By Katie Stobbart (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: October 29, 2014
“I hope I am not the second-last president of the University of the Fraser Valley,” Mark Evered said grimly at the 2015-16 budget update forum on October 24. It’s a hope he said he has voiced before when asked about what keeps him awake at night, what troubles him about UFV’s future.
The tone of the forum was equally grim. It was the second such event in two days, the first held at Canada Education Park (CEP) in Chilliwack the day before. On Friday, B140 in Abbotsford was packed with nearly 100 faculty and staff. The last handful to trickle in minutes before 11 a.m. sat on the floor, with little standing room left in the back.
In the front of the room, UFV’s chief financial officer Jackie Hogan and vice-provost Eric Davis shared a table facing the assembly. Evered stood dead-centre and called the room to order. The din of conversation hushed immediately.
The black cloud looming over UFV’s fiscal plans for the next year involves additional budget cuts from the provincial government. In 2013-14, $5 million were cut. In the subsequent year, $20 million. In the year to come, a further $25 million will be plucked from post-secondary pockets in BC.
Evered noted costs are increasing simultaneously, and tuition income raises are capped at two per cent. At the same time, there’s high pressure to perform.
“As our costs are going up and our income is capped, we’re also facing increased expectations from both the government and from employers in terms of what everyone else believes we should be doing with our declining resources,” Evered said.
He also explained there is more competition for universities than ever before: UFV must compete not just with Canadian institutions, but with schools around the globe, and today’s technology means anyone, anywhere, anytime can access the world’s knowledge in one’s palm. But a university offers more than just knowledge, and UFV intends to be a competitor.
“We, as a relatively new university that’s very much student-focused, [are] very well-placed to serve the needs of our students and to compete effectively in this rapidly changing world, but we can’t imagine it’s going to be business as usual.”
The budget is in its preliminary stages. Initially, the cuts meant UFV would start next year with a deficit of $1,310,000. After enrollment plans were examined, that deficit fell to $630,000. It costs about $115 million for UFV to run each year — less than half of which is funded by the provincial government, according to Evered. Students pay for about a quarter of their education, and UFV makes up for the remaining quarter by other means.
After Hogan went through the preliminary budget and environmental scan (examining the fiscal climate of next year) slide-by-slide, the floor opened for a range of questions. Does UFV need to fund sports programs? A research office? The answer was yes on both counts. What about class sizes?
That question, Hogan explained, is harder to answer, because UFV’s position on class sizes is about more than just numbers. Davis added that if every class increased in size by a single student, the university would gain about $800,000.
“The easiest way to make more money is to put more students in a class. So it’s an easy budget calculation, [but] there are other issues … you need to discuss before you change class sizes,” Davis said.
Evered admitted UFV’s model prioritizing class sizes is an expensive one, but it’s part of the institution’s character.
“You add students, you open up additional sections. That is who we are, that is what we value, and that’s why we’re working hard to protect that.”
Evered also acknowledged the belt-tightening approach to last year’s budget had its merits (the budget was balanced) but also more personal costs.
“Our goal here is to find a budget that doesn’t require that anyone lose their jobs — that’s what we’re trying to do here … And it’s not easy when you’re already cut to the bone.”
