By Dale Bass – Kamloops This Week
Thompson Rivers University ranks 16th of 25 post-secondary institutions when it comes to funding from the provincial government — and its students’ union wants to change that.
Cole Hickson, TRU Students’ Union vice-president external, and Leif Douglass, the group’s campaign co-ordinator, are taking that message to businesses, organizations and municipal politicians as part of the Fund the Future initiative.
READ MORE: Students tell Clearwater town council about underfunding (Nov. 20, 2017)
After presenting to the select standing committee on finance and government services, its members agreed they would be recommending a full review of post-secondary funding formulas in the province.
Hickson said the way the government funds students means TRU received about $1,500 less per student than the provincial average of just over $9,000 per student. In the past five years, he said, TRU has been underfunded by about $80 million.
The government decides on the amount of funding through a formula that involves first setting a target of full-time equivalent (FTE) students at each institution — and that’s a key issue for the students’ union.
TRU is attracting and retaining more FTE students than the government expects; during the 2015-2016 school year, it was 400 over the government’s projection, but the university receives funding only for the target set by Victoria.
Only 10 of the 26 institutions have met or exceeded the government’s estimated number of FTEs.
Douglass said their issue has been easy to sell, given their 10-minute presentation includes the economic impact TRU has on the Thompson-Nicola region, one the union estimates as $5 for every $1 a student spends.
They’re asking each entity they present to for a letter of support to help promote their case to the government.
Upcoming presentations include members of the Southern Interior Local Government Association and Kamloops city council.
The presentation to the standing committee included a second recommendation it will be including in its report back to government — creation of a provincial up-front, need-based grants program for student aid.
To accomplish this, the union recommended phasing out the provincial registered education savings plan, grants, loan-remission programs and education tax credits students receive and reinvest the amount saved to create the new program.
More information, including contacts for any group wanting to hear the presentation, is online at trusu.ca.
newsroom@clearwatertimes.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter