Common ground reached between province and post-secondary leaders in Alberta

EDMONTON- Common ground was reached Thursday, between the presidents of all 26 post-secondary institutions in Alberta and Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk.

The two sides met to discuss cuts made to post-secondary institutions in the province’s spring budget, as well as mandate letters that were handed out last month outlining provincial expectations for post-secondary institutions in Alberta.

Both sides emerged from the meeting encouraged, saying schools will be given time to adjust to the changes.

“The mandate letters have been embraced and we have agreed that we need to flush them out further at school level to identify what is the role and responsibility of each school within the system,” said Lukaszuk.

The presidents have time to go back and seek input from their institutions, then revise the draft letters into a “memorandum of understanding” between the government and each specific school, said Lukaszuk who called the meeting “a win, win, win.”

“We’ve been given an opportunity to give that some serious reflection, rather than feeling somehow that we’re being forced to make premature decisions that we’re not comfortable with,” said David Atkinson, president of MacEwan University in Edmonton.

The decision is also being welcomed by the president of the University of Alberta, who says trying to adjust the institution’s budget is an enormous responsibility.

“What was very encouraging to me was the acknowledgement that this takes time. This is not something we can do in six weeks. We will be looking at how we manage the budget situation with respect to minimizing the damage and impact on students, faculty, staff and programs,” said Indira Samarasekera.

“The letter is still there, but we will work through it with faculty, staff and students,” added University of Lethbridge president Mike Mahon.

Lukaszuk says while institutions are going to be facing tough decisions, all parties have agreed to make sure students aren’t impacted.

“We will singularly focus on students and make sure that any and all decisions that have to happen within individual schools and this ministry, we will try to alleviate any impact on students,” Lukaszuk said. “We have also agreed that there will be no tuition increase for students this year at all.”

Lukaszuk says all 26 institutions have also agreed to meet on a quarterly basis to work on increasing collaboration.

With files from the Edmonton Journal.