The University of Prince Edward Island is calling foul over the provincial government’s plans to grant degree granting authority to schools other than UPEI. The province is proposing legislation to create a new online degree granting school. A government document obtained by the Charlottetown Guardian states that, “Unless approved by the minister, programs offered by new degree granting institutions must not overlap with programs offered currently by publicly funded institutions located on Prince Edward Island.”
Education minister Allan Campbell said the move is in part motivated by a broadening of degree granting schools in provinces like New Brunswick. “Education is evolving. What we’re looking to do is to ensure we offer as many options as possible to perspective students,” he said. UPEI president Wade MacLauchlan, says the experience in other provinces has been closer to “fraud.”