UBC's Board of Governors has approved the establishment of an advisory committee to develop a comprehensive set of guidelines which will provide a framework for the university as it enters into business-education partnerships.
"The issues before this committee are generally important ones for universities today and for UBC in particular," said Dennis Pavlich, associate vice-president, Academic and Legal Affairs, who will chair the advisory committee. "The issues are complex and jumbled. They need to be addressed by the UBC community to ensure the university continues to preserve its fundamental values while seeking alternative sources of revenue in today's ever-changing world."
Membership on the advisory committee will include faculty, staff, students and alumni, appointed by the vice-presidents. The terms of reference are:
to review the framework and current processes for the establishment of business-education partnerships and, where necessary, recommend changes;
to review existing ethical guidelines for business-education partnerships and recommend changes to better reflect UBC's interests and values;
to review a communication strategy to provide information and collect feedback on business-education partnerships across campus.
The Advisory Committee will report its findings back to the Board of Governors in the coming months. In addition, a public forum on business-education partnerships at UBC is planned for mid-November and details will be advertised shortly.
The Board of Governors also gave its approval for the university to proceed with the development of business-education partnership agreements with Canadian Airlines International Ltd. and the Royal Bank Financial Group and Hongkong Bank of Canada. The agreements will be presented for Board of Governors approval in December and January, respectively.
In 1995, the Board of Governors gave UBC a mandate to seek non-traditional or alternative sources of funding for the university. The board also ratified ethical guidelines for Business-Education Partnerships as developed by the Conference Board of Canada.
See also, Survey shows support for business partnerships in this issue.