UBC Reports | Vol. 51 | No. 2 | Feb. 3, 2005

OUC Student Leader Weighs In

As one of two student representatives on the UBC Okanagan President’s Community Advisory Council, Karina Frisque, past president of the OUC Student Association, says UBC has done a fair job engaging students in the transition process.

“We are the ones who live the day-to-day experience, so the more student input there is, the better UBC Okanagan and Okanagan College will be,” says Frisque, who is now a senior observer on the student council and news editor of the student newspaper The Phoenix.

“We know what OUC was like, what was wrong with it, how we’d like to see it fixed and exactly what we want to see for the two future institutions.”

Frisque says some students are excited that they will be graduating from UBC rather than from OUC “simply because [UBC] is a much more recognized institution,” and that while OUC has provided an excellent quality of education, UBC O will bring opportunities for research activities.

However, the uncertainty of the transition did create some confusion and animosity amongst the student body, Frisque admits. “There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered, but I think students recognize the complexity of the transition and most of them realize that changes will happen gradually.”

Pleased to see an emphasis on learner-centred education and small class sizes in UBC O’s academic plan, Frisque says it’ll be a challenge, one that students will be watching closely.

“Many students chose OUC because it is small and learner-centred,” says Frisque, who has seen some class sizes grown from 40 to 100 in the past four years under OUC’s own expansion. “Continuing the small, intimate learning environment will be a necessary key to UBC O’s success as far as students are concerned.”