U of S slashes budget to cope with funding cuts

The University of Saskatchewan has crunched their numbers in the wake of the provincial budget, and some departments are going to have to find big savings.
 
Nearly every academic division of the university saw a reduction in their funding after the U of S saw a 5.6 percent cut in funding from the province.
 
The hardest-hit departments are agriculture-bioresources and engineering, which each has $1.8 million less to work with for the 2017-18 budget year.
 
That translates to an 11 percent hit for agriculture and bioresources and a 9.6 percent cut for engineering.
 
“It certainly isn’t a judgment of the value of the colleges,” Michael Atkinson, provost, and vice-president academic at the U of S said. “We value all of our colleges and schools… we went about this in a very systematic way.”
 
He noted while the departments have a strong history and education value, they also have some of the highest expenses at the university.
 
“We didn’t do it in a seat-of-the-pants gut instinct way. We used a lot of data,” he said.
 
On average, departments saw a five per cent reduction in their funding.
 
But Atkinson noted the cuts are a “one-time” thing and they don’t expect them to continue for several years.
 
“We’ll be able to rebuild these colleges,” he said. “And I know they’re already looking at how to control their own cost structures.”
 
The provost added the reductions could have been larger if the university hadn’t received a warning from the province during their fall budget process.
 
He said the U of S created funding models based on several scenarios, the worst-case being a five per cent cut.
 
Ultimately the university budgeted for a 2.6 percent reduction, requiring them to add another three percent in budget cuts after the provincial numbers became concrete on March 22.
 
Some departments escaped unharmed from the budget cuts. The school of environment and sustainability, school of public health and JSG school of public policy all had no changes to their funding levels.
 
The Western College of Veterinary Medicine saw their budget boosted by $600,000.
 
STAFF CUTS POSSIBLE
 
Atkinson noted the bulk of the university’s budget is made up of labour costs, meaning some staff could end up being let go.
 
“It’s very likely that’ll happen,” he said. “But our intention is not to rush to layoffs.”
 
Attrition would take care of some of the budget reductions, while programs could be put in place to make it more enticing for some staff members to leave, he said.
 
Atkinson said more details would become available in coming months as the university adjusts to the new budget structure.
 
“It’s a new reality.”