Concordia disappointed by decrease in government funding
Yesterday, the Government of Quebec announced significant cuts to university funding for the current fiscal year. Like all Quebec universities, we were surprised and disappointed by this decision given that public funding of the university network is to be discussed at an upcoming summit on higher education.
While we have not received details on the extent or impact of this decision, we know they will result in significant reductions in Concordia’s operating grant from the government. We estimate that the loss in funding is approximately $11.5 million. As well, the government has indicated it intends to compensate universities for some of the loss in revenues related to the cancellation of the tuition fee increase. We estimate this compensation at approximately $3 million for Concordia.
The university has been fiscally responsible within an extremely challenging context and has had to revise its budget four times this year.
We remain committed to innovation and excellence in education and to preparing our students to succeed.
We will work diligently and thoughtfully in preparing our plan to address the funding cuts. In January, the university will begin a series of conversations on our budget challenges.
I will keep you informed of developments, as they become available, through the News and Events section on Concordia’s website, the NOW e-newsletter and MyConcordia portal landing pages.
If you have comments or questions, please share them with me at president@concordia.ca.
Alan Shepard
President
president@concordia.ca