New Government Funding Agreement

December 7, 2004

New Government Funding Agreement

The following is a statement from President Tom Traves regarding a provincial government announcement made on Dec. 7 at Province House.

Province of Nova Scotia News Release:
Three-year Agreement Benefits University Students [PDF 68 Kb]

Full text of the Memorandum of Understanding [PDF 88Kb]

I am very pleased to inform you that the Province of Nova Scotia today announced a three year funding agreement with our universities for effect in the fiscal years 2005 through 2008. Under the agreement the Province will increase the operating grant paid to universities by 5.8% in the first year, 5.2% in the second year and 4.5% in the final year of the agreement. By the final year of the agreement, total provincial funding for all universities will rise to over $246 million from the current level of $211 million. Dalhousie will see its government operating grant increase by almost $17 million to a new total of $124,555,000 in 2007-08.

The universities have agreed that tuition increases will be limited in each of the three years to a ceiling of 3.9% for most programs. Tuition increases, therefore, will be substantially less than in past years. A small number of programs are excluded from the tuition ceiling (medicine, dentistry and law, all full-cost recovery programs and foreign student differential fees).

This is very welcome news for Dalhousie. The provincial government's commitment to fund universities at a level that reflects our real cost increases represents a major step forward in our relationship. This support is very much appreciated. We are still in conversation with the Province about desired increases in capital spending and research support for the next several years, but any arrangements on these issues will be separate from the agreement noted above.

While welcome, this news does not mean that Dalhousie has escaped its traditional financial concerns. In the past, we balanced our books with the help of small government grant improvements and large tuition increases. For the next three years we will have much larger government grants and tuition revenues will grow much more slowly. Both scenarios can produce the same amount of money, but clearly from our students' perspective, which we share, the new agreement is very welcome because it means more public support for universities and less financial burden for students. Our overall budget picture, however, will still feature the annual struggle to reconcile a host of pressing needs with limited resources. We will still have to make hard choices among many worthy objectives.

Accordingly, we will follow our standard financial processes led by the Budget Advisory Committee, which is chaired by Vice-President Sam Scully. Aided by their knowledge of future revenue prospects, the BAC will as usual construct a budget proposal recommending future tuition fee levels (within the scope of the MOU) and spending allocations. They will also recommend adjustments in fee levels for programs and fees excluded from the 3.9% ceiling. As in the past, the BAC will be expected to produce a balanced budget proposal. The result, as usual, may see some spending areas cut and others increased. Finally, as usual, the BAC will follow its normal consultative process, requesting input from the Dalhousie community to start, producing draft proposals for comment, and ultimately producing recommendations for further discussion by Senate and for final consideration by the President and the Board of Governors.

I wish to express my appreciation to several people who played a leadership role in the negotiations leading to this funding agreement. I served on the negotiating committee that developed this agreement with Dr. Colin Dodds, President of St. Mary's, and Dr. Gail Dinter-Gottlieb, President of Acadia. We were ably assisted by Peter Halpin, the Executive Director of the Association of Atlantic Universities. Bryan Mason led a group of Vice-Presidents from other universities over the summer developing agreed cost estimates in cooperation with government officials. Our student leaders, led by DSU President Curtis McGrath, also contributed to the outcome through their unrelenting pressure to secure additional government funding support for universities and students. A negotiation is always a complex process, but we enjoyed excellent cooperation from the Deputy Ministers of Education, Dennis Cochrane, Finance, Vicki Harnish, and Treasury and Policy Board, Howard Windsor, who were supported helpfully by Wayne Doggett, the Senior Executive Director of Higher Education.

Needless to say, we also applaud the willingness of Premier Hamm and his colleagues in the legislature to support our universities on a new basis. Today's events are tangible and welcome evidence that the province recognizes the need to, and benefits from investing in education generally and post-secondary education in particular.