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Two have become one to form a new school at UBC.

The Okanagan and Vancouver Faculties of Education have merged to create the Okanagan School of Education

University officials say the merger optimizes resources and improves professional development opportunities

The merger will come into effect on July 1. It combines the Faculties of Education on both campuses into a single, unified faculty to allow for better alignment of infrastructure, while preserving autonomy in the Okanagan through the creation of the Okanagan School of Education.

“After extensive consultation with our many partners, faculty, staff and students, there was overwhelming support for this merger in the Okanagan and in Vancouver,” said Blye Frank, Dean of the UBC Faculty of Education.

Frank says that the new structure will offer educators a wider range of professional development opportunities to increase their knowledge and skill sets with no negative impacts on student experience. The unique degree programs and requirements for each campus will remain unchanged and the Okanagan School of Education will maintain its autonomy to manage its own budget, programs and curricula.

Susan Crichton, associate dean of the UBC Okanagan Faculty of Education, says the changes will help strengthen the ability of both campuses to serve the educational and professional development needs of students and alumni

UBC’s combined Faculty of Education will boast more than 800 teacher education candidates and many graduate-level students in numerous programs across the Okanagan and Vancouver campuses.

UBC is responsible for preparing 45 per cent of British Columbia’s elementary teachers, the majority of secondary teachers, and a significant proportion of the province’s special needs and First Nations teachers, counsellors, school administrators, school psychologists and vocational rehabilitation counsellors.