Philip Steenkamp (Research Universities’ Council of BC, Royal Roads University), Laurie Waye (BC Colleges, Coast Mountain College), and Jeff Zabudsky (Pacific Association of Canadian Institutes and Universities, BCIT) have written an article for the Vancouver Sun calling for investments in the postsecondary sector. Steenkamp, Waye, and Zabudsky assert that the province’s prosperity and productivity are dependent on its ability to prepare skilled graduates for the workforce. However, the loss of the revenue provided by international student enrolment is forcing institutions to make short-term cuts that “will lead to skills shortages tomorrow and to missed opportunities” for the province. They encourage BC to not let the public postsecondary system erode, as “it is the foundation of our shared future.”
