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Statutes of Newfoundland 1991


CHAPTER 40

AN ACT RESPECTING COLLEGES OF APPLIED ARTS, TECHNOLOGY AND CONTINUING
EDUCATION

(Assented to December 11, 1991)

Analysis

1. Short title

2. Definitions

3. Purpose of Act

4. Colleges established

5. Mandate of colleges

6. College departments

7. Title to & management of properties

8. Application of municipal Acts

9. Exemption from taxation

10. President

11. Member of committees

12. Boards continued or established

13. Membership of boards

14. Tenure of appointment

15. Chairperson and vice-chairperson

16. Expenses of board members

17. Protection against liability

18. Powers of board

19. Duties of board

20. Trust funds of board

21. Investment of trust funds

22. Financial year

23. Expenditure

24. Yearly budget

25. Financial statement

26. General funds of board

27. Report

28. Bonding of board

29. Pensions

30. Regulations

31. 1990 c.26 Amdt.

32. 1981 c.5 Amdt.

33. 1973 No. 116 Amdt.

34. 1987 c.16 Amdt.

35. 1984 c.84 Amdt.

36. 1987 c.17 Rep.

37. Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:


Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Colleges Act, 1991.

Definitions

2. In this Act

(a) "board" means the board of governors of each college;

(b) "college" means a college established or continued under this Act;

(c) "minister" means the Minister of Education;

(d) "president" means the president of a college; and

(e) "region" means an area of the province designated by the minister as the area in which a college is responsible for providing educational programs.

Purpose of Act

3. The purpose of this Act is to establish and provide a framework for the administration and operation of colleges of applied arts, technology and continuing education in order to

(a) promote, initiate, develop and deliver educational programs and services throughout the province appropriate to the economic and cultural diversity of the various regions;

(b) respond to the needs of all sectors of society to enhance both personal and professional development and to further the economic development of the province;

(c) ensure that the people of the province are provided with quality educational opportunities within a responsible fiscal and administrative framework;

(d) provide access to a complete range of post-secondary programs; and

(e) meet the needs of the labour market by assisting with the development of the skills of the labour force to respond to economic and technological change and to create a capacity for technology transfer.

Colleges established

4. (1) There are established 5 colleges in the province with headquarters in the following places: St. John's; Clarenville; Grand Falls; Stephenville and Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

(2) The minister shall designate the geographical boundaries of the region with respect to each of the 5 colleges established under subsection (1).

Mandate of colleges

5. (1) A college shall

(a) operate facilities which, in order to meet the needs of the persons in the region, shall provide programs leading to a certificate or diploma from the college;

(b) provide facilities where courses and programs may be offered to persons in the region in respect of which a college is responsible for those courses and programs;

(c) identify the educational needs of persons in the region and provide courses or programs to meet those needs;

(d) identify the education and training requirements of the labour market of the province and provide courses or programs to meet those requirements; and

(e) carry out those additional courses or programs that a board determines to be in the public interest.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a provincial program may not be undertaken by a college, nor once undertaken terminated by a college, without the approval of the minister.

(3) A program regulated by statute may not be undertaken by a college until it has been approved by the minister.

(4) Notwithstanding subsections (1), (2) and (3), the minister in co-ordinating the provision of courses, programs and provincial programs may review all courses and programs offered by a college and require a college to modify, suspend or terminate those courses, programs or provincial programs that the minister considers necessary.

College departments

6. A college may be divided into those departments of instruction and divisions that a board, with the approval of the minister, prescribes.

Title to and management of properties

7. (1) All property necessary for the purposes of a college shall be acquired by and in the name of the Crown, whether acquired by deed, lease or otherwise.

(2) Subject to The Department of Works, Services and Transportation Act, the right of management and control of

(a) the property referred to in subsection (1);

(b) all property required by a college that the minister may allocate to a college which was before the commencement of this Act under the control of the board of governors of a college established under The Community Colleges Act, the Board of Governors of the Cabot Institute of Applied Arts and Technology or the Board of Governors of the Fisher Institute of Applied Arts and Technology; and

(c) all liability that the minister may allocate to a college which was before the commencement of this Act the liability of the board of governors of a college established under The Community Colleges Act, the Board of Governors of the Cabot Institute of Applied Arts and Technology or the Board of Governors of the Fisher Institute of Applied Arts and Technology,

is vested in or is the liability of the respective board of the appropriate college, which shall, on behalf of the college, control, manage and administer the properties, revenues, expenditures, business and affairs of that college.

