August 9, 2010   

Media contact: Kim Lawrence
Office: 604-864-4611
Cell: 604-302-6257
kim.lawrence@ufv.ca
 
Valley demand for education grows; UFV full to capacity

UFV has so many students wanting to study at its Fraser Valley campuses that it is now full…and then some. Projections indicate that the university will operate at up to 108 per cent of its government-set target in the coming academic year.

UFV’s Provost and Vice-President Academic Eric Davis notes that admitting students beyond government-funded capacity is not a good situation. “We do not receive any extra funding for critical student services such as library resources, advising, counseling, writing and math centres, student life activities, registration help, or even parking,” says Dr. Davis.

With the profile of full university status, UFV is attracting more and more Fraser Valley students who understand the difference that a post-secondary credential makes to both the economic and social well-being of the Fraser Valley and to their own lives.

Aside from the problem of providing critical learning support to extra students, Dr. Davis says that UFV will also be forced to become more selective as student line-ups grow. “UFV has long prided itself on being an institution where, instead of screening students out, we encouraged and made it possible for them to pursue post-secondary studies,” he notes.  “And with one of the lowest high school to post-secondary transition rates in the province, Fraser Valley communities must continue encouraging young people to carry on with their education after high school in order to grow local industry and enhance the rich cultural heritage in the region.”

In an effort to satisfy the steadily growing demand for post secondary education in the Fraser Valley and to accommodate the growing university-age population in the region, UFV enrollment has exceeded government-funded target for more than a decade. While many colleges and universities struggle to fill their government-funded spaces, UFV is one of a small group in BC that overfills virtually every year. This year, overall student numbers are up 11 per cent over this time last year.

“We are now larger than half the universities in Canada and yet we still provide one of the most intimate learning environments in the country,” says Dr. Davis. “Year after year in the Globe and Mail Canadian University Report, current UFV students give us A or A+ grades for student satisfaction, quality of education, teaching excellence, student faculty-interaction, and class size.”  In 2010, UFV’s A grade for teaching was the top score for any public university of any size in BC.

“Fortunately,” continues Davis, “we have a robust international program at UFV. Our international students make up about 6 per cent of our total student body, but their substantially higher tuition rates allow us to open up significantly more classes for domestic students.”

UFV receives approximately 55 per cent of its overall funding from the provincial government. The remainder comes from tuition (which is capped at a 2 per cent  increase per year), international student fees, special contract revenues, donations, and partnerships. For the past five years, UFV has received growth funding from the Province, adding hundreds of student spaces to its target each year along. Growth funding ended this year, with funded spaces now flat-lining for the foreseeable future.

A very few student seats are still available in select programs and courses.  To find any remaining seats visit www.ufv.ca/ar/semesterinfo/csizewaitlst.htm or www.ufv.ca/ar/admissions/acceptapps.htm but applications to most major programs are now closed for this fall. Contact the Admissions office at the university at 604-504-7441 if you have questions about a particular program or course.

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