Higher education in Manitoba

Through distributed learning mechanisms such as the Internet, it allows students to complete a significant portion of a college certificate, diploma, or university degree while staying in their home community.

[7] Red River College is located in Winnipeg and offers more than 100 degree, diploma, and certificate programs in applied arts and sciences, technology, and trades.

[8] The smaller Assiniboine Community College in Brandon offers certificate and diploma programs in trades, business, nursing, and agricultural training.

[11] The original role of the University of Manitoba was to examine and confer degrees on students graduating from its three founding affiliated colleges—St.

This solved the classical colleges' financial concerns regarding the provision of more expensive science-oriented curricula and allowed them to concentrate on theological studies and an interdisciplinary collegial environment.

At the same time, this concept allowed the University to respond to cultural diversity in the province, yet honour long-standing historical relationships with the colleges.

While answerable directly to the University of Manitoba Senate on academic matters, the Collège retained public funding and some administrative autonomy, including the appointment of faculty.

[17] In 1998, the Manitoba government proclaimed a new charter for the creation of a university-level, degree-granting federation of Mennonite colleges.

[19] Legislation related to the public post-secondary education system in Manitoba include both administrative and institutional acts.

[32] Administrative acts include:[32] Institutional acts include:[32] Each university and college's governing board is required to prepare and submit to the responsible Minister, (a) an annual budget; and (b) "any other financial plans, financial statements or reports that the minister requests.

[38] The Roblin Commission of 1993 and subsequent declining allocations of the public purse have made it clear that post-secondary institutions will have to find their own private sources of funding to make up shortfalls in general operating budgets.

[6] In 2010, the province of Manitoba spent 2.6% of its gross domestic product on tertiary education; slightly less than the national average of 2.7%.

Several UCN campuses in northern Manitoba serve the educational needs of First Nations and other residents of the vast geographical area.

[35] The Act provides for a Board of Governors to run each college, thereby allowing greater institutional autonomy than the previous centralized system.

[49][50] The mandate of the Act is "to enhance the economic and social well-being of Manitoba through the provision of a broad range of educational opportunities.

[11][16] The École technique et professionnelle, which is also publicly funded, is the only francophone college in the province, and is operated under the Université de Saint-Boniface.

The Council serves as an external accountability body made of up the three current owners of the University, and also elects the CMU Board of Governors.

[17][18][7] Private vocational institutions in Manitoba are registered under the Private Vocational Institutions Act, which "provides consumer protection and ensures that the training provides a person with skills and knowledge required to pursue employment in their chosen field;"[33] as well as Manitoba Regulation 237/02.

[51] In 2004, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) reported that Manitoba had gained the top spot in overall provincial rankings of equity, quality, accountability, and accessibility, demonstrating a "consistent commitment to higher education as a share of total provincial expenditures, in fostering high employment and income parity among male and female graduates, and in limiting downloading of costs onto students.

[54] In 2013, 90% of students graduating reported that they were satisfied with their decision to attend the University, a rate slightly lower than the national average of 93%.

[61] ACCESS provides specialized programs with funding to residents from under-represented groups who have faced barriers to post-secondary education, including such individuals as First Nations, the physically challenged, females, single parents, and immigrants.

[65][66] A 2005 report by the Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN), titled "Getting There and Staying There", adds the factor of geography, citing the long distances that students must travel in Manitoba and consequent personal dislocation to find a suitable post-secondary program.

[67] All three reports suggest the following strategies to increase access and participation: early intervention, career counseling starting in grade 9, orientation programs, introductory academic and vocational programs starting in grade 12, the involvement of parents, promotion of role models, distance education, and satellite campuses.

The Survey concluded that remedial courses could be helpful, and that such students require assistance immediately in their first year, especially at college level where programs are of shorter duration.

[69] Providing post-secondary education to residents of Manitoba's rural northern communities continues to be a challenge.