The Alberta government has announced new “outcome-based” funding for post-secondary institutions on the first day of what it has declared “Red Tape Reduction Awareness Week.”
“There is an astounding amount of irony in the government announcing the creation of a massive amount of red tape for the funding of post-secondary institutions at the same time they declare Red Tape Reduction Awareness Week,” said Joel French, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta. “Much of the so-called red tape they are removing is taking away protections for Albertans related to safety and the public interest, but this announcement is really creating new barriers for post-secondary institutions to get the funding they need.”
Although specific measures have not been finalized, the government announcement made clear that the reward for meeting targets would not involve funding increases, but rather would mean, at best, status quo funding for each institution, and at worst, significant funding cuts.
“It is very clear what the goal of this new funding model is,” said French. “It is not to increase public investment in programs that are performing well, but rather to serve as justification for further significant cuts to a post-secondary system that is already reeling from brutal cuts in the government’s last budget. The result is going to be weaker institutions that are even more reliant on corporate funding, while tuition costs continue to sky-rocket for students.”
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