Cash crunch coming

By Emma Marshall

mars0203@algonquincollege.com

Algonquin’s funding projections were dealt a devastating blow at the Mar. 9 Board of Governors meeting, where it was announced that the college will soon face severe budget cuts.

“I think you can all appreciate that at this time of the year, it’s about money,” said president Bob Gillett, who went on to explain that he received the news in a surprise letter from the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

This announcement secured the widespread fear that Algonquin will receive no new funding for the 2010-2011 semesters. It also prompted a tentative discussion about future program cuts.

“We’ll have to go back and re-examine how we’ll deal with these kinds of numbers, maintain fiscal health, and serve the community all at once,” said Gillett. “It’s going to be very questionable now how to plan for growth when the money we were initially promised has disappeared.”

Not to be daunted, the board discussed a number of possible tactics that could be used to counteract the loss. Among them was the increasingly popular move to night, weekend and summer classes.

Yet even this suggestion was met with newfound skepticism.

“I expect that before long the government will step in and say that virtual classrooms, weekends, etcetera must be mandated before any capital is injected into them,” said board chair James Robblee.

While other colleges throughout the province have found themselves in similar financial situations, Algonquin’s position is made additionally stressful because of one unique quality.

“We are the poorest-funded college from a grant perspective and we also have the lowest tuition fees,” said Gillett.

The board is set to discuss how best to react to the cuts at their Apr. 13 budget meeting.