Christina VarvisWith the tuition freeze being extended for a fourth consecutive year, the NDP government is paying for the revenue shortfall it will create.
At the government’s budget announcement earlier today, the government announced that post-secondary institutions in the province will receive $17 million in backfill funding, the same amount domestic students will be saving from the freeze. In the last three years of the freeze, no backfill funding was provided to make up for the loss in revenue.
The provincial budget announcement follows the University of Alberta’s own budget which was approved at the Board of Governors meeting on March 16, which includes a 3.14 per cent increase to international student tuition, four per cent increase to residence rent, and an all-you-can-eat meal plan for Lister, as well as a four per cent across-the-board cut to the university’s budget.
While the university constructed its budget on the assumption that there would be no increase to the Campus Alberta Grant, the provincial budget includes a two per cent increase this year. The U of A gets about 58 per cent of its revenue from the provincial government, and a two per cent increase to the grant was included in the last three years.
In addition to backfill funding, other items pertaining to post-secondary education contained in the budget include:
- Creating 3,000 new post-secondary technology spaces and $7 million in new scholarship programs to support technology and other emerging sectors.
- $30 million over four years to upgrade the U of A’s District Energy System, part of a $641 million investment in post-secondary infrastructure.
- $11 million for Indigenous training providers and targeted financial supports for learners
Additionally, the government confirmed $8 million in funding for mental health supports for universities. Last year, the province announced a funding agreement of $25.8 million in mental health support over three years, with $8.9 million being allocated for 2018-2019. Following that announcement in July, the government revealed that the U of A would receive $1 million a year, which is the same amount the university received prior to the new funding agreement.
At last year’s budget announcement, the government included funds for renovations to the Dentistry and Pharmacy Building. Of that amount, $52 million has been set aside for work on the building for 2018-19, with $239 million being spent on the project for the next five years. Funding for a third turbine generator remains on the list of unfunded capital projects, meaning the province recognizes the project’s necessit,y but has yet to allocate funding for it.
