CNC management missed the window of opportunity to be upgraded to a college-university like the other colleges in BC.

Considering many roadblocks in closer integration with UNBC, has CNC administration thought of closer cooperation between CNC and Thomson River university (TRU) in Kamloops? Or even integration of programs considering the college-university history of TRU?

It can even become the TRU campus in Prince George.

PG already has a Univ. Not sure why cnc would need/want to be part of TRU when they have 4 or 5 campus’ too… seems redundant to me.

I agree censored, what heck is the difference univ? It’s only a name, the training results are the same. You finish a trades program at CNC, TRU or BCIT and everyone gets the same Interprovincial Ticket. The employer doesn’t care where you get your Red Seal from.

The univ. “added value” could help them to recruit more students, especially international students. It also has benefits for students.

More students means more money.

By added value I mean: http://successnetwork.wordpress.com/2010/09/25/how-added-value-can-help-your-marketing/

Absolutely univ but there are only so many trades seats available because they are funded by the ITA. So university status will not change that.

The international programs at CNC now are full and there are more programs on the horizon. So having University status will help how?

If your argument is that the move from college status to university-college status (or university status) is counter intuitive then you should ask all these colleges who became university-college and later university (like TRU) and why they did it?

CNC cannot do it on its own and CNC can wait forever for UNBC to come up with a plan to reach that goal or look for another candidate like TRU to help it reach that goal.

Before the dating game and competition starts, the question is whether CNC management wants a partner at all or it prefers to remain single and independent in these tough times.

“competition is a sin.”
[John D. Rockfeler]

univ … not sure where you are coming from … in the 80s it was most of the members of that CNC management that supported in the creation of an independent university for the North and assisted in a lot of the leg work of supporting the University society … the reasons to support an independent university and an independent college are as valid today as they were then … universities can do things colleges cannot do and colleges can do things universities will not do

I will not disagree that the leaders of both institutions could work together to more effectively maximize the opportunities for the community … however a forced merge will not likely result in bettor outcomes

regarding TRU, you should investigate the number of effective partnerships that do exist between CNC and TRU … you might be surprised

I am also aware of the contributions of CNC faculty in bootstrapping the UNBC programs in the 90s, but it seems those efforts got lost in transition.

I agree with you about college/university, but if the student population does not support both of them a compromise should be reached. I am not aware of how the partnership between CNC and TRU compares with CNC and UNBC, but CNC’s courting TRU will definitely put pressure on UNBC to come off his high horse.

Any plan for exchange of ring between CNC and TRU yet? or keys? :)

univ … UNBC coming off of their high horse … won’t happen as long as key political players like Shirley Bond see reflections of themselves in the UNBC mirror … egos are running way too high to admit it may time for a rethink … if you want to see a smaller northern town Cdn university kicking butt, you may want to look at Laurentian University in Sudbury … enrollments rising quickly and some very effective partnerships (i.e. CGA Canada) resulting in global enrollments in degree completion and grad programs … good example of what can happen with focused leadership

Amen, brother! … only 39 more days …

What the heck does Shirley Bond have to do with UNBC. As a matter of fact it was the Liberals that allocated our tax dollars to make the old Canadian tire building into the CNC trades building and the funds for the new trades building across the street. So if Shirley is looking at her reflection in the UNBC mirror she is also looking at it in the CNC mirror. Exchange of rings? Or keys? WTF kind of artsy fartsy move is that? Reminds me of the useless waste of time the twinning of cities is.

39 more days? Be careful what you wish for people!

noway .. a couple of clarifications .. it was the Social Credit govt that secured the financing for the Cdn Tire building for CNC trades, not the Liberals .. and it was the federal Conservatives that provided the bulk of the money for the new Trades building through infrastructure dollars trying to rebuild the economy, not the provincial Liberal

… in both cases, the new buildings primarily replaced existing building (BCR campus, Olgilvie campus, Nicholson) old trades buildings that were inadequate and unsafe … asbestos, dust accumulations due to inadequate ventilation, etc.

in my post, I referred to key politicians, not a party .. Shirley Bond is no real friend of CNC .. she has a history of turning on those who helped her build her political career .. the teachers that brought her up to speed on the school district affairs, the PAC that supported her campaign, CNC that helped her salvage her academic pursuits … she has however been a protector of the soft underbelly and some of the weak academic programs at UNBC as a graduate of that institution as she sees her degree there as her claim to intellectual legitimacy (her mirror)

Perhaps Pat Bell regards himself as a champion of CNC .. a more reasonable but somewhat limited argument as Trades operational dollars are still very limited .. the only trades program Shirley has actively supported was the CTC Trades .. because of the link to SD57 and her buddy Brian Pepper along with her claim to be an expert on the K-12 system

I also see this “unconditional love” from Shirley Bond and BC gov towards UNBC’s mis-managment of both its financial and human resources very unhealthy. Instead of proper oversight over this public institution, the BC government has allowed it to spiral out of control in wasteful spending thanks to allocating to it money for hundreds of extra students that it never enrolled – not for one year, but for a decade.

UNBC has been treated by the BC Liberals like a spoilt child and the child has picked up some bad habits and become very unhealthy and abusive in the neigbourhood.

What is the solution? Allocate money to it based on its performance and let it compete with the other kids on the playground of BC academic sector to become healthy again. Don’t reward its bad performance because a decade of rewarding its bad and poor performance has contributed to an unhealthy culture of rewarding bad performance inside UNBC and rewarding friends and suppressing healthy competition inside the institution too. The bad practice of BC governance has permeated into the UNBC governance and contributed to a very un-collegial depressing environment.

The outcome has been the domination of a special interest group in UNBC that is sucking up all the resources to environmental programs and killing the motivation of the rest for any progress or ideas to pull UNBC out of the mud and self inflected mess UNBC is now in it. Ideas and solutions like CNC becoming UNBC’s applied and Engineering college by shutting the corrupted WIDC project and allocating the money to the joint venture.

Any plan for exchange of ring between CNC and UNBC? or keys for a new home (of a college of applied science and engineering)?

I have heard nothing to indicate any moves in that direction from behind the hallowed doors … an with the election campaign in full swing, one would have expected to hear announcements of the pre-announcements

Sorry anotherside but you are wrong about the Social Credit securing the funds for the Canadian tire building.

“The college bought the building in June – for a total purchase and renovation cost of $6.46 million – with the help of the ministry of Advanced Education, headed by Prince George- Mount Robson MLA and deputy premier Shirley Bond.”
“Today is a great day for the college,” she said. “I have always believed and still believe the College of New Caledonia should be the leader of trades training in B.C.”

That was back in 2004.

“Prior to being elected, Bond was Chair of the Prince George School Board. She was also attending the University of Northern British Columbia but did not yet attain her Bachelor’s Degree. She has an arts and sciences diploma from the College of New Caledonia.” [Wikipedia on Shirley Bond]

Does she even have a BA? They should pass a law to ensure a minimum university education for the ministerial posts in BC cabinet (e.g. justice, advanced education and health). She has messed up every ministerial portfolio that she got in the cabinet and the WIDC corruption scandal is another indication of her incompetence as the Minister of Justice.

noway … thanks for the memory correction … will have to power down and reboot