Post-secondary students hopeful of provincial future
Posted Feb 9, 2014 4:41 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
When the Alberta’s budget comes down on March 6th, there will likely be more than a few post-secondary students paying close attention.
After roundtable discussions with Advanced Education Minister, Dave Hancock, student representatives say they are hopeful they will not be seeing budget cuts.
Representatives shared their findings from the IGNITE Alberta report, which gathered the concerns of thousands of the province’s students.
Ken Taylor, chair of the Alberta Students’ Executive Council and vice-president external with the SAIT Student’s Association, said the minister brought a fresh perspective and recognized post-secondary education is a big conversation.
“A lot of the issues are perennial issues, like tuition and funding, that sort of thing, but he was surprised to hear about the mandatory non-instructional fees, which are very important to universities, and the fact that they are not regulated and institutions can set whatever amount they want,” said Taylor.
Conner Brown, chair of the Council of Alberta University Students and vice-president external for the University of Calgary Students Union, said the dialogue with the province is also a good chance to revive the $1 billion Access to the Future Fund.
“That could be more funding for innovative projects to address mental health, to buy E-Textbooks and implement online learning materials,” Brown said.
He noted that Hancock seemed very interested in tying in advancements with elementary and high school students.
Both representatives are encouraging students to get involved in student politics and to participate in surveys and forums in order to foster changes.
