Bermuda College's Adult and Continuing Education programme "is slipping further into an uninspired and uninspiring malaise where it has no clear mission, values, goals, or objectives''.

That was the damning observation in a Canadian education consultant's report on the College's ACE programme, Applied Science programme, and other related matters.

And he stressed in a report obtained by The Royal Gazette that the situation "must change dramatically and immediately''.

Dr. W. Michael Brooke, a former advisor in Curriculum Development, and the first full-time director of Extension at the Bermuda College, was invited by Bermuda College president Dr. George Cook to provide advice on specific issues that emerged at the college due to "increasing demand by the public for more accountability, decreasing enrolment in certain areas, and decreasing financial resources''.

Dr. Brooke, now the dean of the University of Victoria's Division of Continuing Studies, said that due to "the pivotal importance of ACE to the college and the community, it was necessary to review its place in the College and the community, but also its relationship with other units of the college''.

After meeting with more than 20 people from the College and business sector between January 15 and 22, he said ACE should be providing leadership in "new delivery methods and technologies, new programme and course content, and new partnerships with business, industry, government and community organisations''. "This is not happening.'' He added that this was due to a number of factors, including: No clear plan of action with priorities and shared staff responsibilities; "Stale and unimaginative'' programmes and courses; Failure to make "full use'' of staff who have "found themselves working in a fragmented, unchallenging work environment''; Limited, untargeted, and uncreative publicity and advertising; and Few, "ineffective or non-existent'' partnerships and other contacts in business, industry, and government.

The Applied Science programme was also suffering from low enrolment, he said.

Registration over the last decade had dropped steadily from about 150 to 35 full-time students due to years of "aimless, ineffective, and largely irrelevant'' leadership, programmes not keeping pace with changes in technology and training, limited relevance of college programmes to local industries, and "the lack of national trade standards and qualifications''.

He said the College should: Amalgamate ACE and the Applied Science programme for the next few years "until they regain size and stature''; Look abroad for a well-qualified dean with vision, high motivation and a proven track record in adult and continuing education; Establish off-campus learning facilities in the city, on Court Street, and on US base lands; and Request special, targeted funding from the Education Ministry for a two-to-three-year pilot project to address the problem of students graduating from high school without the knowledge or skills to enter the work force or the college.

When contacted yesterday, Dr. Cook refused to comment on the report, only saying it was an "internal and confidential'' document.