Application of municipal Acts

8. (1) The City of Corner Brook Act, 1985, The City of Mount Pearl Act, The City of St. John's Act or other Acts in force relating to the City of Corner Brook, the City of Mount Pearl or the City of St. John's that permit the taking of land either for streets or for another purpose do not apply to property the management and control of which is vested in a board.

(2) The Municipalities Act or another Act in force relating to municipalities that permits the taking of land either for streets or for another purpose does not apply to a property the management and control of which is vested in a board.

Exemption from taxation

9. All real property under the control and management of, or held in trust by, a board is exempt from provincial, municipal or other local taxation while being used for the purposes of this Act.

President

10. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint a president, who is the chief executive officer of a college, and who, under the general direction of a board, has responsibility for the supervision and administration of a college and of the instructional staff and other employees of a college, in the performance of their duties.

(2) In accordance with the procedure set out in the regulations, a board may submit to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council the names of candidates for the position of president appointed under this section.

(3) The salary and other remuneration of a president shall be fixed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

Member of committees

11. A president is by virtue of the position a member of all committees constituted by a board, and shall perform the duties and may exercise the powers that may be assigned to a president by a board.

Boards continued or established

12. (1) There is established or continued for each college a corporation to be known as the board of governors of each college.

(2) Subject to the approval of the minister, the board of a college may select the name of the college but where no name in respect of a college has been selected or approved within 6 months after the commencement of this Act, the minister may select and approve the name in respect of that college.

(3) Where the minister approves the name of a college under subsection (2), the minister shall, by order, declare the name of the college for the purposes of this Act and the board of a college shall be known as the board of governors of that named college.

Membership of boards

13. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall appoint to a board not less than 9 nor more than 13 members, a majority of whom shall be residents in a region in respect of which a college is responsible for providing its educational programs and have been residents in the region for at least 6 months before appointment to the board.

(2) One of the members appointed to a board under subsection (1) may be a representative of the Department of Education nominated by the minister.

(3) One of the members appointed to a board under subsection (1) may be a representative of the faculty of a college

(a) who is currently employed as a member of the faculty of that college; and

(b) who shall hold office for a period of 1 year and if qualified under paragraph (a) is eligible for re-appointment to the board, but after 3 consecutive terms on the board that person stops being qualified for re-appointment until the expiration of 3 years from the time he or she last stopped being a member of the board.

(4) One of the members appointed to a board under subsection (1) shall be a student of a college

(a) who is nominated by the executive body of the student association of that college; and

(b) who shall hold office for a period of 1 year and if qualified under paragraph (a) is eligible for re-appointment to the board, but after 2 consecutive terms on the board that person stops being qualified for re-appointment.

(5) In addition to the members appointed under this section, a president shall be a non-voting member of a board.

(6) The residency requirement set out in subsection (1) does not apply to the appointment of members under subsection (4).

Tenure of appointment

14. (1) Members of a board, except the student member, shall be appointed during pleasure for a maximum period of 3 years, except that 1/3 of the members appointed to the 1st board upon the commencement of this Act shall be appointed for at least 2 years.

(2) An appointed member of a board, if qualified under this section, is eligible for re-appointment to the board, but after 2 consecutive terms on the board that person stops being qualified for re-appointment until the end of 3 years from the time he or she last stopped being a member of the board.

(3) An appointed member of a board whose appointment has expired continues to be a member of the board until a successor is appointed.

Chairperson and vice-chairperson

15. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall designate 1 of the members of a board to be chairperson.

(2) With the exception of the person designated under subsection (1), a board shall designate 1 of the members of the board to be vice-chairperson and shall also designate other officers that may be considered necessary.

(3) If after the expiration of 20 minutes from the time for a meeting of a board neither the chairperson nor vice-chairperson is present, the remaining members, if there is a quorum present, may elect a chairperson to preside at that meeting in the absence of the chairperson and vice-chairperson.

Expenses of board members

16. The members of a board, including the chairperson, shall be reimbursed by the board for expenses incurred in relation to meetings and the work of the board in accordance with a scale for expenses that may be approved by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

Protection against liability

17. (1) Without affecting section 20 of The Interpretation Act, a member of a board is not personally liable for loss or damage suffered by a person because of anything done or omitted to be done by that member of the board in the execution of that member's office or under, or in the exercise of or supposed exercise of, the powers given to a board or to a member of the board.

(2) An action or proceeding may not be brought against a college in respect of an act or omission of a member of a board unless an act or omission would, apart from this section, have given rise to a cause of action against that member of the board.

(3) A college or a board, or a member of a board, or an officer or servant of a college, is not liable because of an act or omission of them, or any of them, in respect of an activity of students or on account of an act or omission of a student.

