U of A board decries budget cuts in open letter to Redford

EDMONTON – In an open letter to Premier Alison Redford, the University of Alberta board of governors warns the university will be “set back by many years” by the major cuts announced in the March 7 budget.

“We are concerned that this great institution to which we willingly give our time and resources will be set back many years by the cuts that will have to be made to absorb the decrease in our provincial funding,” states the letter signed by 12 governors including chancellor Ralph Young.

“Being just another ‘average’ university is not something that is part of our vision, nor is it something that we can accept.”

Board chairman Doug Goss said the letter, released Monday, “states the obvious” — that finding $43 million in cuts to live within the provincial budget will cause “dramatic change” at the U of A and “it will take time” to make strategic choices.

The board members also wanted to make clear they continue to be committed to U of A’s goal of a “top global public university” and building a high-quality post-secondary education system, despite the cuts, said Goss.

“I’m convinced we (the U of A and the provincial government) want the same thing. If there is a disconnect, it’s about how this will be achieved,” said Goss.

The unusual letter, which says the board is “deeply concerned” about the 7.1-per-cent provincial funding cut, came out the same day the province released “letters of expectation” to all 26 campuses calling for much closer co-operation under the Campus Alberta banner.

The U of A mandate letter is “not out of line” with what the university is doing, said Goss. “But the trick is doing it in the face of major budget cuts.”

The board of governors does not expect the province to reverse the cuts, Goss added. But it wants professors, students and non-academic staff, “a community of some 50,000,” to know the board remains committed to the U of A’s agenda of being a top research and teaching institution.

“(We) must go on the record as being deeply concerned that the recent budget decision of the provincial government to cut the university’s funding by more than seven per cent will have a dramatic effect on the progress that the U of A has made in reaching its potential, both as a research and a teaching institution,” the letter says.

“It is difficult to imagine the detrimental effect that cutting more than $43 million from our annual budget this year alone will have on our students, who are the critical next generation in this province. The same is true of our faculty, who lead the teaching and research initiatives that can help position this province as a global leader on the issues of greatest concern in the 21st century. Staff members at our university who support our students and faculty also will be deeply affected.”

Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk said he was not surprised at this open expression of concern in the letter since universities are “traditional, independent institutions.”

“Doug Goss is doing his work as chair and working with some difficult decisions,” said Lukaszuk.

Goss and the board now have an opportunity on those decisions through the draft mandate letter, he added.

The draft mandate letters call on all colleges and universities to use the Campus Alberta logo on their letterhead, to commit to more and shared online learning, to find a way to put textbooks online to save costs for students, eliminate duplication — as well as promote research that fits with provincial economic goals and needs.

The U of A draft letter says: “The U of A agrees to focus its resources on the following areas:” programs that “are in demand by employers and students,” that build on the university’s current strengths and “that are designed to develop full potential of learners for our economy and our society.”

The letter requires a specific number (to be negotiated) of spaces for enrolment in “approved programs.”

Acting provost Martin Ferguson-Pell said the university has some concerns about the draft mandate letter, especially as it seems rigid, “like a contract” that the chair of board of governors must sign. The U of A would like more flexibility.

The draft appears to leave plenty of room for U of A to pursue its combined teaching and research agenda, said Ferguson-Pell.

But the call for much closer collaboration under the Campus Alberta umbrella raises some “potential” questions about how to maintain separate identities, especially when the U of A is dealing with its overseas partners, he added.

“We need to make sure the key things that make U of A distinct are included,” he added.

Donna Wilson of the U of A academic staff association said many on campus are worried the province is trying to centralize post-secondary education in the same way it collapsed health regions into one central body.

Lukaszuk said he has no plans for any mergers of campuses or to create a central administration. The California model — a central campus with satellites in other cities — is not the model he is pursuing, he said.

But he does not want to see five universities offering the same course online without some kind of collaboration, he said.

Edmonton PC MLA Steve Young, whose riding includes the U of A, said he respects the board of governors for standing up for their institution.

But he and his caucus colleagues have to take the broader view and “represent all Albertans” on the post-secondary sector. They have to consider possible savings that will come from more co-operation between 26 institution, he added.

“(The U of A) is an incredible university, but we also have to look at alignment with other institutions in Campus Alberta,” said Young.

With files from Sarah O’Donnell