U of S seeks operating grant hike
Pitch for $15M over 3 years comes as province warns of ‘tight’ budget
The University of Saskatchewan wants a $5-million increase to its operating grant and various other funding hikes in the upcoming provincial budget, which the government has indicated will be “tight.”
The U of S also wants additional $5-million increases over the following two years.
Together with a $5-million increase in last year’s budget, they would fully restore what was pitched as a one-time $20-million cut in 2015.
Including $6.9 million for the College of Medicine and $682,000 for the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, the university’s total request for operating expenses for the next fiscal year is $330 million.
University officials made the requests in the 2019-20 operations forecast, which emphasizes the institution’s place as an economic driver and the importance of a strong partnership with the government.
According to the forecast, restoring the $20-million cut would allow “investment in several high-return, high-demand programs to meet the demands of the provincial labour market” and enhance “student access, diversity and global competencies.”
Those areas include engineering, computer science and biomedical science, and the extra money would help the university attract another 3,000 students by 2025, bringing its total enrolment to 28,000, the document states.
The university’s operating grant makes up a little less than a third of its budget, which is projected to be $980 million next year. In 201718, the province contributed $497 million to the institution through various grants.
The university did not make any of its senior officials available for an interview on Thursday.
“We believe the province will continue to make investment in post-secondary education a priority,” a U of S spokesman said in an emailed statement.
“That being said, with the current fiscal realities of the province, we do not expect funding to return to pre-2017 levels in the immediate future.”
The U of S has taken “several initiatives” to manage operational costs and look for other revenue sources as a result, he said.
Finance Minister Donna Harpauer is expected to table a balanced budget on March 20. While the government is typically tightlipped about specifics, Premier Scott Moe signalled this week that it will contain few raises for groups other than municipalities.
The university’s operations forecast also hints at the institution’s capital plans, chiefly a $300-million “renewal” of its massive engineering and applied science building, the original portion of which was constructed in the 1920s.
According to the document, the university expects to ask the province to contribute $100 million of that total during the next budget cycle. With that commitment, officials wrote, “we are confident (we) can secure the remaining $200M.”
Capital expenditures are separate from operational expenditures.
The U of S was forced to cut millions of dollars from programs and services after the 2017-18 provincial budget slashed $18 million from its operating grant and earmarked $20 million of the remainder for the College of Medicine.
The institution did not receive a significant increase in last year’s budget, Moe’s first as premier and the second instalment in the Saskatchewan Party government’s three-year plan to eliminate a $1.2-billion deficit.
In an interview late last year, U of S president Peter Stoicheff said he expects the upcoming budget to provide funding that is “similar to somewhere in the territory of the (2018-19) budget.”