Higher education in Newfoundland and Labrador

The higher education system in Canada consists of universities as well as community and technical colleges. Newfoundland and Labrador has had the same growing pains as other provinces of developing its own form of education and now boasts a very strong, although relatively small, system. The direction of Newfoundland and Labrador’s policy has evolved rapidly over the past 10 years with increased funding, participation rates, accessibility and transferability. Many of the directives the government has been acting upon in the past 3 years have been a result of recommendations that stemmed from a 2005 white paper: Foundation for Success: White Paper on Public Post-Secondary Education > It set the course for furthering the strategic directives of the Provincial post-secondary education sector. Some of the recommendations aimed to:

• Strengthen the base of the post-secondary education system
• Improve the capacity of the university and college
• Provide greater support services to students
• Maintaining adequate and stable funding for the students and the institutions
• Improve accountability and collaboration within and between the post-secondary institutions

=Quick Facts= =History= Early policy The first Education Act in Newfoundland in 1836 inaugurated the existing schools in its public education system, most of which had remained non-denominational, and was the first direct government involvement with education. > Despite this seemingly secular policy, an anti-Catholic campaign at the time was causing rising opposition to many of Newfoundland’s Catholic population, which numbered half the colony, and as a result, its Catholic-run schools. Similar sentiments in England resulted in the Protestant backed Education Act of 1843, which saw Catholics share education grants equally with Protestants, thus setting up a denominational system of education. From this point on, religion, as well as the largest economic sector, fisheries, would be the driving factors behind Newfoundland’s education system.

The next decades saw much infighting among many of Newfoundlanders around the allocation of grant money. Government revenue was based mainly on customs dues, so this grant money would wax and wane with the state of the economy resulting in schools which were smaller than needed that lacked sufficient equipment and teachers who were both under educated and underpaid. The Education Act of 1876 set up Superintendents for each of the denominational schools (Catholic, Church of England, and Methodist, which made up 90% of the population [Harris, 1966], but the situation only worsened as money was spent on building new schools rather than increasing teacher salaries, which continued to fall.

The Roots of Higher Education The colony began to turn it’s attention to higher education and in 1893, the Council of Higher Education (CHE) was formed, which crossed all denominations. The main purpose of the Council was to test students from grades 6 through XII, who were deemed to have an academic disadvantage when trying to enter universities outside the colony. Teaching to exams had drawbacks, but established a set curriculum and guidelines for instruction. The CHE encouraged students to enter university and formed many agreements with outside institutions to recognize CHE exams, which followed existing, accepted British exams, as prerequisites. > Unfortunately, universities, especially Oxford, which was accepting Rhodes Scholars, were dissatisfied with the results of Newfoundlanders, so the CHE decided to follow recommendations and began planning to set up an institution in St. John’s which could provide the first two years of university to students. > By 1920, a full Department of Education was set up in Newfoundland (now a self governing Dominion) and by 1925, Memorial University College (MUC) was founded. Offering two year programs, it continued through the CHE to build relationships with universities elsewhere and prepare Newfoundlanders for degree completion.

The Road to Confederation Not soon after its formation, MUC had to weather the Great Depression and the budget rollercoaster that came with it. By 1934, the somewhat independent Newfoundland government was once again under Britain’s wing and increased expenditure in education to revitalize the system and improve conditions. Recovery was made, but by 1949, when the Dominion became a Province, it’s was in much the same condition as 25 years before. Facilities were still outdated and the terms of Confederation ensured that schools would remain run by denominational Boards of Education. On a positive note, MUC became the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MU), capable of granting full degrees, and new money from the federal government began to arrive after 1957 in the form of equalization payments. Enrollment increased dramatically and by the 1970s, standards at MU had reached those of most comparable Canadian universities.

Late 20th Century Changes In 1997 a number of independently run colleges throughout the province amalgamated into the College of the North Atlantic.

=Structure= =Associations= =Funding= =Participation= =Accessibility= =Transferability= =Glossary= =References=