The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada has reinstated the First Nations University of Canada to full membership status, effective immediately. In a written statement, the association’s Board of Directors said it was now satisfied that the university had made sufficient progress toward resolving the governance issues that led to the institution’s being placed on probation a year ago.

The university, which is the only aboriginal-controlled university in the country, is based in Regina, Saskatchewan, and also has campuses in Prince Albert and Saskatoon. Last April the association gave the university one year to establish independence from one of its governing agencies, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. In its statement today, the board noted that recent changes adopted by the federation “provide for institutional autonomy, which is fundamental to the functioning of a university in a democratic society.”

The university’s troubles began three years ago, when the chairman of its Board of Governors — who was also vice chief of the federation — suddenly suspended three senior administrators and seized computer records and other documents. News reports at the time said the university was running a multimillion-dollar deficit. It also lost about four dozen faculty members at that time; some chose to leave, and others were fired.

The university has taken steps to get its financial affairs in order and no longer has federation executives as voting members on its Board of Governors, according to the Leader-Post, a local newspaper.

Membership in the universities association serves as a de facto form of accreditation in Canada, and a university that loses its membership could lose federal financing as well.

The Canadian Association of University Teachers said it was deeply disappointed at the lifting of the probation because governance issues remain. In a statement, the association said changes had been cosmetic and aboriginal education had been “ill-served” by the move. —Karen Birchard