Former cabinet minister, Geoff Plant says that lack of quality controls is threatening BC’s reputation for post-secondary education. He would like to see a national accreditation system that would assure students of quality education in both public and private institutions. He said that the government should begin by adding representatives to the Private Career Training Institutions Agency (PCTIA) board. At the moment, except for one, all board members are from the institutions PCTIA oversees.
Last fall, PCTIA suffered the embarrassment of having to take action against one of its own board members, Michael Lo. He promised degrees from unaccredited universities, through his college, Kingston College, in violation of provincial law. Ironically Lo, was head of quality assurance for PCTIA. He was ordered to close Kingston College and its affiliated school, Lansbridge University. Geoff Plant says that BC needs an accreditation system that would identify which institutions and programs have met quality standards. Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell, has promised tougher rules for the 500-plus career training institutions in BC, as well as the ESL schools.

I’m all for it!