Priority 1.

The PSE Task Force has concentrated on establishing the priorities and focus of a province-wide public outreach campaign for PSE. The campaign is centred on promoting reinvestment in public post-secondary education and for the reasons cited below:

RE-INVEST IN PUBLIC POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION (PSE)

  • To sustain quality PSE access in Alberta
  • To support PSE access and affordability to students
  • To enhance learning and working conditions in PSE
  • To support and expand the Alberta economy

The first priority for the coming year is to develop a strategy for the campaign and proceed with its implementation. It should have broad reach and potential for significant impact with constituency groups and decision makers. Personal engagement will be a component within the campaign to enhance effectiveness. After the removal of several hundreds of millions of dollars in PSE funding by the provincial government in the last 3 -4 years, restoration of funding in PSE is vital for its viability in Alberta.

Priority 2. 

-Engage PSE institutions, constituencies, government, and raise public awareness to minimize harmful effects of provincial government legislation and policies on PSE. This includes Bill 18 (The Provincial Priorities Act) and policies related to the Alberta 2030 report (Building Skills for Jobs). The Provincial Priorities Act has the potential to be an existential threat to academic freedom of faculty members, through political interference and introduction of partisan bias via the new power from the Act, to selectively deny federally awarded competitive grants to individual researchers at Alberta institutions. Policies arising from Alberta 2030 are distorting fundamental educational purposes of PSE institutions to suit the needs of a few business leaders who want to replace specific and narrow in-house training in their companies with imposition of such training responsibilities onto PSE institutions. 

-Educate government and the public against bills and policies in the pre-promulgation phase that have potential or real negative impacts on PSE. 

Priority 3. 

Influence rational expansion of student populations in Alberta PSE institutions through engagement with government, political parties and the public. Demographics dictate an expansion of student populations at Alberta PSE institutions over the coming years, but this must be accompanied by implementation of measures that will preserve and enhance student experience and the working conditions of faculty and staff.