Dozens of spirited protesters banged on the office doors of the University of Alberta’s president on Wednesday afternoon, demanding to speak with him about budget reductions and increased costs to students.
Demonstrators loudly chanted phrases like “U of A, not OK,” “talk to us” and “we want change” shortly after David Turpin, the university’s president, held a forum to address the concerns. One protester said the forum saw hundreds of students, faculty and staff attend.
“They did not feel as though their questions were answered,” said Marina Banister, president of the U of A Students’ Union.
“As a result, they have moved back to the president’s office and are doing a peaceful protest outside.”
Almost two weeks ago, members of the U of A Students’ Union walked out of a meeting, disappointed after a decision was made to increase tuition for international students by 3.14 per cent. The U of A board of governors also voted to increase the rent at a number of residences by about four per cent.
READ MORE: University of Alberta hikes international student tuition, rental and meal costs
Watch below: On March 16, 2018, Fletcher Kent filed this report after the University of Alberta Students’ Union said it was disappointed that the board of governors has decided to raise tuition for international students, increase rent at a number of the residences and change meal plans.
Another decision made by the board will mean changes to meal plans for students at a number of residences. The students’ union said the changes could result in increases of up to 15 per cent for students, depending how they use the meal plans.
The decisions came as a provincial tuition freeze is in place, so the university is not able to increase general tuition. At the time, the university said it was in a difficult financial position and Turpin said the decisions were “the beginning of getting our financial house in order.”
“The main issues are the cost increases,” Banister said on Wednesday. “It’s also important to consider that these decisions were made assuming the government was giving no funding, and we learned last week that the provincial government is in fact increasing our backfill funding and providing us with an increase to the Campus Alberta Grant.”
In last week’s budget, Alberta’s government indicated it would provide the university with a two-per-cent increase of the base operating grant. The U of A is also expected to receive a share of backfill payments from the province.
“I share the students’ frustrations with the decisions that have been put forward and certainly we’re working on behalf of students to make sure that the government money that is given to the university goes towards giving them a high-quality education,” Alberta’s Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt said on Wednesday.
The minister added his government doesn’t have a clear picture of the university’s fiscal situation and that he wants to work with the board and administration to get a better understanding of it.
“We have basically been spending more money than we bring in, it’s that simple,” Turpin told Global News on Wednesday. “And we have to get that under control.”
The president added he was “very grateful for the increases in funding that the government has provided” but he and the board of governors need to think of future generations of students and address “a very significant structural deficit.”
“The actions that the board took when they approved this don’t even start to address that central deficit,” he said.
Turpin also said there are limitations on how the university can spend the money the government announced it would get last week.
“The province of Alberta is very clear — the minister’s office… that the Campus Alberta Grant is not to be used to support international students — neither can we support international students with domestic tuition. So as a result, the board raised international tuition by inflation. Likewise, we can’t use the government grant to support our residences and so residence rates were raised four per cent which will start to deal with… the operating deficit.”
Schmidt has recently said he was “disheartened” by the university’s board of governors’ recent recent financial decisions and specifically singled out Turpin for criticism in an article published by the Edmonton Journal.
“It’s concerning to me to see the president lining his own pockets while he’s cutting money being spent on classrooms and students,” Schmidt said of the president, who according to university documents, has a base salary of $500,000 before additional compensation based on performance.
“There’s no question that the minister has infringed on the autonomy of our board and the implications of that are really extraordinarily troubling,” Turbin said on Wednesday.
“One of the reasons universities are so important to society is they stand apart from government, that they represent the best of who we are as people. And when a government starts to tell the board of governors what they can and cannot do and infringes on the autonomy, I for one become very, very worried.”
“Turpin does make over $800,000, including his benefits, and that is a substantial amount of money that students are not supportive of considering the cuts that are happening to faculty and non-academic staff in the university,” Banister said on Wednesday.
“We are hopeful that the university’s senior administration will put out a statement,” she added. “So far, we have received no formal statement in response to the protests, in response to the decision by the board of governors or in light of the actions taken today.
“Students are talking and they are not being heard and we would like to see a statement. I’m also a member of the board of governors and I believe that the board of governors should meet again to re-analyze the decision they have made in light of the new facts.”
To read Turpin’s recap of the forum he held on Wednesday, click here.
-With files from Caley Ramsay
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