Alberta universities are facing an unprecedented budget cut of $147 million, resulting in the University of Calgary decreasing its arts program by 200 students. The province of Alberta — whose post-secondary education system is the second-highest funded in the country — is blaming the budgetary cuts on competing provincial interests such as health care, social services, and kindergarten to grade 12 education.
Robert Sutherland, president of the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations, says that the shrinking class sizes are just the beginning of a long line of repercussions due to budgetary cuts, potentially spanning the course of the next two years. He also states that students are not likely to notice a significant difference in daily academic life due to a continued effort by schools to control the damages caused by reduced expenditure. Universities are expected to hold town hall meetings to discuss additional cuts.
No Alberta universities have yet to met their government-mandated cuts for this fall.
With files from Global News
