EDMONTON – The University of Alberta is looking at reducing its number of professors, as it continues to struggle with a multi-million dollar funding shortfall.
In response to the provincial government’s approximately 7 cent cut to post-secondary funding this past March, the U of A originally proposed a three-year plan, which would have seen its budget reduced by $28 million a year. But the University says after being told by the government – informally – to “move more rapidly” to balance its budget, it is now considering a fast-tracked two-year solution, which would see $56 million cut from next year’s budget.
To try and make up the difference, the University announced on Tuesday that it will be offering voluntary severance packages to staff.
“About 75 per cent of our operating budget is in the form of compensation – salary and benefits,” explains Acting Provost Martin Ferguson-Pell. “So it’s without a doubt an area that we have got to address and look to see whether or not we can make some significant savings.”
Some believe it’s a decision for which students will end up paying the price.
“One of the things we’re concerned about,” explains Kevin Kane, President of the Association of Academic Faculty, “is that instead of the typical voluntary severance, which is usually for people who are just about to retire or near retirement. This one will be an offer to all of our active staff.
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“So there is a possibility that we could be losing mid-career people, or junior people from our university. And you can imagine that this may have significant impact on our ability to carry out our duties…it’s going to affect what we do – we do research, teaching and we do service – all three of those areas can be impacted quite readily if we’re losing people from all the ranks.”
NDP MLA David Eggen is also worried about some of the potential implications of cutting staff.
“We’ll end up with larger class sizes, students will have to pay more, and the quality of instruction will suffer. You can’t just take that much money out – 10 per cent of the whole budget – and not expect to see devastating consequences.”
“What the government needs to do now is take a step back, admit that you do have the money to finance this essential service and put the money where it belongs,” he adds, “so we could have post-secondary that we can be proud of.”
The plan to save $56 million has to be done by November, so the U of A’s Board of Governors can vote on it. Depending on how much money the voluntary severance packages can save, it could still get worse before it gets better.
“The next step beyond that, apart (from) some other minor savings we could make through efficiencies, for example, and also ways of compensating,” says Ferguson-Pell, “will be involuntary services. And that’s essentially the cascade of effects that occurs.”
On behalf of the government, spokesperson Eldon McIlwain sent Global News the following statement:
“All 26 of Alberta’s publicly funded post-secondary institutions are board-governed and are responsible for their school’s business and day-to-day operations. This means they make the decisions on how to manage their budget, allocate their funding and make staffing decisions. We understand this particular year has been challenging for institutions, however we have communicated our expectations to post-secondary officials that any decisions they make should have minimal impact on current and future students’ access to programs and courses.
The government recently received the Comprehensive Institutional Plan (CIP) from the University of Alberta, and it is currently being reviewed by our department. Because it is under review, we have given no specific direction to the University in regards to their CIP. We will be responding in writing to the University administration when the review is completed.
We understand U of A is continuing to work with its stakeholders to identify how to best manage their budget. We would expect that any decisions would be communicated clearly to stakeholders in a timely manner.”
There are three 90-minute information sessions on the voluntary severance scheduled for August 13, 21, and 26. There will also be an hour-long town hall meeting open to the public on September 6. Those wishing to apply for voluntary severance have until September 16 to do so.
With files from Vassy Kapelos, Global News
With files from Vassy Kapelos, Global News
Follow @TrishKozicka
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