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On March 8, 2005, the Ministry of Advanced Education sent British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer, (BCCAT) a management letter setting out the expectations of the Ministry of Advanced Education for the BC Council on Admissions and Transfer in 2005-06. This Annual Report is presented to specify how BCCAT has addressed those expectations and to provide information regarding other projects and initiatives have undertaken to achieve that mandate. This past year has seen the implementation of structural changes to the BC post-secondary system that were initiated in 2004-05. Nineteen of twenty-six public post-secondary institutions now have authority to offer undergraduate degrees. In addition, three new private post-secondary institutions offer undergraduate degrees formally authorized through the Degree Quality Assessment Board process and are included in the BC Transfer System. All of these changes have raised profound questions about the increasing complexity of the BC Transfer System and the management of the BC Transfer Guide database. Consequently, the first phase of a comprehensive consultation process to examine how best to manage the future of the BC Transfer System, was launched and this process will continue through 2006-07. Throughout 2005-06, the Council continued to gain the support of all public institutions to share registrant and applicant data for research purposes. Such research enhances understanding of student mobility and applicant flows into and among the institutions and can assist individual institutions with enrollment planning. Preliminary feedback from the system on this collaborative approach to data collection and integration has been very positive. The Council has also been providing a leadership role in addressing some problems experienced by students who have undergraduate degrees from Colleges and Institutes and are not being considered for admission to graduate or professional schools in a few universities in Ontario. This matter will no doubt continue to occupy considerable time over the next year as BCCAT attempts to facilitate a resolution to this issue. Substantial changes were made to the BC Transfer Guide and Education Planner websites this year, and a communications strategy was developed to ensure that these valuable resources are known and well utilized by students. There appears to be strong backing for the structure of the Council and its approach to executing its mandate and, in particular, that it does so without any legislative or regulatory authority. Emphasis on inter-institutional collaboration continues to prove to be a viable model as evidenced by the ongoing success in promoting and advancing admissions and transfer for BC's post-secondary students. BCCAT remains encouraged by the level of support from all sectors throughout the BC post-secondary system, and by the constructive and facilitative relationship the Council shares with the Ministry. The following are appended: (1) BCCAT Publications & Resources- April 1, 2005-March 31, 2006; (2) BCCAT Information Sharing Agreement; (3) Degree Quality Assessment Board (DQAB) Criteria Review: BCCAT Response; and (4) Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) Report-Fall 2005. (Contains 9 footnotes.) [To view the 2004-2005 report, please see ED504939.]

On April 14, 2004, a management letter was forwarded setting out the expectations of the Ministry of Advanced Education for the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) in 2004-2005. This Annual Report was presented to specify how BCCAT has addressed those expectations and to provide information regarding other projects and initiatives undertaken to achieve that mandate. Re-structuring of several institutions within the BC post-secondary system has presented yet new opportunities for transfer, and fresh challenges regarding management of the BC Transfer Guide database. In addition, as expected, emerging responsibilities, such as the increased focus on admissions, management and continuing development of the Education Planner website, and coordination of public-private articulation have required considerable attention and resources. BCCAT has sought to respond to these changes with efficiency and flexibility, while continuing with all activities related to the Councils' mandate. Significant progress in re-developments to the BC Transfer Guide and the Transfer Credit Evaluation System, and the promising headway in recent research stand as key examples of the Council's role in recommending and supporting effective policies and practices that benefit BC post-secondary institutions and their students. The appendix contains: BCCAT Publications: April 1, 2004 - March 31, 2005. (Contains 7 footnotes.) [To view the 2003-2004 Annual Report, please see ED504938.]

On March 25, 2003, the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) received a Management Letter that outlined the expectations of the Ministry of Advanced Education for the B.C. Council on Admissions and Transfer in 2003-2004. In this Annual Report, BCCAT details how the Council has addressed and met those expectations and provides information on other projects and initiatives that have been undertaken to achieve that mandate. An expansion of activities has been initiated, normally focused on improving transfer credit arrangements between public post-secondary institutions, to include facilitating and coordinating articulation between public and private institutions. The council has also started, as requested in the Management Letter, "to explore issues pertaining to admission policies, practices, and capacity, for direct entry students and transfer students entering into and moving between institutions." This report outlines the substantial progress achieved in both of these arenas. Although not part of the initial work plan, BCCAT assumed managerial responsibility for Opening Doors in mid-year and has prepared a detailed plan to substantively improve and expand this information service in 2004-05, within the same budget allocation as was provided in 2003-04. Finally, due to unanticipated staffing difficulties, emergency arrangements had to be implemented to coordinate and maintain the Online Transfer Guide through 2003-04 and to implement a plan to ensure a greater level of security and continuity in how this essential information service will be maintained in the future. [To view the 2002-2003 Annual Report to the Ministry of Advanced Education, please see ED477683.]

