Message from the Minister and
Accountability Statement

It is my pleasure to present the Ministry of Advanced Education 2006/07–2008/09 Service Plan.

This plan describes the work being done over the next three years by the ministry and our partners in post-secondary education and in research and technology. The plan identifies our goals and objectives, the strategies by which we will achieve them, the performance measures we will use to track our progress, and the targets by which we will define our success.

We have set an ambitious agenda for ourselves. In the years ahead, we will continue increasing opportunities for British Columbians to pursue high-quality post-secondary education by expanding facilities and student spaces at public institutions. We will increase research capacity in the province, supporting efforts to attract the best and brightest minds, and building on our reputation as a world-class centre for research and innovation. We will continue to invest in student financial assistance programs to reduce financial barriers to post-secondary education. We will participate in the development of a provincial literacy strategy to help make British Columbia the most literate jurisdiction in North America by 2010. We will work to improve post-secondary participation and success among Aboriginal students. And we will enhance the overall contributions that post-secondary education and research and innovation make to British Columbia’s social well-being and economic prosperity.

The Ministry of Advanced Education 2006/07–2008/09 Service Plan was prepared under my direction in accordance with the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act. I am accountable for the basis on which the plan has been prepared. All material fiscal assumptions and policy decisions as of February 8, 2006 have been considered in preparing the plan and I am accountable for achieving the specific objectives in the plan.

Honourable Murray Coell
Minister of Advanced Education and
Minister Responsible for Research and Technology

February 8, 2006