Agriculture, engineering hit hardest by U of S cuts

Sweeping cuts proposed by University of Saskatchewan administrators in response to the provincial government’s austerity budget did not come as a surprise, but that doesn’t make them easier to stomach, says the head of the university’s student union.

The university plans to cut central funding for its colleges and academic programs by four per cent, or $8.7 million, and expenditures on support services by 2.9 per cent, or $3.5 million, next year, according to “resource allocation” estimates released Wednesday.

“It’s something we expected to see, expected to happen,” U of S Students Union (USSU) president Kehan Fu said of the cuts, which have to be approved by the university’s board of governors. “But I’m disappointed nonetheless, because it will have an impact on the student experience.”

The cuts are a direct result of the five per cent reduction to the U of S’s operating grant announced last week by the province as part of its 2017-18 budget, which slashed funding for universities by $25 million.

The College of Agriculture and Bioresources is expected to take an 11 per cent funding reduction next year, the largest of any college on campus, followed by the College of Engineering, which is bracing for a 9.6 per cent cut, according to the estimates.

No college will receive an increase next year, while many can expect cuts, including Arts and Science (3.3 per cent), Dentistry (6.2 per cent), the Edwards School of Business (4.6 per cent), Nursing (4.5 per cent) and Pharmacy and Nutrition (3.2 per cent).

Saskatoon Engineering Students’ Society president Mitch Cassidy said in an email that while students are obviously concerned, it’s unclear what effects the proposed $1.9 million cut will have on engineering students.

Most of the decisions about how the cuts are absorbed will be made by the affected colleges, and while program cuts are unlikely, options include staff reductions through attrition or layoffs, U of S interim provost Michael Atkinson said.

“Everything has got to kind of be on the table,” he said, noting the central funding cuts were based on a formula that includes enrolment, financial reserves and each organization’s ability to raise money on its own.

At the same time, this is the university’s first nominal funding decrease from the province in about 20 years, and the institution can continue to flourish, he said.

Both he and Fu expressed concern about the prospect of more cuts on the horizon.

“If the province does not maintain continuous support of our university and continues to decrease operations (funding), the colleges will be forced into the hard situation of either increasing tuition … or cutting the programs,” Fu said.