The presidents of Camosun College, North Island College, Royal Roads University, the University of Victoria, and Vancouver Island University signed an agreement today creating the Vancouver Island Public Post-Secondary Alliance.
As signatories to this alliance, the five institutions will join forces to further the social and economic prosperity of Vancouver Island and the province of British Columbia through a commitment to collaboration and cooperation.
Together the five institutions make an essential contribution to the lives of Vancouver Island residents and its many communities, meeting the full range of post-secondary education and training needs of its residents. Recognizing the individual purposes, mandates, obligations and autonomies of the five institutions, the presidents confirmed their commitment to collaborate on initiatives that:
- Improve students’ ability to access Vancouver Island’s full range of post-secondary education and training and to seamlessly move between institutions;
- Meet the educational and regional employment and training needs of Vancouver Island and BC communities;
- Stimulate job creation and investment on Vancouver Island and in the province of BC;
- Increase the participation and success of aboriginal learners;
- Enhance the ability of Vancouver Island residents to participate as citizens of a global world by growing international education and the internationalization of institutions;
- Create new knowledge through research and innovation that strengthens the communities of Vancouver Island and beyond;
- Share resources to expand and enhance the programs and services of each institution; and,
- Advocate for post-secondary education and training for Vancouver Island, the Gulf and Northern Islands and the BC coast.
North Island College’s President John Bowman stated, “North Island College views the alliance as particularly beneficial to our region.”