Legislation will be introduced in Victoria this week to make the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design into a university, Premier Gordon Campbell announced Monday.

It will be the province's 10th degree-granting university.

There are more than 4,000 students at Emily Carr, studying drawing, painting, animation, film, TV, gaming and product design.

Emily Carr's president, Ron Burnett, says the new designation won't affect student fees.

"This new status means that we can increase opportunities for students to participate in professional degree programs leading to bachelor's and master's degrees," he said.

Emily Carr will be the latest post-secondary institution in B.C. to be given university status.

Last week Capilano College, Kwantlen College, the University College of the Fraser Valley and Malaspina College were also designated degree-granting universities.

The announcement comes at a time when both colleges and universities in B.C. are feeling financial pressure.

The day after the Malaspina announcement, seven staff there were given layoff notices.

And at Vancouver Community College, three dozen faculty members are being laid off and more than 1,000 student placements are being eliminated.

Although the provincial government is spending four per cent more on universities this year than in 2007, a group of professors says funding per student is actually falling.

Per student funding in B.C. was $9,145 in 2007/08 and will drop to $8,852 in 2008/09, according to the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of B.C.

With files from Paul Grant

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