For years, MoveUP has been sounding the alarm about increasing fiscal instability throughout the post-secondary sector.
Our members who work in the industry – most notably at Capilano University – have lived through chronic underfunding, structural imbalances, and repeated warnings that institutions were becoming financially unsustainable.
Recently the BC government announced its intention to conduct a review to strengthen the post-secondary sector, inviting key stakeholders including our union to provide input. The notice of this review, however, was extremely rushed and is scheduled to conclude by January 15, 2026. Stakeholders were also informed that there would be no increases to the current funding model coming with this review.
It is impossible to have meaningful consultation in just a matter of weeks when the problems that exist have been decades in the making. We are urging the provincial government to extend the consultation time, but also to recognize that strengthening the post-secondary sector demands true investment.
We are at a crisis point now, but the answer to sustaining the industry can’t just be to try and do more with less. That’s just a recipe for further erosion. Precluding any consultation by restricting any discussion on funding is not meaningful consultation. It signals a predetermined outcome rather than a sincere attempt to strengthen the sector.
Over the last 20 years, the provincial government has cut funding from post-secondary education and have left schools to increase their financial dependence on international students.
The decline in international students now has created a huge funding gap, but this crisis exists because of the prior cuts in funding. Further cuts will not fix this crisis. Only true investment in post-secondary education can reverse this multi-generational damage.
Our members who work in post-secondary education are already stretched and, back in late October, Capilano University informed us they were considering laying off 60 of our members without any prior notice.
This is just a recent example of the lack of consultation owed to the working people of the post-secondary sector, and of a seeming unwillingness to pursue solutions other than cuts that disproportionately harm working families.
We need our provincial government to recognize that true investment in the post-secondary sector is needed to ensure its long-term sustainability.
Post-secondary institutions are vital public institutions that anchor communities. They exist to serve the public good by supporting innovation in the province and ensuring that people across British Columbia have access to high-quality education that meet the demands of a province that depends on a skilled, educated, and adaptable workforce.
This is important now more than ever.
A proper review must recognize the value of post-secondary education extends far beyond financial spreadsheets, and that sustainability cannot be achieved by weakening the very institutions that communities rely on.
We are committed to continuing our advocacy work on behalf of our members in the post-secondary sector. We need our provincial government to recognize the scope of this issue and that the only way to ensure sustainability in the post-secondary sector is by properly investing in and funding it, not through quick fixes and cuts.