The Government of Sri Lanka entered in an agreement with IDA (International Development Association) (World Bank) to undertake the implementation of a set of reforms recommended by a number of study panels appointed for this purpose. These recommendations were classified under eight components and the General Education Project II (GEP II) was established to coordinate the implementation of the activities listed under each component by the relevant implementing agencies. All these components are interrelated and have a system approach. The School Libraries is one of the components and the School Library Development Unit was established in the Ministry of Education with the responsibility of implementing the activities under the component. Objectives were to support and stimulate an activity-based curriculum and to encourage the reading habit in schools and communities by expanding, professionalizing, and strengthening the management of the school library sector. It became necessary that the eight Provincial Library Coordinators and the eight Supervisors of the Book Based Language Enrichment Program be given an international experience to enhance their knowledge and skills. GEP II with the concurrence of the World Bank designed a study tour in Canada, where much work has been done in the school library sector in general and in the teacher-librarian scheme in particular, for 12 officers involved in the program. This document presents the results from that study tour. Sections include: Introduction; Objectives; Purpose of the Study Tour; List of Participants; Defining the Concepts (What is a school library? What is a school library and information services (SLIS) program?); School Library Staffing; Facilities and Collections; SLIS Career Positions and the Related Expectations; Observations (reported by each site visit in chronological order); and Summary. Appendixes include: project proposal; sites visited; components of a school library and information services program; study guides; a document on the role of district resource centers (Vancouver Island and Southern Interior District Resource Center Coordinators, 1995); bibliography of documents collection for sharing with professional colleagues; and participant profiles. (AEF)

This document reports on a study tour of Canadian schools conducted by the Sri Lanka Ministry of Education. The purposes of the tour were to: develop an awareness of the scope of modern school library programming; investigate the aspects of implementation of a modern school library program including staffing, facilities, educational programming, resources, staff training and development, advocacy, policy and procedures work; prepare leaders to work on the implementation of a school library development plan and educational program for peers and colleagues upon return to Sri Lanka; and assist in advising the NILIS (National Testing and Assessment Institute) on education and training needs for the field. More than 20 sites were visited in Vancouver and 13 additional sites were observed in Edmonton and Sherwood Park, Alberta. More than 50 individuals were interviewed or engaged in discussion. The recommendations for this report summarize the main findings gleaned from the study tour. The report consists of the following sections: (1) Introduction; (2) Purpose of the Study Tour; (3) Defining the Concepts; (4) Component Services Observed and Examined; (5) It Takes a Whole Community to Educate a Child; (6) Training Needs for a Teacher Librarian; (7) Summary; and (8) Recommendations. A final section of appendices includes tour schedules; lists of contacts with their institutions; sites visited; Sri Lanka school Library & Information Services (SLIS) Mission Statement; Sri Lanka guidelines for SLIS programs; and bibliography of documents collected for sharing with professional colleagues. (AEF)

This paper discusses building smart communities (i.e., communities that provide an advanced communication and information infrastructure and that enable residents and organizations to make good and independent use of these technologies) that benefit blind and visually impaired persons. The first section summarizes ways that the potential of smart communities for blind and visually impaired people can be realized. The second section provides a definition and description of a smart community. The third section lists areas for the application of technology. The fourth section summarizes barriers to the development of smart communities for blind and visually impaired people. The fifth section, presents an action agenda for building smart communities that includes: (1) vision--developing and communicating a clear vision; (2) community engagement, including conducting an inventory/needs assessment; (3) smart services, including principles for smart services and accessible World Wide Web portals; (4) infrastructure, including building an accessible information technology infrastructure, providing equitable and affordable access, adaptive technology, and a high speed connectivity plan; (5) training and education--training people to use the information technologies in creative and innovative ways; (6) strategic partnerships--building a coordinated, multi-member, community-wide partnership; (7) identify smart community champions; and (8) develop a business plan. The appendix presents examples of smart community developments in Canada, France, and Scotland. (MES)

