Honorable Andrew Wilkinson
BC Minister of Advanced Education
PO Box 9080
Station Provincial Government
Victoria, BC V8W 9E2
April 15, 2015
Honorable Minister Wilkinson:
The Disability Resource Network of British Columbia for Post-Secondary Education (DRNBC ) is a
provincial organization representing faculty and staff who provide programs and services for students with
disabilities in the post secondary educational system in British Columbia. Adult Special Education programs
(ASE) and Disability Services support people with disabilities(PWD) to obtain further education and are
essential pathways for many adults with chronic health conditions, mental health and other cognitive and
learning challenges to acquire work-related skills and training in a public post-secondary educational setting.
Our mandate includes raising public and government awareness about the educational needs of PWD. We
are writing to bring your attention to our concern that the recent decision to charge tuition for all postsecondary programs, including all students of Adult Basic Education, English as a Second Language and
Adult Special Education programs will cause a considerable strain on the Adult Upgrading Grant
funds(AUG).
Many students with cognitive disabilities rely on ASE programs for employment skills preparation and work
experience. Without these programs ASE students will be denied the right to go beyond High School to
obtain the much needed training they need and deserve to maximize their employability. A large proportion
of students in Adult Special Education programs in BC live on a low income and have been relying on this
grant for funding. In the past, most ASE programs have charged modest tuition fees, and the majority of
ASE students in BC have been receiving AUG funding (formerly called ABESAP funding). With the new
tuition fees, now all of the students in developmental programs who were attending programs which were
previously tuition-free will also rely on the same AUG funding. In addition, some of our ASE graduates have
moved on to study as ABE students, have further benefited from the break in ABE tuition fees and will now
also be impacted by the tuition fee charges.
ASE students registering for programs in September 2015 will be drawing on AUG funds at the same time as
ABE students and domestic ESL students. Ministry officials have stated that all developmental education
students applying for the AUG that meet the criteria will receive funding. They have also informed us that
there is a policy that individual students will not be funded to repeat a program. These statements are
concerning for a number of reasons:
a) There is a possibility that, despite reassurances otherwise, all of the AUG funds will be drawn down before
the academic year (2015-2016) is completed.
b) There is a likelihood that, that if the dollars are depleted in the middle of a multiple semester program,
students will be unable to find the funds to continue (and if they can, it might not be quickly enough). This
means a student may be unable to register for a second or third term and therefore unable complete their
program. Since most of our ASE students will be using AUG, the delay or absence of tuition dollars may
impact the program’s ability to run beyond the first semester. If this was to occur, the outcome would cause
programs to cancel, in effect further eroding the number and quality of ASE program offerings.
c) This policy disregards the fact that some ASE students may, due to their complex learning needs, require
extra time to complete the course requirements. Previously, many developmental educational departments
have allowed students to repeat a course or program, to give them the supported opportunity to learn and to
develop the skills and confidence necessary to graduate. If a second chance at a course is not possible due to
lack of funding, these students may have to leave the program without the being given the opportunity to
reach their full potential.
In BC colleges and universities a distinction is made between preparatory programs and post-secondary
programs. All preparatory programs in post-secondary institutions are considered to be upgrading the
student in order to qualify for further studies in academic areas of interest, and are therefore “pre-postsecondary”. ASE programming is exceptional, insofar as some of our offerings are, in fact, “terminal
certificates” and not preparatory work towards further post-secondary education. Yet the Disability
Education Grants that are in place to fund postsecondary students with disabilities are not available to ASE
students, since the eligibility criteria states a recipient must be a post-secondary student (not a student of a
developmental program). Because of this, all low income ASE students must rely entirely on Adult
Upgrading Grants funding.
The provincial government’s decision to reinstate tuition fees for developmental education will reduce these
students’ educational opportunities, the quality of their lives and their ability to fully engage in their
community. To those of us who work to support students with cognitive disabilities in the post-secondary
system, it is a reminder of a constant shortfall in funding, which is a grim reality that we have become very
familiar with.
Over the last decade, we have witnessed the erosion of access, the inadequate funding to the universities and
colleges, and the loss of several specialized program offerings for students with barriers to learning and
employment due to cuts on individual campuses. The negative impact on post-secondary students with
cognitive disabilities may be an unintended consequence of the Ministry of Advanced Education’s policy
change regarding program tuition fees. However, in May 2014 the B.C. Skills for Jobs Blueprint outlined the
provincial government’s plan to re-engineer education and training so that British Columbians will have the
skills needed for employment, including programs for Aboriginal people and programs for people with
disabilities. In light of this statement and the reasons outlined within this letter, we ask you to reconsider the
specialized training needs of people with disabilities in British Columbia as the tuition fee requirements are
rolled out in the next educational year.
Specifically, please ensure that:
1) students with disabilities who are registered in developmental education programs are given the
reassurance that they will be able to complete a full program offered over multiple semesters
2) consider making an exemption for students with cognitive disabilities to be allowed extra AUG
funding to provide more time to meet their learning goals in post-secondary institutions
We request a meeting with the Minister’s office by June 30th to discuss these concerns more fully.
Yours sincerely,
Disability Resource Network of BC Post-Secondary Educators
Cc Hon. Kathy Corrigan, NCP Opposition spokesperson for Advanced Education
Hon. Michelle Stilwell, Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation
Susan Mader, Executive Director of the Accessibility Secretariat, Ministry of Social Development and Social
Innovation