At the April 18 Senate meeting, UBC’s two faculties of education voted to merge into one cross-campus faculty of education in order to optimize infrastructure and increase connections between the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.
Pending approval from the Board of Governors, the merger will create a School of Education, with its own budget and organizational structure on the Okanagan campus. The school will be part of the faculty of education, similar to how UBC Vancouver’s School of Kinesiology is part of the faculty of education.
Dr. Blye Frank, UBC Vancouver’s dean of education, said the merger aims to “establish a closer relationship between UBC’s two campuses.” He hopes “the merger will offer teachers a wider range of professional development opportunities to increase their knowledge and skill sets.”
Undergraduate programs on both campuses will remain separate after the merger, with each campus responsible for its own admissions process. Due to this separation, differences between the two programs will continue.
Dr. Wendy Carr, associate dean of the faculty of education, said “UBC-V offers specific methodological preparation at elementary, middle and secondary levels whereas UBC-O adopts an integrative approach in its coursework designed for teaching children or adolescents. Both programs offer extensive in-school teaching experiences as well as a community-based field experience.”
UBC Vancouver’s Bachelor of Education takes 11 months to complete and enrols about 800 candidates, whereas UBC Okanagan’s takes 16 months and enrols about 100 candidates. Only the Vancouver campus offers an International Baccalaureate (IB) teacher program and an Indigenous teacher education program, NITEP, which is currently in its 44th year.
Okanagan could potentially establish Indigenous program cohort after the merger.
"The positive vote on the merger of the two Faculties of Education on UBC’s campuses is a positive step forward, building on proven excellence and developing a vibrant, collaborative and impactful future, locally, regionally and globally," said Dr. Susan Crichton, associate dean of the UBCO faculty of education.
At the graduate level, the merger could provide more degree options across campuses. The programs available at Okanagan could be offered at the Vancouver campus, and vice versa.
Dr. Frank’s proposal to the Vancouver and Okanagan Senate Policy Committees states “the merger may provide greater access for teacher candidates in UBC-V to rural practicum locations and likewise, greater access for teacher candidates in UBC-O to urban and suburban practicum locations.”
Should the Board of Governors approve the motion, UBC’s faculties of education will merge on July 1, 2018.