Copyright (

c) Queen's Printer,

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

License

Disclaimer

2001 Legislative Session: 5th Session, 36th

Parliament

FIRST READING

The following electronic version is for

informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official

version.

HONOURABLE CATHY McGREGOR

MINISTER OF ADVANCED EDUCATION,

TRAINING AND

TECHNOLOGY AND

MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUTH

BILL 9 – 2001

ACCESS TO EDUCATION ACT

Contents

Sections

Definitions

Tuition fee freeze

Tuition fee reduction

Mandatory ancillary fee freeze

Government funding related to tuition fee reduction

Government funding related to cost increases

Government funding for additional student spaces

Power to allocate funds

This Act and the regulations prevail

Power to make regulations

Commencement

Preamble

WHEREAS a well educated citizenry and highly skilled workforce are important

to British Columbia's economic success;

AND

WHEREAS British Columbians should have opportunities to develop the

skills and knowledge needed to succeed in a knowledge based economy;

AND

WHEREAS post-secondary education and training is critical for British

Columbians to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge;

AND

WHEREAS the government of British Columbia is committed to providing

affordable and accessible post-secondary education to British Columbians and to

supporting post-secondary institutions in continuing to provide quality

post-secondary education;

THEREFORE HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative

Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1 In this Act:

"fiscal year" means a period beginning on April 1

in one year and ending on March 31 in the next year;

"mandatory ancillary fee" means a fee a student

must pay a post-secondary institution in order to complete a graduate,

undergraduate, career, technical, vocational or developmental program, but does

not include

(

a) a tuition fee,

(

b) a student organization fee,

(

c) a fee charged to an international student, or

(

d) a fee charged for a continuing education program;

"post-secondary institution" means a university,

college or other institution established under the University Act, the

University of Northern British Columbia Act, the Royal Roads

University Act, the Technical University of British Columbia Act, the

College and Institute Act, the Institute of Technology Act or the

Open Learning Agency Act;

"reference period" means the fiscal year beginning

on April 1, 2000;

"tuition fee" means a fee a student must pay a

post-secondary institution for the provision of instruction in a graduate,

undergraduate, career, technical, vocational or developmental program, but does

not include

(

a) a student organization fee,

(

b) a fee charged to an international student, or

(

c) a fee charged for a continuing education program.

Tuition fee freeze

(1) Subject to the regulations, a tuition fee

charged by a post-secondary institution for a program provided during the period

beginning on April 1, 2001 and ending on August 31, 2001 must not exceed the

tuition fee charged for the program at the time it was provided during the

reference period.

(2) Subject to the regulations, a tuition fee charged by a

post-secondary institution for a new program provided during the period

beginning on April 1, 2001 and ending on August 31, 2001 must not exceed the

tuition fee charged by the institution for a similar existing program.

Tuition fee reduction

(1) Subject to the regulations, a tuition fee

charged by a post-secondary institution for a program provided after August 31,

2001 must be an amount that is at least 5% less than the tuition fee charged for

the program at the time it was provided during the reference period.

(2) Subject to the regulations, a tuition fee charged by a

post-secondary institution for a new program provided after August 31, 2001 must

not exceed the tuition fee charged by the institution for a similar existing

program.

Mandatory ancillary fee freeze

(1) A mandatory ancillary fee charged by a

post-secondary institution after March 31, 2001 must not exceed the amount of

the mandatory ancillary fee charged by the institution during the reference

period.

(2) A mandatory ancillary fee charged by a post-secondary

institution for a new program provided after March 31, 2001 must not exceed a

similar mandatory ancillary fee charged by the institution for a similar

existing program.

(3) A post-secondary institution must not charge a new

mandatory ancillary fee after March 31, 2001 except in relation to a new program

that is begun after that date.

Government funding related to tuition fee reduction

5 The government must establish, for each fiscal

year, the amount of government funding to be allocated to post-secondary

institutions, in addition to any other government funding, to compensate for the

difference between

(

a) the total amount of tuition fees, as estimated by the

minister, to be paid to post-secondary institutions during that fiscal year,

and

(

b) the total amount of tuition fees, as estimated by the

minister, that would have been paid to post-secondary institutions during that

fiscal year if the tuition fees for the reference period applied.

Government funding related to cost increases

(1) The government must establish, for each

fiscal year, the amount of government funding to be allocated to post-secondary

institutions, in addition to any other government funding, to compensate for the

portion of the projected increased operating costs of the institutions for the

fiscal year that the minister estimates would be paid for by tuition fees and

mandatory ancillary fees if this Act did not apply to that fiscal year.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the "projected

increased operating costs" means the projected increased operating costs as

estimated by the minister.

Government funding for additional student spaces

7 The government must establish, for the fiscal

year beginning on April 1, 2001, the amount of government funding to be

allocated to post-secondary institutions, in addition to any other government

funding, that, in the opinion of the minister, is sufficient to enable

post-secondary institutions to increase the number of spaces for full time

students or the equivalent of full time students during the fiscal year by a

total of 5 025 for all post-secondary institutions.

Power to allocate funds

8 Sections 5 to 7 do not affect the discretion of

the minister with respect to the allocation of funds referred to in those

sections among post-secondary institutions.

This Act and the regulations prevail

9 In the event of a conflict between this Act or

the regulations and

section 27 of the University Act,

section 19 of the

College and Institute Act,

section 14 of the Institute of Technology

Act or

section 7 of the Open Learning Agency Act, this Act and the

regulations prevail.

Power to make regulations

(1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make

regulations referred to in

section 41 of the

Interpretation Act.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant

Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(

a) applying provisions of this Act to the particular

circumstances of individuals, programs and post-secondary institutions or to

classes of individuals affected by this Act;

(

b) defining a word or expression used but not defined in

this Act;

(

c) establishing a method for determining the amount of

tuition fees in the case of any uncertainty respecting the application of

sections 2 and 3;

(

d) determining the applicable tuition fee for a program

that continues for more than one period referred to in

section 2 or 3.

Commencement

11 This Act is deemed to have come into force on

April 1, 2001 and is retroactive to the extent necessary to give it effect on

and after that date.

Explanatory Note

This Bill freezes tuition fees at public post-secondary institutions from

April 1 to August 31, 2001 and reduces tuition fees by 5% after August 31,

This Bill also guarantees the funding for an additional 5 025 student spaces,

in total, at public post-secondary institutions during the 2001/02 fiscal year.

As well, this Bill ensures that the public post-secondary institutions will

receive adequate government funds to compensate for the reduced amount of funds

received from tuition fees.

Copyright © 2001:

Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada