Each year, the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services submits a report to the legislative assembly following its public provincial budget consultation.
This year, CUFA BC’s President presented alongside representatives from Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC (FPSE), Camosun College Faculty Association, and Vancouver Community College Faculty Association. We also provided a formal written submission.
Our recommendations for the budget consultation focused on the role of public universities in driving economic recovery, cultural and social innovation, and green transformation.
In the Committee’s final report, three of the recommendations pertaining to advanced education reflect those made in our submission:
- Online Learning and Digital Infrastructure, Recommendation 11: Provide sufficient support to post-secondary institutions for teaching and learning tools, infrastructure and technology, and training to facilitate professional development for the online delivery of courses.
- Operational Funding, Recommendation 12: Explore mechanisms, such as allowing the use of accumulated surpluses, to provide post-secondary institutions with short-term flexibility to navigate the financial impacts of the pandemic.
- Tuition Fees and Financial Assistance, Recommendations 15: Provide a multi-year extension to the BC Graduate Scholarship and expand its eligibility to graduate students in non-STEM disciplines.
Download the PDF to read our recommendations, a summary of other opinions provided in the consultation, and an analysis of the Committee’s final report.
You can also view our past report on the 2020 provincial budget.
“The single greatest focus throughout the consultation process was the massive and complex disruption of post-secondary education due to COVID-19.”
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