Suivre CREPUQ
Visiter Universites-Avenir.ca
Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec
Opinion piece: Educating the next generation of quebecers requires adequate funding for our universities
Since at least 2002, Quebec universities have been underfunded compared to universities elsewhere in Canada with regard to their operating budgets, which primarily govern teaching activities. Studies by the joint committee created by the Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities (CREPUQ) and the Ministry of Education have estimated the underfunding to be in the vicinity of $375 million each year. A 2010 update found that Quebec universities were actually underfunded by $620 million in 2007-2008, despite reinvestment by the provincial government.
This means that for the 2007-2008 academic year alone, our universities had $620 million less than the average Canadian university to hire teachers and support staff; provide pedagogical and advisory services to students; maintain library collections, technological equipment and laboratory instruments; and to meet other urgent needs.
The reality of university underfunding has been acknowledged by a majority of concerned groups, including the Parliamentary Committee on Education in 2004, 2007 and 2011, and student associations in 2010.
Reinvesting in faculty and student advisory services
Professors are at the heart of the university. Professors teach, conduct research, develop pedagogical methods, advise and supervise students, and provide a variety of additional teaching and support services to help their students succeed. Over the last 15 years, the student-teacher ratio has continued to increase. This trend must be reversed and more professors must be hired.
More support staff are also needed to provide the services so essential to university operations and to ensure the smooth unfolding of daily student life with regard to laboratories, libraries, IT services, registrar services, secretariat services, student services, etc.
Physical upgrades and maintenance
Our universities must also provide a stimulating environment for both students and faculty. That means investing in information technology, teaching-related research facilities, and libraries.
Rigorous, carefully monitored university management
Our universities are governed by boards of directors, senates and academic program committees that act with the utmost professionalism and in the best interests of Quebec society. Students, faculty and the various socio-economic milieus are all represented on these governing bodies.
They are managed stringently and operate in accordance with a host of legal and regulatory requirements, and accountability is a key concern. While there is always room for improvement and the universities are ever prepared to make the necessary effort, it is utopian to believe that better management alone can compensate for inadequate funding.
As for capital projects for infrastructure, these are meeting a specific need. The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students in Quebec has increased by 30.6% or nearly 50,000 in ten years, and continues to climb.
The issue of access
Our universities want a higher education to be available to anyone with the ability to pursue one, regardless of socio-economic background. This is a fundamental guiding principle.
Thus, in addition to student financial assistance programs provided by the government, our institutions and their foundations offer scholarships, emergency financial aid, on-campus employment and even, in some institutions, a guaranteed minimum income for graduate and post-graduate students. The combined annual value of these measures is half a billion dollars.
The universities and CREPUQ will be closely monitoring any changes in university participation in order to ensure that access to education is maintained. If necessary, additional financial assistance measures for students will be proposed.
What will the university of the future look like?
Quebec’s social and economic development flows from vibrant universities, the excellent education they provide, the dynamic research conducted by them, and the strength and relevance of the ties they develop with both their local communities and their counterparts around the world.
Current debates should not distract us from what is truly at stake. For far too long, the financial position of our universities has become increasingly precarious and the signs of their growing financial fragility cannot be ignored.
More than ever, the question of adequate financing for Quebec’s universities is both critical and urgent.
Luce Samoisette
Chair of the Board of Directors, CREPUQ
Rector, Université de Sherbrooke
Daniel Zizian
President and Director General of CREPUQ