BY KEITH LACEY
Cambrian CollegeÂ?s president joined college leaders across the province this week stating OntarioÂ?s college system is chronically under-funded and needs a dramatic infusion of government cash to survive.
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Sylvia Barnard, who was named CambrianÂ?s president last August, warned students, communities and OntarioÂ?s economy are at risk if OntarioÂ?s 24 colleges donÂ?t get a significant influx of operating capital from the province.
Â?Over the last 10 years, weÂ?ve fallen further and further back because we havenÂ?t got the government funding we need,Â? said Barnard.
The government bases educational funding on a per student basis, but the funding for the college system falls dramatically short compared to the funding formula that currently exists for secondary school and university funding, said Barnard.
The funding formula that exists is $6,800 for university students, $6,700 for secondary school students, but only $4,300 for college students.
The Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario (ACAATO) is demanding that formula increase to $5,700 per college student.
Â?WeÂ?re asking the increase be for $4,300 per student to $5,700 per student across the board,Â? said Barnard.
This is still far less than for university and high school students, but would allow colleges to handle extra students, purchase necessary equipment and technology and hire quality staff, said Barnard.
Â?Ontario colleges have the lowest direct financial support per student in Canada.Â?
Over the last 10 years, college enrolments have risen by 34 per cent, while operating funds have decreased by 42 per cent in per-student terms, she said.
Ontario has the lowest per-student funding support of any province in Canada and this must change, she said.
A big problem is OntarioÂ?s college have successfully garnered relationships with industry and business to support programs and purchase equipment, but this reliance on partnerships outside the system has a breaking point and itÂ?s time for the government to do its fair share, said Barnard.
Cambrian has an operating budget of $690,000 for the current fiscal year and overall budget shortfall of $2 million, said Barnard.
The ACAATO and Cambrian are asking the government to contribute $120 million in the next budget to be split among OntarioÂ?s colleges and ensure adequate funding increases every year, she said.
If the government doesnÂ?t listen, many programs will have to be cut and likely staff would have to be eliminated, said Barnard.
Â?We will be faced with having to make some very tough decisions,Â? she said.
A government report two years ago studying post-secondary education in Ontario clearly indicated the college system Â?was phenomenally efficientÂ? and produced graduates ready to head out into the workforce, said Barnard.
The same report didnÂ?t have the same good things to say about the university system and college administrators canÂ?t understand the chronic lack of funding, she said.
Colleges need the additional funding to improve the quality of programs, boost student retention, expand programs to meet the needs of employers, address the shortage of skilled workers and pay for and recruit top-notch qualified teachers, said Barnard.
Despite dramatic enrolment growth, increased operational costs and need to invest in new technology, the current total operating grant for Ontario colleges is $762 million. The 1995 level was $809 million, said Barnard.
Enrolment has increased by 34 per cent in the past three years, but funding has dropped by five per cent.
There has also been no consideration for employment, declining infrastructure on school campuses or fact student tuition has been frozen at two per cent annually over several years, she said.
Funding for skills development, particularly the training of apprentices, has dropped by nearly 50 per cent in the past decade and thereÂ?s been almost no funding for academic equipment and technology improvements in that same period, she said.
Â?Roofs and heating systems goÂ?weÂ?re left with deciding between programs and taking money out to pay for these kind of things,Â? she said.
Deferred maintenance costs have added up to in excess of $600 million, she said.
ItÂ?s estimated another 7,100 new teachers will have to be hired by 2006 to replace retiring staff and accommodate new enrolment.
Between 1995 and 1998, nine of 10 provinces and 43 of 50 American states increased funding for colleges. Ontario was the only province in Canada that didnÂ?t, said Barnard.
The government has been very generous in providing SuperBuild funding to construct buildings on college campuses, but almost all of them are left empty as thereÂ?s been no funding for equipment, technology or staff, she said.
CambrianÂ?s enrolment is now at 4,000 students and the college expects it to grow by 300 with the double cohort coming on next fall.
Any funding announcement should take into consideration college enrolment is growing and will continue to grow over many years, she said.
Â?The solution is quite evidentÂ?we need extra funding,Â? said Barnard.
She remains confident the Eves government will have good news for colleges and students in the upcoming spring budget.
