UNBC Balances Its Budget, But Challenges Lie Ahead
Prince George, BC – Tuition fees at the University of Northern BC will rise by two-percent next fall, as the Board of Governors approved an operating budget of $67-million dollars for the 2012-13 academic year.
The tuition increase amounts to $92 more for a typical, full-time undergrad student, who will be paying $4721 for classes starting next fall. According to the University’s Vice-President of External Relations, Rob van Adrichem, students will contribute to just over 26-percent of UNBC’s operating budget next year, up from 24-percent five years ago.
Even with the fee increase, UNBC is unable to invest in new or expanded programming for 2012-13. An increase in the Athletics’ budget to support the university’s move to Canada West has had to be covered by a reduction in mortgage expenses for the student residents.
And during today’s budget discussions, board members signaled that operational efficiencies will be needed in the near future to cope with reduced government funding. UNBC President, George Iwama, says, "We know from this year’s provincial government announcement that our funding will be the same this year, but that it will be reduced by 1-percent next year and 1.5-percent the year after."
"This will require work on our part to increase revenues, reduce expenditures, or both," says Iwama. "We will engage the full university community and our region in identifying how best to position UNBC for the future."
Board of Governors Chair, Dawn Martin, says, "It’s ironic that we are talking about how to cut costs when the region is in such desperate need for more skilled and educated citizens."
Comments
The fibs jump all over the teachers about pay and benefits but the silence is deafening when it comes to the universities.
Don’t forget the college. And to think they are looking at giving money to private companies such as BID & Canfor instead of working with existing facilities…Shame
Canfor? Jimmy needs the dough. Methinks the plywood plant dough got spent.
If they would stop hiring so many exempt Managers / Directors. Many of them actually have nothing to do with students or teaching, just bloat at the top. Each one of them is at least $100,000 just in salary and that doesn’t factor in the office and supports they require. There has been 4 such positions added this financial year alone
Universities in BC are funded by the Provincial Government based on the number of Undergraduate Full Time Equivalent students they enrol each year.
The way it works is that the University makes a forecast for the upcoming year, and the Government funds them accordingly. Now here is the problem.
UNBC has been forcasting increases in enrolments for FTE undergraduates for the past five years, however enrolments have , remained static or declined. What this means is that UNBC has in fact been overfunded for the past five years. They have known all along that they could not continue to get funding for students who did not exist, and it now appears that the chickens are coming home to roost.
FTE Undergraduates at UNBC have been in the area of 2500 for the past five years more or less. In other words no growth.
There is nothing at this time that would indicate that these numbers will ever get any bigger. Mainly because of the Universities in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Kamloops, and Kelowna.
70% of the undergraduates at UNBC come from the interior, however with a small population of approx 300,000 people from Cache Creek, to Ft St John, to Prince Rupert, the number of students available to attend this University is limited.
This is a serious dilema that neither the Government of the University cares to talk about. Especially after the years of hype as to how this University would grow and become world renowned.
I think that the 500 or so students that were forcasted but never showed up, probably arrived and departed on the huge airplanes that use the extended runway at the airport. Shadow planes and shadow students.
Have a nice day.
Some years ago there was reason to expect an increase in enrollment because UNBC drew students not only from the fairly small interior pool but from the Lower Mainland, where there were not enough places to satisfy the demand. The increase in university places due to the conversion of colleges to universities (e.g. University College of the Cariboo to Thompson Rivers University, Capilano College to Capilano University) reduced the demand for UNBC places. That’s not to say that the UNBC administration has been justified in its enrollment estimates as the changed situation has been clear for some time, but UNBC’s prospects for growth were greater at one point.
lunarguy@Are you talking about CNC or UNBC?
billposer@ UNBC. Is the same thing going on at the college ?
Palopu@ Actually it is the government who sets what the FTE should be, sets the funding and the expectations to meet them.
As billposer mentioned it sure didn’t help by making all those colleges into Universities.
Try to further your education at UNBC. If your transcripts from other institutions are more than 10 years old, you have to start at the bottom again. No credits. Even if you worked in the field all your life, and you are up-to-date with the latest trends, technology and science. There are no credits for work experience. But when the university graduates integrate into the work force, you are supposed to spoon-feed them to achieve real world standards.
lunarguy@As far as I know, the CNC administration hasn’t been growing as rapidly as UNBC’s.
So with all the added universities, how is the quality of education? Did all the instructors and administration get a fat pay increase when colleges were upgraded to universities? Are these just degree factories now? I am just pissed because the fibs dump on the teachers and seem to give the universities a free ride.
One example is UNBC getting 45 million to build plant and study woodburning when it seems all they had to do is have a chat with one of the pulp mills. They have been burning wood for heat and energy for a long time now and just maybe might know something about it.
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