by Irwin Oostindie Guest Editorial- Part II The November Editorial page provoked a reaction via two memos from the Associate Dean responsible for the Design Programs, This is not suprising, given the nega- tive and competitive spirit the college is feeling these days. It’s not just this school, however. Read on.... The Social Credit govemment for years pitted colleges and universities against each other, all in pursuit of FTE (full-time equivalency) operating funding and capital acquisition budgets. College Boards, which are the over- seers of the college’s operations have been appointed by this same govemment. That is why there is no strong demands by this institution for increased funding. The govemment’s monopoly on process has ensured a subser- vient system. If the Associate Dean of Design would like to disprove this state of affairs, he is encouraged to. His reaction stems from specific allegations made in last month’s Guest Editorial that this school is steering a course which favours Design courses over Foundation and Fine Ans, The Editorial made no critique or attack on Design students, faculty, or the program’s administration, The reaction caused by the Editorial simply reflects the sensi- tivenature of the competition between different programs for increases and maintenance of funding. By reviewing budget documents from the Ministry of Advanced Education for Emily Carr, the trends in enrollment and course offerings for Design programs are clear, The growth of Design programs is evident, as is what appears like the restructuring and juggling of pro- vincial monies intended for Foundation students, particu- larly in 1988/89. The statement about “negative growth” of some pro- grams against the “positive growth” of Design does not speak against Design, it merely opens up dialogue on the Planet af the Arts Volume 7 opin issue. Different programs are suffering at this school, as is school spirit and student morale, This can be attributed to the systematic denial of full funding for all programs by the provincial govemment, Could this fact be some- how connected to the issue of programs being pitted against each other? Another reason for low student morale is that students lack a common space to meet and relax, (a remodelling of Issue4 page 3 ions bean important capital acquisition for the school! As we all know, the experiences while at school are certainly equal to the instructional time. Uh oh! we forgot the provincial govemment doesn’t fund “quality of life for students”. So then what does the govemment fund, and how does this institution get its funding? This college submits to the provincial govemment a Program Profile, which details: goals and objectives of the cafeteria might dothetrick.) A Student Lounge would the institution reflectedin its Five Year Plan; program and Emily Carr College of a & Design DATE: November 27, 1991 TO: Paul Shoebridge Editor, Planet of the Arts FROM: Ken Hughes, Associate Dean of Design RE: Planet of the Arts I imagine your newspaper imagines it is predicated on the noblest of student journalistic principles. At least accurate and balanced reporting, particularly cn its editorial page. Presumably then, you will have gathered substantiated evidence, facts, and the input of the stakeholders before writing/publishing the following (the underlining is mine): ~The administration steering this school into one which is commer- cial design industry-oriented, through possible changes next year ‘which would provide less remedial focus for foundation students, (grouping courses together under the banner of “inter-design”); -The possible move for Painting students back into the cramped quarters at the main campus. The idea is to group all of the lucrative- for-provincial-funding design programs into a fancy modem spacious building wi i fo ion early 1993. That means egalive growth for fine arts and big growth for Industr imercial Design. The new building construction wil free up a small space in the main campus for the painting program to cram into, | # (Guest Editorial, page 3, Planet of the Arts, Volume 7, No.3) Since you seem better informed than I, could you share the evidence, the facts, and the names of those you consulted with? I’m not aware that Design, as a stakeholder mentioned, was consulted. While you’re at it, who wrote the article ‘Focus on Foundation’ (page 9), so that a response can be considered. Once again I imagine the apparent absence of an authors name was just an innocent error. Thanks. KH/jh c.c. John Wertschek - Faculty Advisor / Deborah Shackleton Rick Cuff Charles Dobson Tom Becher Roman Izdebski 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6H 3R9 Telephone (604) 687-2345 Fax (604) 844-3801 my memo concerning by Irwin Oostindie (The following are excerpts from Irwin's responding memo) 1, The statement is a broad one, (a good topic for an essay perhaps), and I would like to ask you to read volume 7, issue 4, of the Planet, as there is a lengthy further dialogue and Tesponse to your question. 2. Paying careful attention to a conversation between a paid member of the college community and one of the college’s Program Directors in early November. 3, Rumours, simply rumours that have been heard countless limes. We are now under the perception that fourth year Painting will be included in the layout for the new Design Building, which will house Industrial/ Electronic/Commer- cial Design programs. I apologise fornot specifically knowing this earlier, 4, Simply because expanded directions within a climate of limited provincial funding for thecollege means less available money for those programs which just aren’t getting it. Here’s a hypothetical example: suppose 13 new computers were purchased for Emily Carr’s Design program this year. Now how would this affect the amount of capital acquisition going Emily Carr College of Art & Design DATE: December 3, 1991 TO: Editorial Board Planet of the Arts FROM: Ken Hughes, Associate Dean of Design RE: My memo concerning your recent Guest Editorial It is now a week since I wrote to the editor concerning statements made in your Guest Editorial in volume 7, issue 3. I haven’t yet received any response from the writer Irwin Oostindie. Do you know whether I will, and soon? If not, I believe the editors have an obligation to provide answers to my questions, because Mr. Oostindie was invited to be Guest Editor by yourselves. You also share responsibility for his statements by having printed them. To clarify, my questions are: ph Where is the evidence that: ‘the administration is steering this school into one which. is commercial design industry- oriented. ’? 