
SDG 16 challenges us to promote peaceful and inclusive societies and ensure equal access to justice for all. For BCIT this begins on campus through providing safe and inclusive spaces essential for learning. SDG 16 is closely tied to SDG 10: Reducing Inequalities and SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being.
Administration & Operations
BCIT is committed to providing the necessary resources and procedures to ensure the Institute responds effectively to any emergency or disaster, so students and employees can learn and work in a safe environment. The Emergency Management Program coordinates and integrates all activities necessary to build, maintain, and improve the Institution’s ability to mitigate and prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural and human-caused emergencies or disasters.
Safety

BCIT has developed resources to help students, faculty, staff and guests become Safety Wise. Safer walk is a program where anyone can call to have campus security walk with them anywhere on campus and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7). They will wait with you until your ride comes.
There are emergency telephones on campus so assistance can quickly be summoned. They are found in parking lots, walkways, elevators, and in-house telephones. BCIT Security Communications Centres are operational 24/7 to answer calls for assistance. Emergency telephones can be used to report emergencies, request a safer walk, request first-aid, report suspicious activity, and to request assistance (e.g. for car problems, lost, etc.).
Security
The BCIT Security operations office is staffed 24 hours, and is ready to respond to campus emergencies, complaints and security-related assistance requests. The BCIT Security patrol is contracted to Paladin Security Group Ltd. The Institute is patrolled 24 hours a day by security officers. The patrols are conducted on foot, in vehicles and on bicycles.
As the link between the Institute’s Senior Leadership and British Columbia’s government, the Board of Governors (highest governing body) interprets how BCIT implements provincial policies and priorities. The Board of Governors oversees the business interests, management, and long-term development of BCIT and is made up of a range of elected and appointed individuals, representing different interests in the institution, including students, academic staff and non-academic staff:
- one peer-elected academic staff member (3 year term)
- one peer-elected non-academic staff member (3 year term)
- two peer-elected students (1 year term)
- at least eight members appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.
There are also several non-voting Board members, including the President of BCIT, the Chair of the Education Council, and the Chair of the Board of Governors.
BCIT’s Education Council (EdCo) focuses on academic matters, including policy setting, awards, academic standing and exams, and advises the Board of Governors on developing educational policies, programs or priorities. The Council consists of twenty members comprised of elected academic staff, non-academic staff and students, and appointed educational administrators all elected for terms of one or two years.
There are two unions representing the interests of academic and non-academic staff at BCIT:
- The BCIT Faculty and Staff Association (FSA)
- B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU)
The FSA and BCGEU both work to advance the employment interests of academic and non-academic staff and improve working conditions at BCIT through representation on committees, negotiation with BCIT and advocacy for their members. FSA membership is made up people drawn from across the Institute’s academic schools and from the many Departments that provide academic support. The BCGEU membership is also made up of academic staff and non-academic support staff.
Employees have the opportunity to participate in governance of their union through election of members to their unions Board of Directors. The core work of each union is to bargain for good collective agreements every few years, ensuring fair wages and benefits, and keeping employees safe at work. The contractual agreements between BCIT and the unions are contained in three collective agreements.
The FSA 2021-26 strategic plan is composed of four priority areas, each with a related goal. Each priority area has a number of objectives. Priority Area #1 is Reducing Inequalities with the goal to identify and address inequities across their membership. Learn more at SDG 10: Reducing Inequalities.
FSABCGEU
The British Columbia Institute of Technology Student Association (BCITSA) is a student service and advocacy organization at BCIT with a mandate to enhance student life. Their programs and services are designed to benefit and support all students. Students lead the organization and govern the affairs of the BCITSA. The Board of Directors is composed of 12 elected Student Executives and Student Councillors from each of the different Schools at BCIT and is responsible for overseeing the Student Association and advocating for students. Elected Student Executives represent and advocate for students on the Board of Governors and Education Council.
The BCIT Strategic Plan articulates three Commitments that represent our primary areas of activity and accountability. We are intent on being a people-focused organization that delivers future-proof applied education, amplifying our impact through globally relevant connections.
Key initiatives align with these commitments to create a framework for action and decision making. Interwoven in much of the Strategic Plan, and highlighted in our core values, sustainability is explicit in—and integral to—these initiatives:
- Process and system redesign: redesign processes, systems, and structures to enhance our agility and effectiveness and to embed sustainability
- Augmented and sustainable environments: cultivate exceptional learning environments and communities through technology and sustainable campus development
- New models of collaboration: reinvent how we work with industry and peers to drive economic, social, and environmental prosperity in British Columbia and beyond
Together, these confirm our intention to embed sustainability in our education and applied research activities, across our campus operations and facilities, and in our interactions with stakeholders beyond BCIT.

