The Concordia Dilemma Introduction in 2015 Concordia University Of
Private1 or Public? The Concordia Dilemma Introduction In 2015 Concordia University of Edmonton separated from its Lutheran progenitor, shifting from being a private, faith based, not for profit, university to a private, secular, not for profit, university. The institution's leaders are now asking the next logical question; "Should Concordia ask the Alberta Government to shift the institution from the private (independent) to the public category? There are two separate issues to consider. The first is whether the government is willing to accept Concordia as a new public university, and under what terms. The second question is whether this would be a positive move for the future of the institution. Neither are trivial questions. Despite the fact that most of the older (pre 1960) Canadian universities had their origins as faith sponsored, private institutions, no Canadian institution in contemporary history has made the shift from private to an independent public university. For example, Brandon University became secular in 1938 and, along with Winnipeg, received a public charter in 1967. Consequently, for both the Alberta Government and Concordia there are no contemporary precedents from which to draw either process or impact observations. The current analysis addresses the second question: "What are the implications for Concordia University of Edmonton if the institution moves from the private to the public category in Alberta?" The issues of government disposition can be left to a subsequent consideration of strategy, and is only considered in this analysis in the context of the terms under which Concordia would become public. But, in general, the current analysis will focus on Concordia, not on the Government.
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