9/29/2009
The recession and Ontario universities
A new OCUFA research report -
Postsecondary Education in Ontario and the Recession - confirms what a lot of us have suspected:
the recession has meant bad news for universities. The collapse of asset values has hurt university endowment revenue and dramatically increased the cost of funding pension plans. It is also now more expensive to borrow money for necessary capital projects. Worst of all, a summer of record student unemployment means many will struggle to pay for Ontario's high (and rising!) tuition.
In effect, the recession has revealed the cracks at the heart of Ontario's university funding model. Chronic under-funding has forced institutions to turn to private sources of revenue such as endowment funds and student fees. In turn, this increases their exposure to negative market outcomes. So when the economy goes south, our institutions - and our students - suffer.
The foundation for university vulnerability to economic downturns was laid in the mid-1990s when university funding was dramatically cut and universities were turned loose to speculate in the stock market and shift the cost of quality education onto students. It was a short-sighted policy, and unfortunately the chickens have now come home to roost.
But we can fix it. With a $1.1 billion increase to yearly operating funds, recessionary damage can be healed and educational quality ensured. Moreover, students will no longer be forced to shoulder an unfair proportion of the cost of higher education.
Please,
help us tell Premier McGuity to increase operating funds for our universities. The mistakes of the past need not disrupt the present and compromise our future.