ATHABASCA — The provincial budget announced Feb. 25 has cut 6.2 per cent in operating support to post-secondary institutions across the province on top of the 10 per cent reduction they received over the previous two years.
The Council for Post-Secondary Presidents of Alberta (COPPOA) who represent 26 member organizations including Athabasca University (AU), released a statement Feb. 26 saying the cuts will transfer more financial burden onto students and will impact jobs, noting the ongoing cuts are making it difficult for universities to and retain faculty, staff and students.
“A strong post-secondary sector needs an element of public funding,” said COPPOA executive director Bill Werry. “If the province is not able to provide stable funding, it needs to remove restrictions preventing institutions from managing their current revenue sources, programming, facilities and lands.”
COPPOA noted the Alberta government has not provided any COVID-19 funding to post-secondary institutions unlike some other provinces and they should be part of the economic recovery plan instead of facing cuts.
“Alberta’s post-secondary institutions are positioned to work with the province to support economic recovery, future growth in employment and economic diversification,” said COPPOA chair Dr. Mike Mahon in a release.
For AU, the cut is not as deep as some institutions face, but will still require some adjustments said director of communications Angie Zander.
“Athabasca University received a 1.1 per cent cut to its 2021-22 Campus Alberta Grant in the 2021 budget released by the Government of Alberta on Thursday (Feb. 25). This cut represents a decrease of approximately $474,000 to the university’s overall budget,” she said.
The specific impacts will be considered before the board of governors can make a decision however.
“AU’s executive team will review the specific impacts of the budget announcement and work with our internal leaders and partners to make the adjustments required before proposing a final integrated resource plan to the university’s board of governors,” said Zander.
