Province steadfast in commitment to university funding
The provincial government says it will deliver more university funding as planned over the next three years despite the economic crisis and looming government deficits
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The provincial government reports it will follow through with plans to freeze tuition and lower it to the national average by 2010-11 despite battered stock market conditions in a global recession.
“There has been no discussion about the MOU and potential changes to it,” writes deputy minister of education Dennis Cochrane in an e-mail Nov. 18. “Difficult economic conditions make it even more imperative that university and college tuition is affordable.”
The province outlined funding promises to universities in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed earlier this year that guarantees $180 million of direct funding to universities over the next three years to eliminate tuition increases.
“The funding that the memorandum addresses is what we intend to follow at this time,” echoes Dan Harrison, a spokesman for the Nova Scotia department of education. “We intend to honour that commitment.”
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The province has promised more funding to universities over the next three years as part of their agreement.
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Memorandum of understanding highlights:
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$180 million will freeze university tuition over the next three years.
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Available funding to universities will increase by $30 million per year from $258.7 million in 2007-08 to $348.7 million in 2010-11.
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$66 million will be invested in a bursary trust to provide Nova Scotia students with bursaries over the next three years.
Finance Minister Michael Baker said Nov. 18 he was projecting a razor-thin surplus for the current fiscal year and that finances would be very tight in 2009-10. He said the province would not institute “massive reductions in public spending” that could make the situation worse.
However, last month the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, which represents post-secondary institutions across the country, told the CanWest news service that university administrators were worried the deteriorating financial situation would prompt provincial cuts to higher education.
“There will be impacts on government revenues… federally and provincially so, sure, there (are) concerns about the potential impacts on the universities' own funding over time,” said Robert Best, the association’s vice-president of national affairs. “There is a great deal of uncertainty.”
But others embrace the province’s commitment to universities.
“Because of the MOU, students know what they’re going to be paying in tuition in each of the next three years,” says the executive director of the Association of Atlantic Universities, Peter Halpin. “The MOU is a very important stabilizing mechanism for university funding and student fees that is particularly valuable in tough economic times.”
The province is confident it can deliver funding to thousands of students who rely on it, but a looming economic recession means governments can expect less revenue and might be forced to run deficits.
Kelly Wilson, the executive director of the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations, a non-partisan group that lobbies on behalf of students in Nova Scotia, says it also expects the government to follow through as planned.
Money received under the agreement is “predictable funding” universities have budgeted for and if the province backs away from the agreement it would “wreak havoc on their planning process,” says Wilson.
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