Independent committee should oversee Quebec’s universities: Conseil national des universités (CNU)

By Laura Beeston. Four months after the summit on higher education wrapped, the second in a series of reports on the future of Quebec’s universities and colleges was made public Thursday. The document, written by former UQAM rector Claude Corbo, proposes the creation of a Conseil national des universités (CNU) — a public, independent committee made up of 13 members appointed by the government to keep tabs on Quebec’s 18 universities.
The 121-page report sites various parties at the summit calling for an intermediary between universities and the government for better cohesion and coordination of development of academic affairs.
In 1993, a similar committee was abolished, but nearly all of the academic stakeholders at February’s summit, including students, called for its re-institution. Corbo’s report states that this body would “play an advisory, not coercive” role on university affairs.
The re-introduction of the CNU would not take any power away from university boards and the Education Department. The CNU “will have moral authority,” Corbo told The Gazette in an interview, explaining Quebec is the only province in Canada without some kind of advisory board on university affairs. Read more...