Powers of board

18. A board may, subject to the regulations,

(a) appoint, promote or remove administrative, instructional and secretarial staff and all other officers or employees except the president;

(b) establish a code of discipline for the students of a college with power to expel students, and delegate to the president the right to impose those fines that may be prescribed in the code;

(c) select a seal for a college and retain sole custody and use of it;

(d) establish committees of the board that may be necessary or desirable and appoint advisory and other committees necessary to achieve the purposes of this Act, delegate to committees those powers and duties of a board that it thinks fit and pay those reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the work of committees that the board may approve;

(e) fix standards of admission of students to a college and set the standards to be maintained by students during courses of study;

(f) approve courses and programs and authorize the offering of provincial certificate and diploma programs, subject to the approval of the minister;

(g) approve college programs leading to a certificate;

(h) co-operate and enter into agreements with

(i) a government,

(ii) a person who carries on a trade, business or commercial activity,

(iii) other educational institutions, or

(iv) a community group

for the establishment, maintenance, conduct and transfer of courses for credit and programs leading to certificates, diplomas and degrees, subject to the approval of the minister;

(i) provide facilities and grants, enter into agreements for research and prescribe the terms and conditions under which research may be conducted at a college;

(j) participate in industrial assistance activities through problem solving, technology transfer and applied research in order to strengthen productivity, competitiveness and diversity of industry in the province;

(k) accept and disburse grants, gifts and bequests to a college and receive payments for services and research;

(l) fix and collect all fees and charges to be paid to a college;

(m) provide for the effective use of the services and facilities provided by a college; and

(n) perform other functions consistent with this Act that a board may consider advisable for the proper administration and advancement of a college.

Duties of board

19. It is the duty of a board

(a) to make the general policies of a college that will govern its organization, administration and operation, which follow generally the personnel administrative procedures of the government of the province;

(b) to develop and apply conflict of interest guidelines for members of the board and employees of a college;

(c) to prescribe the procedure at meetings and to make rules relating to the conduct of the affairs of a board;

(d) to make provision for the keeping of full and accurate records of its proceedings and transactions;

(e) to account for the receipts and disbursements of a college in the manner and form that are consistent with accepted accounting principles;

(f) to assess the education and training needs of the province and of the region in respect of which a college is responsible for providing educational services, as those needs are perceived by community committees, local organizations, private citizens or other groups;

(g) to authorize and make provision for the various education services of a college, subject to the approval of the minister where required;

(h) to grant certificates and diplomas;

(i) to co-operate and enter into agreements with another educational institution in order to

(i) provide to persons in the regions, courses or programs of instruction leading to degrees, diplomas and certificates, subject to the approval of the minister, and

(ii) provide for the transfer of credits in relation to those courses or programs of instruction;

(j) to assess the need for new buildings and repairs or alterations to existing buildings or premises administered by a board and to make recommendations to the appropriate government department;

(k) to provide furniture, equipment and the apparatus necessary for the purposes of a college;

(l) to maintain a plant ledger that lists the buildings, equipment and other chattels appertaining to a college; and

(m) to sell or otherwise dispose of worn out or obsolete equipment in the most judicious way and adjust the accounting records of a college accordingly.

Trust funds of board

20. (1) With the exception of money and property received from the public revenue, a board shall in its corporate capacity be trustee of money and property given or bequeathed for the purposes of a college, its staff or students, except where some other trustee is appointed by the donor or testator.

(2) Where property or money is given or bequeathed to a board in trust for special purposes, a board shall, as the trust may require, hold and maintain the property and invest the money and hold it in trust for the purposes for which it was bequeathed or given, or spend the money for the purposes indicated by the testator or donor, and the money shall not form part of the general funds of a board.

Investment of trust funds

21. A board may invest trust money and alter the investments as it thinks appropriate, subject to the general law governing trustees and the provisions of a will, trust deed or other document governing a special trust.

Financial year

22. The financial year of a board begins on April 1 in each year and ends on March 31 in the following year.

Expenditure

23. A board may pay all necessary expenses of its operations out of its general funds subject to the availability or funds in its approved budget.

Yearly budget

24. (1) A board shall, not later than a date to be set by the minister in respect of each year, prepare, adopt and submit to the minister a budget containing estimates of amounts required during the next financial year for the purposes of a board.

(2) In each budget prepared under subsection (1), there shall be set out, in the detail and in the form that the minister may prescribe, the estimated revenue and expenditures of a board in respect of a financial year for which that budget is prepared.

(3) The minister may approve or disapprove a budget submitted by a board.