This paper discusses ensuring high quality research services that meet client needs, based on experiences at the Research and Information Services of the Ontario Legislative Library (Canada). The first section is an introduction that provides an overview of the Research and Information Services and summarizes factors related to quality control. The second section addresses getting priorities right, highlighting strategic planning and service evaluation. The third section considers meeting client needs, including formal quality checks, evolving best practices, building on strong skills, product development, and client feedback. The fourth section discusses working culture, including building on knowledge, human capital, and looking for innovation. It is concluded that ensuring high quality research services: takes place at both strategic and operational levels; is about informal collaborative processes and adaptability as much as editorial procedures and explicit standards; is more about knowledge sharing, consensus building, and teamwork than management edicts and monitoring; and depends on a work culture of innovation imagination and commitment to client needs. (MES)

The TeleCampus online database, a project of TeleEducation NB (New Brunswick), aims to be the world's leading World Wide Web site for students seeking information about online courses and programs and for educational institutions and training companies wishing to promote their offerings. It is a comprehensive multilingual database of courses and programs available worldwide on the Internet, including primary, secondary, community college, university, and specialized training courses. The database is limited to only those courses that can be taken fully online from anywhere in the world that has an Internet connection. An analysis of the available courses demonstrates that nearly 80% of these courses originate in the United States. More than 44% are at the university level, and fully 96% are in English. Sections of this paper present: (1) background on the TeleCampus initiative; (2) an online course and program taxonomy that includes courses with no or limited distance availability, correspondence courses, computer-mediated conferencing, and hypermedia on the Web; (3) database description; and (4) rationale, i.e., an analysis demonstrating the need for the TeleCampus database, as well as its sustainability and profitability. (Author/AEF)

The Canadian Association of College and Technical Libraries (CTCL) survey was mailed out to 135 CTCL member libraries in February 1996. Results paint a positive picture of the ability of Canadian college and technical libraries to incorporate new technology into their service delivery within a relatively short time frame. Eighty-five libraries (88% of the respondents) indicated that they were providing student and/or staff access to the Internet at workstations in their libraries. Most of the respondents had been offering access for less than one year. The survey revealed that two key issues related to Internet access are: (1) providing effective training for library staff, and (2) finding the resources to meet rising user expectations about services and accessibility in the library. The survey instrument was divided into two main parts. Part One--to be answered by all libraries providing any Internet access to own staff or to students or instructors--focused on general questions about Internet access and services being offered in the library. Part Two--to be answered by libraries that provide Internet access to library staff only--was designed to find out what services are provided and what conditions govern Internet use in libraries where student and instructional staff access is supported. (AEF)

Centers for technology transfer are available almost everywhere based on the availability of interested experts and funding. The objective of this monograph is to introduce the assured system that results in excellence in services and expectations from technology transfer. The focus is on simple techniques of potential interest for community and public interest. The following chapters are included: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Planning for Future Growth"; (3) "Policies and Strategies"; (4) "Information Services"; (5) "Management Trends"; (6) "Technology and Administration"; (7) "Technology and Community"; (8) "Educational Technology Transfer Centers"; (9) "Selected Activities of Technology Transfer Centers"; (10) "Role of Human Factors and Psychology"; (11) "Selected International Technology Transfer Centers"; (12) "Conventional Problems and Solutions"; (13) "Evaluation Systems"; (14) "Monitoring and Control" and (15) "Future Developments." Each chapter contains references. (JLB)

This study provides information on work-related child care programs and services in Canada today. In an overview of the subject, Chapter 1 discusses the criteria used to select programs for presentation in the study; defines work-related child care; and examines the increasing number of women in the workplace and the adaptation of the workplace to changing social conditions. Chapters 2 through 11 profile 21 child care programs, including: (1) on-site and off-site programs; (2) programs run by a consortium of companies; (3) information and counseling services; (4) health care and child care partnerships; (5) centers included in new building developments; (6) programs operated by government or crown corporations; (7) programs for special situations; and (8) services in which labor unions play a role. The profiles typically discuss the program's origin, facility, clientele, activities and services, personnel, administrative structure, funding, and future plans. Chapters 12 through 15 cover key issues in work-related child care and the future of child care. Appended materials include a list of 119 cited references; an 11-item annotated bibliography; and a reference list of several hundred items. (BC)

