, said Advanced Ed- ucation Minister Andrew Wilkinson. “The institutions can only impose new fees where there is a new program with demonstrated benefits to stu- dents.” B.C. students already face the high- est interest rates in Canada for student loans and have among the highest debt load for bachelor degree graduates at $29,000 according to Statistics Canada’s National Graduate Survey. Davies fears the new fees will fur- ther impede students’ ability to access affordable education because not enough is being done to reduce debt. “We also need to reduce the interest rate on student loans. We pay the high- est interest rate in the country, it’s higher than the interest rate on a mort- gage. And it’s just continuing the debt cycle.” 66 Students are expect- ed to pay even more for their education JENELLE DAVIES SECRETARY-TREA- SURER, CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS-BC Lifelong learning extends to post-academic work Langara College’s continu- ing studies emphasizes personal development By JORDAN MACDONALD lege foster a sense of life long learning by offering courses that help students in their personal educa- tion or development at their own pace. The courses range from bookkeep- ing to Punjabi performing arts, from organic landscape management to geo- graphic information systems, and are more about personal growth and learn- ing than academic achievement. While there may be some overlap with credit based academic courses, or regular studies, continuing studies courses are a way for students to en- gage with the practical side of learning, said Greg Blue, creative & applied arts program manager. “There are some students that are coming to continuing studies for the simple reason that [continuing studies] Gi studies at Langara Col- offers some programming that isn’t of- fered in the [regular studies] program- ming at Langara. In most of the cases it is students that are wanting to focus on a very applied study, and not so much on academic study—because most of these students have already got a de- gree.” In conjunction with the Vancouver School Board, continuing studies offers Langara students a chance to do their learning off-campus in subjects that might be called “hobby courses.” “What we’re looking at [are] people who just want to enhance their know]- edge,” said Jennifer Madigan, program coordinator for Langara continuing studies at VSB. Langara took control of these pro- grams from the VSB in the fall of 2014 and runs them out of local secondary schools which provide site specific fa- cilities like wood shops or kitchens. “Tt’s part of learning,” said Madigan. “When you're doing something like taking a woodworking or a cooking course, it is a creative outlet—it gives people more personality.” JENNIFER MADIGAN submitted photo A continuing studies student arranges a flower for class. Assessing flexible ed- ucation The introduction of the revised curriculum in B.C. schools might mean a re- vamping of the FSA tests By ROBERTO TEIXEIRA garten to Grade 9 B.C. schools’ cur- riculum on the provincially man- dated Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) remains up in the air. The revised curriculum, which some schools started using on a voluntary basis in September, focuses on a flexi- ble learning environment. How this new focus impacts the FSA, a standard- ized test that measures reading, writ- ing and numeracy Te impact of the revised kinder- skills, is under scrutiny by educa- tion stakeholders. Collaboration, Is a stan- critical thinking dgardized and communica- tions skills are key test the components that right way help to deliver the revised curriculum, to go when according to Rich you are ard Overgaard, the ° media relations of- creating a ficer for the British more flex- Columbia Teach- + ers’ Federation. ible Cur “Instead of say- riculum? ing ‘in this grade RICHARD you must learn about the French OVERGAARD Revolution,’ it MEDIA RELATIONS might be ‘in this OFFICER, BCTF grade you need to learn about the concepts of revolution’ and that could be the French Revolu- tion or the Arab Spring.” It is important that the goals of the revised curriculum line up with the way they are assessed, according to the Ministry of Education. “A review of assessment options is currently under [the ministry’s] con- sideration,” said Craig Sorochan, the public affairs officer for the Ministry of Education, in an email. While the revised curriculum does not ignore foundation skills, for Over- gaard, the real question is how the B.C. government will explore the discrepan- cies between the revised curriculum and the current FSA. “Is a standardized test the right way to go when you are creating a more flexible curriculum?” he said. Sorochan said that decisions about the future of assessments for the new curriculum could be expected by the spring. ALBERTO G. Flickr photo Foundation skills assessments have been mandatory in B.C. since 1998.