MEET THE CHAIR
A message from Michael Atkinson
I am very pleased to have been asked by Minister Norris to lead the 2010 Review of the Regional College System. I will be conducting the review under the auspices of the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. Dr. Kathy McNutt, a professor at the School's University of Regina campus, is a major collaborator on the project and will participate in all review meetings and visits. Meetings with the colleges and community partners have been scheduled during November and December.
Following is an excerpt from Minister Norris' letter to me with respect to the mandate of the review.
The review will focus on the regional college system, more specifically, the effectiveness and efficiency of the system in relation to its legislated mandate and alignment with government objectives, including the needs of Saskatchewan learners. The review will assess regional colleges' effectiveness in meeting government objectives and priorities, assess regional colleges' efficiency in planning and service delivery, and will include recommendations on ways to optimize the operation and funding of the regional colleges.
I believe this mandate gives us ample opportunity to address three broad areas - accountability, relationships, and strategic planning - as well as those operational issues that inevitably bear on effectiveness and efficiency.
The world of adult learning has changed significantly over the last decade, fostered and facilitated by information communication technologies, globalization, and changes in post-secondary institutions themselves. The review will give us an opportunity to situate regional colleges in that evolving context, assess the performance of the system, and think systematically about the future.
I hope you will find this website a useful tool in learning more about the review. It will include updates on the progress of the review and allow those who wish to have input to be in touch with us.
As Chair of the 2010 Review, I invite your views on Saskatchewan's regional colleges and the regional college system. Written submissions are welcome and can be submitted to college.review@sasktel.net. The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2011.
Dr. Michael Atkinson, Chair
2010 Regional College Review
Michael M. Atkinson is a Professor in and Executive Director of the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina. He was educated at the University of Alberta and Carleton University, where he completed his PhD in 1978. For over twenty years, Michael was a faculty member in the department of political science at McMaster University where he also served as Department Chair and Associate Vice-President Academic. From 1997 until 2007, he was Provost and Vice-President Academic at the University of Saskatchewan. Michael has published widely on topics related to corruption, ethics, decision making, and higher education. His work has won several awards and been reprinted in various anthologies. In the early 1990s, Michael served as editor of Governance: An International Journal of Policy and Administration. He is currently on the Saskatchewan Archives Board and has chaired Campus Saskatchewan (2005-06) and the Saskatchewan Academic Health Sciences Network (2006-07).