BCIT’s first People Vision is a plan that describes our goals and priorities in respect of our people. The Vision seeks to articulate our objectives and priorities in empowering our employees. It creates a framework for our efforts to support their development, create an inspiring workplace, and honour their commitment to the Institute. There are five interdependent core areas with accountability being one of them.

In May 2019, BCIT launched An Indigenous Vision: A Framework for Action and Accountability. The Vision complements the three commitments in BCIT’s Strategic Plan. Furthermore, our implementation plan is structured around the principles of the Colleges and Institutes Canada Indigenous Education Protocol – a document that provides a vision for how colleges and institutes can strive to improve their practices and better serve Indigenous peoples.
Endorsed by the Board of Governors, fully supported by the Leadership Team, and developed through extensive consultation with the broader BCIT community, the Indigenous Vision and its associated Implementation Plan provide the roadmap for moving forward.

We recognize that inequitable resource consumption is at the heart of climate change and is an urgent global challenge. Although climate action and adaptation will remain at the forefront of our academic, operational, and partnership efforts, we will also strive to uncover the deeper systemic causes and to address other sustainability challenges.
Through shaping the knowledge and actions of our students and partners in the workplace, we aim to inspire and mobilize change across industry and society, underpinned by best practices across our campuses.
To achieve this ambition, we know that we must:
- articulate a shared understanding of our role as a polytechnic institution in being part of the solution, empowering students, faculty, and staff to contribute and make a difference;
- advance the intellectual capital and operational excellence that stimulate public dialogue and purposeful translation to practice in industry; and
- create the institutional capacity to train the workforce of tomorrow.
Education
- ACIT 4770 – Legal and Ethical Issues in IT
- BCST 1350 – Policy, Regulation and Ethics in Society 1
- BHSC 5102 – Applied Social Science 1
- BLAW 3800 – Human Resource Management Law
- BLAW 3805 – Human Rights Law
- BLDT 1061 – Basic Management and Ethics
- BSNC 1055 – Communication in Nursing Practice 1
- BSNC 2030 – Practice of Nursing 2
- BSNC 4020 – Context of Nursing and Healthcare 4
- BSNC 4030 – Practice of Nursing 4 – Health Promotion and Illness Prevention in Individuals and Populations
- BSNC 6020 – Context of Nursing and Healthcare 6
- BSNC 6030 – Practice of Nursing 6
- BSUS 5110 – Sustainable Business Strategy
- BSUS 7300 – Selected Topics In Sustainable Business Leadership Circular Economy
- BUSA 1005 – Introduction to Business
- BUSA 1060 – Canadian Business and Society
- BUSA 4700 – Critical Thinking and Ethics
- BUSA 4750 – Business Metrics
- BUSA 5028 – Social Return on Investment
- BUSA 7120 – Values Based Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship
- CARD 3205 – Introduction to Health Informatics
- CISA 2370 – Network Security Fundamentals
- CISA 2380 – Business Skills for IT
- CIVL 7030 – Civil Engineering Contracts and Law
- COMM 3282 – Professional and Intercultural Communication for Environmental Health
- ECON 2100 – Microeconomics
- ECON 7100 – Ecological Economics
- EENG 7440 – Environmental Impact Assessment
- EENG 8400 – Legal Matters and Sustainability Management Systems
- ELEX 8280 – Engineering Law
- ENGR 7880 – Engineering Law Ethics and Professionalism
- ENVH 3100 – Applied Law
- ENVH 3280 – Land Use
- FNAM 4500 – Forest Management
- FSCT 5106 – Introduction to Criminology
- FSCT 8371 – Business Management for Forensic Science
- HRMG 3200 – Introduction to Labour Relations
- INCS 3320 – Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing
- INCS 3610 – Embedded Systems
- LIBS 7002 – Applied Ethics
- LIBS 7018 – Business Ethics
- LIBS 7021 – Health Ethics
- LIBS 7023 – Sustainable Business Ethics
- MINE 8000 – Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility and Indigenous Awareness
- MINE 8020 – Engineering Law and Ethics
- NPMA 1850 – Law and Governance
- NSHA 7100 – High Acuity Specialty Nursing Theory 1
- NSSC 8800 – Community Nursing: Facilitating Health Action
- OCHS 4520 – Environmental Management
- OPMT 4442 – Issues in Operations Management
- REAL 5700 – Real Estate Law and Principles
- RENR 2240 – Environmental Law Enforcement
- RENR 7008 – Indigenous Perspectives in Natural Resources Management
- TMGT 7133 – Law for Intelligence-based Business
- TMGT 7156 – IT Risk Management
- TOUR 1013 – CSR and Business Ethics
- TOUR 4401 – Sustainable Destination Development