This report provides a summary of a survey of 42 Canadian university libraries conducted in 1984 which identified 20 libraries that were involved in providing services for off-campus and distance education students. Thirteen categories were established to classify the components of a comprehensive library service for such students in Canada. Data from the 20 libraries, the three universities in British Columbia, and the Open Learning Institute were then entered on a survey form designed to record each institution's involvement in these 13 categories and the forms were returned to the respondents for verification. A summary table displays the results of the data analysis for each of the libraries and each of the categories: (1) availability of core collections; (2) specific requests; (3) reference queries; (4) special telephone lines; (5) advertisement of services; (6) a librarian responsible for such services; (7) support staff responsible for such services; (8) provision of bibliographic instruction; (9) online bibliographic services; (10) interlibrary loans; (11) charges for services; (12) assessment of course needs; and (13) evaluation of service effectiveness. Also included are two handouts, "Funding an Off-Campus Library Service" and "Arguments to Justify the Establishment of a Toll-free Telephone Service for Off-Campus Students"; the form which defines the 13 categories; and a 15-item selected bibliography. (CGD)

This report summarizes the results of an international survey on the utilization of videotex and teletext which covered 20 countries, including Canada, Great Britain, France, Holland, Switzerland, the United States, and West Germany. Included are: (1) definitions and a comparison of the two media; (2) the methods used to collect the data (interviews, document studies, and literature searches); (3) secondary literature sources on videotex and teletext, including three computerized data bases--ERIC, Computerindex, and Pascal; (4) international composition and noneducational emphasis of two videotex conferences; (5) general and educational applications of videotex and teletext in Canada, including specific data on government, academic, and private institutions' involvement with the two media; and (6) a summary of international data, including a world total. Effective educational uses for videotex and teletext are briefly discussed and suggestions are made for more educational utilization of these media. Acknowledgements and a list of 27 references complete the paper. (JB)

Canada has explored the use of satellites as a means to provide information and communications services to geographically isolated populations since 1962. Between 1972 and 1984, five series of satellites known as Anik A, B, C, and D and Hermes were launched. Each satellite provided expanded communications services, and each led to research and experiments in educational applications, some of which included joint ventures with other countries. For example, more than 20 Canadian organizations carried out technical and social experiments with the Hermes satellite, including direct-to-home television and radio broadcasting, tele-education, telemedicine, community interaction, administrative services, and native communications services. Research indicates that communications satellites far surpass their initial purpose of reaching remote populations. Current and future developments include two-way satellite technology, integration of satellites and computer assisted and managed instruction in distance education, and local and regional computer networking via satellite. Among the most important issues regarding the use of satellites for educational purposes are: (1) determining ownership and copyright of satellite programs; (2) integrating satellite educational services with existing terrestrial distribution systems; (3) determining cost-effectiveness of satellite delivered educational service; (4) evaluating student satisfaction and performance for educational services delivered by satellite; (5) establishing educational satellite consortia on a regional basis; and (6) deciding whether a satellite educational service should have one-way or two-way capabilities. (10 references) (DB)

Videotex is a generic term used to describe computerized two-way information delivery systems designed for simple, mass-market use which provide access to computer-based information via a telecommunications link and an information display, usually a modified home television set. In Canada videotex has become almost synonymous with the name Telidon, which has been described as a high level, efficient communication code for the creation, storage, and transmission of graphics and text. Telidon has been used by both academics and corporations in experiments, field trials, and applications for formal and nonformal education purposes. Flexible enough for use by people of all ages, Telidon has been applied in computer assisted instruction courses, business and information libraries, information databases, supplements to science and museum educational exhibits, distance education and teleconferencing programs, special education programs, TVOntario educational sequences, and many others. Some of the issues surrounding the use of Telidon/videotex are: (1) the need for more research, development, and evaluation in distance education, special education, and in the broader field of computers in education; (2) the need for support materials and resources; (3) the need for local access to page creation facilities (and inexpensive equipment) and the potentially prohibitive cost of the Telidon/videotex system; and (4) the effects of Telidon/videotex on privacy, employment, industrial development, technological change, and other 'social impact' questions. (30 references) (DB)

A summary of the final two-volume report of the Systems Development Project is contained in this document. The project was commissioned by the National Library of Canada to study and design an integrated information system for the library employing, where feasible, electronic data processing. Included are all of the recommendations of the final report, an analysis of the present situation, and activities of the National Library, a description and cost analysis of the proposed information system, implementation requirements, feasibility and advantages of the proposed system, and implications for other libraries and networks. Detailed supporting data, retrospective data, and data on internal problems contained in the final report have been omitted from the summary. (JG)