Budget decrease to affect Lethbridge College community

Lethbridge College is preparing for a budget reduction of $2.5 million after the Alberta Government released its news budget.

Students will be affected by this as the government also removed the freeze on tuition. The removal means students are no longer protected and the price of tuition will likely increase for the 2020-2021 academic year. The budget also includes the increase of a student tax credit and an increase in interest for student loans.  Paula Burns, president and CEO of Lethbridge College, wants too help make school funding easier for students.

“What we want to do is make sure that education is accessible and affordable for all students,” Burns said.

The CEO said she understands why students may be concerned about the tuition being increased. Burns added the college does not have to follow through with the increase, as it is not required that the college does so.

Tyler Sarazin, a second-year general studies student at Lethbridge College, believes the potential rise of tuition can be a hassle for students.

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“I feel like as a student, my highest priority is being able to afford more post-secondary education to get to the career that I’ve chosen. And yeah, with raising tuition and everything down to getting a student loan is going to be harder. So, it’s just not good for any student whatsoever,” Sarazin said.

He added the college should not be blamed for tuition increases. He says people should direct their energy at the government because of the decision to unfreeze tuition costs. Sarazin said this might also force students to get jobs because more student loans will be going towards their tuition.

The budget is determined by what is required to operate all aspects of the college.  Burns said the college is already focused on increasing enrolment and retention rates as part of their Forward Together campaign. Other initiatives in the campaign include increasing revenues through corporate and continuing education and developing entrepreneurial business approaches throughout the college, with hopes to have a balanced budget by June 2020.

Burns said the college wants to maintain quality programs. She believes the budget cuts will not affect any programs in particular, as the college will look into the demands for all programs. Burns adds the college is prepared for the upcoming budget cuts.

“We’ve been doing this work over the last four or five years and particularly over the last two to make sure that we’re sustainable no matter what the government funding tends to be. So, we’re in good shape for it. I don’t think you’ll see any one program area hit,” Burns said.

The college’s president says that budget cut will not affect the college immediately. She believes the budget release gives the college a clear path as they try to find what is needed to be done to have a balanced budget going into the 2020-2021 school year.

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Authors

Michael Kaake is a second-year Digital Communications and Media program at Lethbridge College. He is from Calgary and wants to be a writer under the Calgary Flames umbrella.

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