Student groups have decried the province’s shelving of a long-promised post-secondary funding model, which they say will lead to budget reductions and layoffs.
Announced in 2022, the review was intended to modernize a funding system that had not changed in over two decades. The provincial government said at the time that the current model created constraints and inequities, and the new model aimed to establish a fairer model that met the educational needs of British Columbians.
However, Castanet reported in early November that the review was quietly shelved due to shifting post-secondary landscape, with the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education citing fewer federal study permits for international students, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic uncertainty partly driven by U.S. trade actions.
Despite these changes, institutions such as UBC are already feeling the impact.
Emily Tang, president of UBC’s Graduate Student Society (GSS), was shocked by this announcement and the lack of consultation in the decision-making process.
“The fact that we weren't informed was a slap in the face, because you can't be making decisions that impact students across British Columbia without consulting the students first,” she said in an interview with The Ubyssey.
“If they're not doing this funding review, students just aren't going to be able to get the resources and the support that they need to graduate … [this] further impacts B.C.'s future workforce and economy and the ability to recruit and retain talent in sciences, innovation and health care.”
The review had three objectives: create a funding model to "fairly and impartially" distribute provincial funds, align provincial funds with the needs of the communities served by public post-secondaries and support access to "affordable" post-secondary education. The amount of funding provided to the post-secondary sector was not explicitly part of the review's mandate — only how it would be divided.
Public funding for the province's post-secondary institutions has declined dramatically over the last few decades as a share of universities' operating funds. 36 per cent of UBC’s operating revenue last financial year was forecasted to come from the provincial government. In 1982, it was over 80 per cent. The British Columbia Federation of Students (BCFS) estimates that on average, only 41 per cent of post-secondary operating revenue comes from the province.
The ongoing decline in public funding has pushed institutions to rely increasingly on tuition, which has risen sharply — tuition fees in B.C. have more than doubled since 2001 as the government’s share of institutional funding has steadily fallen.
In the face of this growing dependence, UBC has seen a decline in its international student population in recent years —likely partially due to the international permit reduction — and as a result, the university expects its international tuition revenue to drop by roughly $20 million between 2023-24 and 2025-26.
Tang raised concerns that international student tuition fees will be increased “to make up [for] the costs associated with running a university.” Tuition for domestic students cannot be raised by more than two per cent a year because of the provincial tuition limit policy — no such policy exists for international students.
UBC spokesperson Matthew Ramsey noted that steps are already being taken to address the international student revenue issue amid the lack of a new provincial funding model.
“The provincial government has worked and continues to work collaboratively with UBC and the sector to ensure B.C.’s public post-secondary institutions are well positioned to welcome international students to B.C., despite these changes,” Ramsey said in an email statement.
However, some advocacy groups are not convinced that universities can weather the storm without a completed funding review. Debi Herrera Lira, chairperson of the BCFS, warned that its abandonment would have negative effects on students and campus services.
“We’re seeing the impacts of underfunding and an unstable model firsthand with course options shrinking, student advising being reduced, among other services, delayed graduations and just massive institutional deficits across all over the province,” she told The Ubyssey.
She also highlighted program suspensions that threaten workforce development, with around 80 programs cut or paused, including Selkirk College’s gerontological nursing diploma, “despite B.C.’s aging population.”
Lira said that the program cuts disproportionately impact students in rural and regional areas, where local communities rely on graduates for the workforce. She said that these students are unlikely to relocate to larger, costlier institutions, meaning they may lose access to higher education entirely.
“We’ve heard from students that have had to transfer to two or maybe three different institutions because their programs were cut or suspended … some have considered leaving their education entirely because of these cuts.”
The BCFS has spoken out against the shelving of the funding review, with their recent “Cuts Suck, Fix Education” campaign advocating for the completion of the review and the increase of provincial funding.
The campaign aims to ensure the province follows through on long-promised reforms, Lira said. She stressed that without meaningful commitment from the government, students and institutions will continue to bear the consequences of inconsistent funding.
“What we're asking the government to do is to finish the work they started. Develop a funding model, make it equitable, fund it properly and just reduce financial pressures on students … When institutions are funded properly, they're able to train the nurses, the teachers, the tradespeople and the social workers that we need in our communities.”
The AMS was not made available for The Ubyssey's interview request by press time.
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