(4) Except with the approval of the minister, a board shall not in a year incur, enter upon or contract, or become liable for an expenditure or indebtedness beyond or in excess of the estimated amount of expenditure set out in the approved budget.

Financial statement

25. (1) A board shall not later than April 30 in each calendar year prepare and submit to the minister an unaudited financial statement.

(2) A board shall, not later than June 30 in each calendar year, prepare and submit to the minister

(a) an audited financial statement setting out the assets and liabilities of the board and its receipts and expenditures for the financial year immediately preceding that date;

(b) all management letters relating to the audited financial statement required under paragraph (a); and

(c) a report concerning the work of the board during the financial year.

(3) The financial statements referred to in subsections (1) and (2) shall be signed by the chairperson and 1 other member of a board.

General funds of board

26. (1) The general funds of a board shall consist of

(a) the funds that may be appropriated by the Legislature for a college or for the purposes of the board;

(b) gifts, bequests, grants or other money received by the board for its general purposes and not subject to special trusts or conditions;

(c) money that the board may collect for the use of a college or its facilities;

(d) fees received from persons attending a college; and

(e) other money received by the board for its general purposes.

(2) All payments required to be made from the funds of a board shall be made by cheque or order signed by either the person employed as treasurer of a college, or the chairperson of the board and another person that the board may designate.

Report

27. A board shall provide to the minister other reports relating to a college that the minister may request covering the matters that the minister may indicate in the request.

Bonding of board

28. (1) A board shall acquire and maintain a bond with a bonding or insurance company to indemnify the board against loss because of a fraudulent or criminal act of its employees.

(2) The bond required under subsection (1) shall be in the amount and contain the assurances that may be prescribed by the regulations.

(3) It is a condition of employment of a person employed by a board as a treasurer or other officer that the board may designate that the person be bonded in the same manner that the board is required to be bonded under subsection (1) but in the amount that the board may prescribe.

Pensions

29. The Public Service Pensions Act, 1991 applies to a president, instructional and secretarial staff and other officers and employees of a board as if they were employees of the government of the province, within the meaning of that Act; and subject to the exceptions and conditions prescribed in that Act, those persons shall pay contributions to and participate in the pension plan established by that Act.

Regulations

30. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) for the approval, review and discontinuance of provincial programs;

(b) for the conduct, management and control of a college or a division of a college;

(c) for the administration of the properties, revenues, expenditures, business and affairs of a board;

(d) respecting the procedure for the appointment of presidents;

(e) respecting agreements or contracts that a board may enter into with persons;

(f) regulating the powers of a board under this Act;

(g) prescribing the amount of a bond and the content of assurances in a bond for the purposes of section 28; and

(h) respecting other matters necessary or advisable to carry out the intent and purpose of this Act.

(2) The minister may make regulations defining words or phrases used in this Act but not defined in this Act.

(3) Regulations made under subsection (1) or (2) shall have retroactive effect.

1990 c.26
Amdt.

31. (1) Subparagraph 7(a)(i) of The Department of Education Act, 1990 is repealed and the following substituted:

(i) subject to the Colleges Act, 1991, the colleges continued or established under this Act,

(2) Item 2 of Schedule A to the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

2. Colleges Act, 1991.

(3) Item 2 of Schedule B to the Act is repealed.

1981 c.5 Amdt.

32. (1) The Schedule to the Freedom of Information Act is amended by striking out the following:

The Cabot Institute of Applied Arts and Technology

The Fisher Institute of Applied Arts and Technology

Avalon Community College

Eastern Community College

Western Community College

(2) The Schedule to the Act is amended by adding the following:

The colleges established under the Colleges Act, 1991.

1973 No.116
Amdt.

33. The 1st Schedule to The Newfoundland Public Service Commission Act, 1973 is amended by adding after item 26 the following:

27. Colleges continued or established under the Colleges Act, 1991.

1987 c.16
Amdt.

34. (1) Subparagraphs 2(d)(ii) and (iii) of The Provincial Institutes Act are repealed.

(2) Subsection 3(2), (3) and (4) of the Act are repealed.

(3) Subparagraphs 5(2)(b)(ii) and (iii) of the Act are repealed.

(4) Subsection 6(2) of the Act is repealed.

(5) Paragraphs 11(1)(b) and (c) of the Act are repealed.

(6) Subsection 11(5) of the Act is repealed.

1984 c.84 Amdt.

35. The Schedule to The Public Tender Act, 1984 is amended by adding at the end the following:

Colleges continued or established under the Colleges Act, 1991

1987 c.17
Rep.

36. The Community Colleges Act is repealed.

Commencement

37. This Act comes into force on a day to be proclaimed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

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