Students and private donors are making up the bulk of the cash shortfall as governments continue to withdraw public funding from the nation's universities, new data reveals.
The Canadian Association of University Business Officers and Statistics Canada say only 55.3 per cent of revenues were obtained from public funds last year, including federal grants for sponsored research. The remainder came from student fees, private contracts and donations, sales of university services, interest income and other miscellaneous sources. In 1992, universities drew 67 per cent of all revenues from government grants and contracts.
"What we're seeing here is the creeping privatization of universities," noted CAUT president Tom Booth.
The numbers released by Statistics Canada show that in Nova Scotia and Ontario, government withdrawal from funding universities has reached the point where more than half of university revenue now comes from non-government sources (53.4 per cent and 52.8 per cent respectively).
New Brunswick comes a close third, where a sharp decrease in government grants means the universities obtain almost 47 per cent of revenues from other sources.
By contrast, Quebec universities still receive 67.5 per cent of funding from the provincial and federal governments. However, this has decreased in recent years -- from almost 73 per cent in 1992.
In the Western provinces, government funding ranged from 67 per cent to 70 per cent in 1992, falling to 56 per cent to 62 per cent by 1999.
Booth said that financial responsibility for university education is clearly falling on the shoulders of Canada's youth. Students now pay $2.5 billion in fees, representing more than 20 per cent of university revenues.
In New Brunswick, students pay 28.5 per cent, and in Ontario, they pay 25.4 per cent. In Quebec, fees have been kept low as a matter of provincial policy and reached 13 per cent in 1999
Provinces such as British Columbia and Alberta have adopted different means of making up for the loss of government funding. BC has attempted to restrain fee rises, and instead relies more heavily on private funding, sales, and other sources. In that province, 16.7 per cent of revenue comes from students, while almost 27 per cent comes from private and other sources. In Alberta, where students contribute 19.6 per cent of university revenue, about 24 per cent comes from private contracts and other sources. Reliance on private contracts and donations, however, is highest in Ontario -- 12 per cent of all revenues.
Booth added that these latest figures show that governments need to make a serious reinvestment in post-secondary education. "With the fiscal situation of both Ottawa and the provinces improving, the plea of public poverty is no longer an excuse for not adequately funding colleges and universities," he said.