This notice is from the archives of The Notice Board. Information contained in this notice was accurate at the time of publication but may no longer be so.
On March 16, 2017, the Alberta government introduced its budget to the Alberta legislature. Leading up to the budget, the University of Lethbridge and our post-secondary partners advocated for the important role that Alberta’s post-secondary institutions play in supporting the vibrancy of the communities we serve.
As expected, the provincial budget included a two per cent increase to the Campus Alberta operating grants for Alberta’s post-secondary institutions. The Alberta government froze tuition for the third consecutive year, however, unlike previous years, institutions will not receive a “backfill” tuition grant. Last year, this grant was $752,685. While we are waiting to receive the U of L’s specific budget letter, the 2% increase in the Campus Alberta grant requires the University to reduce our operating budget expenditures by $2.4 million in 2017-18 to achieve a balanced budget.
Some additional notes from the provincial budget include:
A total of $630 million is budgeted within the Ministry of Advanced Education for student loans. This is a $51 million increase over Budget 2016. A total of $252 million for student aid programs, an $8.6 million increase over Budget 2016 was also announced.
The University was pleased to learn that there was a province-wide renewal of $3.6 million for mental health supports for post-secondary students. We look forward to learning more details of this funding but at this point do not know how much of this funding has been allocated to the U of L.
Regarding capital, as anticipated, the U of L will receive $65 million in 2017-18 to continue work on the Destination Project, the new science and academic building, as part of the $260 million commitment to the project previously announced.
We were also pleased to see that there was an overall increase in the funding the province provides for infrastructure maintenance needs at post-secondary institutions.
As in previous years, we expect to receive further details within the month as to how Budget 2017 will specifically affect the University. These details are critical in finalizing the U of L’s budget, which will be presented to the Board of Governors for approval in April 2017.
Contact:
Advancement | advancement@uleth.ca