2. What are the facts to substantiate that: ‘possible changes 3 next year...would provide less remedial focus for Foundation v7 : students, (grouping courses together under the banner of “inter-design") .? Where does the perception stem from (i.e. facts) that: ‘all of the lucrative-for-provincial-funding design programs’ are being moved into ‘a fancy modern spacious building’ while Painting is possibly moving back into ‘cramped quarters at the main campus. ’? 4. Why does Mr. Oostindie think that: ‘this means negative growth for fine arts programs and big growth for Industrial/Electronic/Commercial Design.’? ae What is the evidence to support the claim that: ‘the administration (is) sacrificing full-time programs while expanding into lucrative extension programs...’? course offerings; instructional and institutional suppon for each program; and number of students in each pro- gram. This is then basically channelled into a funding formula which determines levels of funding on a full- lume equivalency basis (FTE’s) for each program. Be- cause Emily Carr has no choice about playing along with the provincial govemmment’s whims, this school also follows the direction for post-secondary education as laid out by the govemment. What industries are needing amore skilled work force; global trends; national trends; and regional trends. Itis likely that the provincial govem- ment sees a request for funding “x” number of FTE’s for Commercial Design more favourably than funding the same number of Fine Arts FTE’s. This does not mean in any way that the college is not requesting funds for Fine Ants, but simply that the govemment has its own plans. Each year the college submits a program profile to the Ministry of Advanced Education. When it wants to create anew program (such as Industrial Electronic Communi- cation in 1989/90) it must be first approved by the Ministry, The criteria under which the decision toprovide funding is made, includes provincial shonages of “skilled labour’. This means that the specific program offerings at this college are indirectly controlled centrally in Victoria. This is intended as a response to the Associate Dean of Design’s query of: “where is the evidence that: “the administration is steering this school into one which is commercial design industry-oriented.” It may not be steering down a neutral road, but the lane it wishes to drive down is strategic, and certainly the vehicle the administration is driving is made up of us, the students, and it is our education. This gives us the right to provoke discussion on this issue. The Planet of the Ants is currently analysing the col- lege’s Five Year Plan (which includes future program directions, rationale for changes, etc.) and the Plan for Capital Acquisition (equipment purchases, facilities, etc.) In the January issue of the Planet we will provide more analysis of this issue, and we encourage input from students, * to V.C.C.-City Centre’s Computer Design program (which competes for the same funds), or for example new equipment for this college's darkrooms? 5. Any student enrolled through Extension Programs could tell you that the 1,500 part-time students not only bring in one third of the FTE’s for some programs, but also provide a substantial supply of operating revenue for the college. This 18 NOt just a trend at this college, however, and full-time students are continuing to feel like they aremissing something. Perhaps the Course Evaluations written out by part-time students at the end of this term have the answers you are looking for. It would be nice if the Planet of the Anis could publish a condensed version or summary of these, The administration is sacrificing full-time programs by not demanding inflation+growth, and pushing for funding which reflects actual program utilisation numbers. To alleviate the Associate Dean of Design’s concems, perhaps a straight- forward report can be made to the college community con- cerning the cost-effectiveness of extension programs vs. full- time, This should compare the cost of providing instruction, levels of enrollment, equipment costs, and burden on facili- ties. With all sincerity, | think this information would be healthy for everyone to know.* by Irwin Oostindie Guest Editorial- Part II The Noventer El page provoked aio via ‘womens mth Asa Des epee Dag Prgans Tiss. sp, ent es sive andconpeve spit th calee fig se ay, i's jis sho, hove Read The Socal rt vee ore pit legs and rvs auth ae alin pio FTE (Gine equal peng fang nd capil stn ues Clege Bours, cham seen ofbe cole sopatins ae be spiedby this sme gene. Tha why be to sing eran by is insite ree fodig The governs npsshserseeda se vit syzen Ibe Asie Deanof Desig wud pane tissu of ar bes rouge. 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Ay sae card ites Enesn Pogans colt el yu atte | prin senso bingo id of te FTE's or sme rans, bua a sual soppy of oping eve ft cle This is mua a tea is colle, however, ad fuse suleusatcnindopoeleheyremissngseeing, Pets he Coase Brains wen oa by pie sds te ed of hie ave answesyou ae lig or won be ef te Pane fe As cl bis aconlese esi say of hese, ead siting fine pogans by denn aarp. psig ing wich tees aual progam sain nbs. To ae he Asie De of Dg’ comes, psa favo cae mateo alec con centgtecs eves fount openssl tne Ts hud wap eos of pois nei, lef xine, cue cos, adden il ss, Wa al se, | ik sno woo be bay fx eye ae? your memo