Headlines/June 12, 1997

Witter to Douglas, continued

Witter also asserts that CE is still a
major link to UCFV’s communities, even
though the focus has changed.

“It’s not always easy to see tangible
results from our relationships with
employer groups, but I know that when
we touch 200 employees through a special
contract, it results in more individuals
pursuing education. It introduces people.
to UCFV and gives them the push they
need to look into taking a course, and
eventually perhaps a whole program. I
don’t think CE gets enough credit for our
role as the first point of contact.”

Witter has also been at the helm of
“access” programs, including College and
Career Prep and English as a Second
Language, during a period of change.

“There have been some major shifts in
the access area because of the changing
government agenda. It concerns me that
many faculty are not aware of how much
governnient policy directs how our
institution changes. For instance, two
years ago we had 200 people on income
assistance attending UCFV. Now there are
over 700, because of the government’s
welfare to work policies.”

Witter thinks the university college also
has to pay more attention to changing
demographics.

“Many people are working more than
one job and trying to balance that with
family life. They’re unable to come to a
_ Class that meets three times a week for
one hour. We need to be more responsive.”

She says that initiatives such as online
learning, prior leaming assessment,
laddering, and the CE certificate _
programs, which are offered at times.
suitable for working people, are steps in
the right direction.

UCFV as a whole has also undergone

most of it sparked by the change in 1991
from a two-year community college toa
four-year university college. UCFV’s goal
in this period of transition has been to add
degree programs without compromising
the many certificate and diploma
programs already offered.

“I always thought that we could be both
a degree-granting institution and hold on
to the many other programs we’ve
traditionally offered,” says Witter. “The
first time I saw cracks appearing was

huge changes during Witter’s years here, .

.- during the budget process this year, and at
the forums we held about it. People were

right to raise concerns about the extent of
the cuts in programs that primarily serve

disadvantaged groups, and they'll have to |’

continue to speak out about this.

“We should not be moving toa
two-tiered system where we tell people’

_ that they should come to UCFV and be. ~

subsidized at the 80% level if they want -
academic or career programs, but that
they should go to the private sector and
pay much more for ‘access’ programs that

attract at-risk students, programs such as -

adult basic ed, ESL, or Office Careers.
Warning signs were sent out by our
communities that they will not accept this,
and I hope people continue to be vigilant.”

Witter says that one of the reasons
Douglas College appealed to her.was that
it is still a true community college,
specializing in programs for “at-risk”.
students: “That’s where I want to focus.”

She’s looking forward to her leadership
role at Douglas. “I think I have some good
experience in getting people to work
together, and I have an excellent mentor
in Peter Jones and the relationships he’s
forged with the board, management, and
the FSA.”

Like many women her age, Witter is a
member of the “sandwich” generation,
caring for her elderly parents and
watching her “twenty-something” kids
struggle to establish themselves. She:
acknowledges that such responsibilities,
and those of caring for children from birth
through high school, pose barriers for
women with career ambitions.

“I’ve always tried to encourage women —

to go as far as they want to. If women take
chances and risks, and feel confident, they
have just as many opportunities as men,
but perhaps at a greater cost.” - :

As she moves into this new stage in
life, her biggest regret is that one of her
key mentors, her father, can’t appreciate
it. “He was Deputy Minister of Health for
15 years and really inspired me to have a’
career that focused on public service, and
to take on new challenges.”

Witter will start her new job at Douglas
College in July. As a parting legacy, she
has donated $5,000 toward a scholarship

~ for part-time students who do not qualify

for other awards.

PD changes deal with big
demand, limited resources

At the last joint proféssional development. :

, committee meeting, members grappled

with a big issue and came up with a

partial solution.

Traditionally, the staff educational
leave fund has been paid for with the:
rollover of unused staff and faculty
professional development funds. (The _

‘faculty contribute to their own ed. leave’

fund.) Every full-time employee was

entitled to $1,200 for PD funding each

year, but not every employee used it all,

_So there was usually a healthy rollover.

Now, both PD and ed. leave are
increasingly popular, meaning there’s less
money to roll over to the ed. leave fund,
which in turn is in more demand.

Although it is committed to the
concept of staff educational leave, the _
JPDC considered it beyond its mandate to
suggest that staff begin to contribute to an
educational leave fund through regular
payroll deductions.

In response to this dilemma, JPDC
decided at its May meeting that as of
April 1, 1997, employees will be funded
for PD based on their contract. For
instance, if you are a 50% full-time
employee, you will be eligible for $600 in
PD funds. This is consistent with how
part-time employees have been treated
over the years. a

JPDC co-chair Barry Bompas also
Notes that the committee is tightening its
criteria for what types of conferences,
tours, and courses will qualify for PD.

“Tt will be more focussed on professional
development,” Bompas notes.

_ Doug King is the FSA co-chair of
JPDC, which is a joint PSA-Management
committee.

For more information on these changes
contact Bompas at local 4508 (e-mail
bompas) or King at local 4330 (e- mail
Kingd).