Higher Education in Manitoba - Structure and Governance

Structure and Governance

There are currently three public universities in Manitoba: the Universities of Manitoba and of Winnipeg, and Brandon University. Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface is affiliated with the University of Manitoba but retains some administrative autonomy and answers directly to the University Senate.

The public universities have instituted a bicameral system. The University of Manitoba and Brandon University have a Board of Governors, which looks after finance and the physical plant, and a Senate, which takes charge of academic matters. The University of Winnipeg has a Board of Regents instead of a Board of Governors.

Three public colleges were founded through the federal Vocational Training Co-ordination Act of 1942. Those institutions are now known as: Red River College (formerly Red River Community College), Assiniboine Community College, and University College of the North (formerly Keewatin Community College). The École technique et professionnelle is also publicly funded (MAEL, 2008). These colleges were largely dependent on federal funding targeted at occupational training and so undertook a vocational mandate.

Public and private denominational colleges are established by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and have been governed by the Colleges and Consequential Amendments Act since 1991. The Act provides for a Board of Governors to run each college, thereby allowing greater institutional autonomy than the previous centralized system (Dennison & Gallagher, 1986.; Sheffield, Campbell, Holmes, Kymlicka, & Whitelaw, 1978. ). 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” (Manitoba Laws, 2008).

Red River College is located in Winnipeg and offers more than one hundred certificate and diploma programs in applied arts and sciences, technology, and trades. The smaller Assiniboine Community College in Brandon offers certificate and diploma programs in trades, business, nursing, and agricultural training. The École technique et professionnelle is the only francophone college in the province, and is operated under the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface. It offers courses in business, computing, early childhood education, nursing, and tourism.

University College of the North is Manitoba’s newest post-secondary institution, established in 2004. It grants degrees, diplomas, and certificates in academic, trades, technology, vocational, and literacy training programs. It also offers transition and preparatory programs for under-prepared students. Several campuses in northern Manitoba serve the educational needs of First Nations and other residents of this vast geographical area. A Governing Council runs the University College and is advised by a Council of Elders. The mission of the University College is “to ensure northern communities and people will have opportunities, knowledge and skills to contribute to an economically, environmentally, and culturally healthy society inclusive and respectful of diverse Northern and Aboriginal values and beliefs.” The core values of justice, respect, generosity, excellence and education, honesty and integrity, privacy, and stewardship are emphasized in a Code of Ethics (UCN, 2008).

Canadian Mennonite University is a private university in Manitoba and offers degrees in the arts, music, music therapy, theology, and church ministries. It is an amalgamation of three colleges: Mennonite Brethren Bible College/Concord College (established in 1944), Canadian Mennonite Bible College (1947), and Menno Simons College (1989). In 1998, the government proclaimed a new charter for the creation of a university-level, degree-granting federation of Mennonite colleges. The Mennonite College Federation (now Canadian Mennonite University) began offering joint academic programs in 1999 (CMU, 2008). The CMU Senate provides internal governance and is made up of faculty, appointed administrators, and the President's Council. The CMU Council serves as an external accountability body and is made of up the three current owners of the University (Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba, Friends of Menno Simons College). The Board of Governors is elected from the CMU Council.

Booth University College is one of the newest university colleges in the province of Manitoba. Booth is a private postsecondary institution offering degrees in religion, English and film, general studies, behavioural sciences (psychology and sociology), business administration, and social work. Booth University College was founded by the Salvation Army in 1982, and was originally called Catherine Booth Bible College. In 1997 the college was renamed William and Catherine Booth College, and in June 2010 the college received university college status from the Manitoba Legislature.

Other private denominational institutions include Providence University College and Theological Seminary in Otterburne, Manitoba, and Steinbach Bible College.

Private vocational institutions in Manitoba are registered under the Private Vocational Institutions Act and Manitoba Regulation 237/02. The Act “provides consumer protection and ensures that the training provides a person with skills and knowledge required to pursue employment in their chosen field” (MAEL, 2008).