The governance of community colleges in western Canada is increasingly influenced by the activities of federal and regional agencies, provincial legislatures, professional and trade associations, and advisory committees. Decision-making is increasingly centralized so that programs are standardized, procedures are routinized, and colleges lack distinctiveness and professional autonomy. Each provincial legislature has established government departments to direct the operation of post-secondary education. With input from province-wide advisory committees, the civil servants in these departments specify standards of performance, review and approve (or deny) program and budget proposals, and develop policies and programs for administrative services, student services, research, and planning. Boards of trustees hold legal responsibility for the operation of college programs; they formulate policy concerning organization, administration, and course offerings. There are also advisory boards at the institutional level. Not all community colleges have boards of trustees. Technical institutes are operated directly by the governmental departments. In two of the provinces, all board members are government appointees. The growth of collective bargaining may be seen as a coping strategy of the faculty in the face of external pressures to standardize procedures and policies. (DC)