Plan & report for public post-secondary institutions

As public sector organizations, public post-secondary institutions receive direction from the B.C. government through mandate letters.

They communicate their governance and accountabilities through plans and reports.

Accountability requirements

Public post-secondary institutions must follow the spirit and intent of B.C. government core policies.

Public post-secondary institutions must also:

• Provide a list of all property they own, according to the inventory policy for real property in the public sector
• Meet and report on carbon neutral requirements
• Issue quarterly reports

Public post-secondary institutions must comply with all applicable legislation, policies and guidelines. Learn more about B.C.'s post-secondary funding and accountabilities.

Executive compensation disclosure

Health Authorities must annually disclose executive compensation. Under sections 14.6 and 14.7 of the Act, all public sector employers in B.C. are required to provide reports to PSEC Secretariat specifying all the terms and conditions of employment for their “senior employees” earning an annualized base salary of $125,000 or more along with copies of the senior employees’ written contracts of employment. These contracts of employment are considered public documents under the Act and do not require a request be made under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to be viewed by a member of the public.    

The annual executive compensation disclosure includes:

• base salary
• benefits (both taxable and non-taxable)
• perquisites
• pension contributions
• retirement allowances
• any form of performance payments such as holdbacks or bonuses

In addition, the disclosure provides an explanation of the compensation philosophy, how it relates to the organization’s performance targets and how the actual compensation paid relates to those targets.

Mandate letters

The B.C. government issues an annual mandate letter to each public post-secondary institutions to communicate their annual direction and confirm their mandate and priorities.

Public post-secondary institutions review and discuss their mandate letter with the Ministry of Advanced Education to clarify their accountabilities, roles, responsibilities and expectations.

Current mandate letters (previously called government letters of expectation) are posted online.

 Accountability plans & reports

Public post-secondary institutions in B.C. are responsible for preparing institutional accountability plans and reports to communicate their goals, objectives and performance measures.

Learn more about responsibilities and best practices for people and agencies that contribute to public sector management.