The BC government has allocated $3.12 billion to post-secondary institutions in the new 2024/25 budget. This is a 23.9 per cent increase from the previous year.
“It certainly isn’t austerity … but it’s not going to be enough to support the growth that we know is coming,” said Annabree Fairweather, executive director of the confederation of university faculty associations of BC.
According to BC's Future Ready Action Plan, 800,000 jobs requiring post-secondary qualifications will be created over the next 10 years. Fairweather believes that universities cannot meet this demand without an investment of five per cent of provincial GDP in post-secondary education.
In January 2024, the federal government introduced a cap on international student admissions, intensifying pressure on university finances.
The University of Victoria announced needing to cut its budget by $13 million for 2024/25, with layoffs expected.
Unlike Ontario, BC has not created an emergency fund for institutions dealing with tuition revenue shortfalls.
“We haven't seen a similar commitment from our BC province on that,” said Fairweather.
She added that ministry delegates at the provincial budget lockup declined to give assurances of any extra financial support for universities. However, she expects that UBC and other public universities will get “first access” to international students.
The BC Federation of Students (BCFS) also expressed their frustration in a statement, having hoped the budget would protect students from tuition increases. They said that historic cuts have pushed the cost of education onto students.
An estimated 30—40 per cent of students across Canada experience food insecurity, and food bank usage is predicted to increase in 2024.
“The provincial government needs to put the money back into the system so that institutions don’t have to rely on students to ... keep their lights on,” said Jessica Niikoi, BCFS secretary-treasurer.
In February, UBC increased tuition fees two per cent for new and continuing domestic students, a three per cent increase for continuing international students and a five per cent increase for new incoming international students.
Niikoi had hoped that the budget would place a two per cent cap on international tuition fee increases, as international students are not currently protected under the Tuition Limit Policy. “There’s a housing crisis, a cost of living crisis, but students have the added cost of tuition,” she said.
In a statement the AMS also expressed frustration with the budget writing it is "not as ambitious as students expected it to be" and "the lack of funding for initiatives that prioritize post-secondary student affordability is deeply concerning."
The budget also committed $1.5 billion to building post-secondary infrastructure over the next three years. That includes new student housing on the campus for nine institutions across BC, which Fairweather hailed as “life changing” for students.
Only one building on the UBC campus will receive funding: the new School of Biomedical Engineering.
Finally, funding for Student Support Services — which includes scholarships, financial aid, bursaries and student loan forgiveness schemes — was cut slightly, from $75.9 million per year to $73.7 million.
Despite these setbacks, student and faculty groups vowed to continue advocating for more resources.
“Our future relies on post-secondary,” declared Fairweather.