All University departments are being forced to tighten their belts following four per cent budget cuts across the board. These cuts were necessary because of higher than normal wage, salary and pension increases and insufficient government funding, said Vice-Principal (Operations and Finance) Andrew Simpson. They caused the mechanical engineering department to cut six of its courses. Now students—many of them entering their final year—are left baffled by the suddenness of their current situation. Some are unsure they will graduate on time, or worry they won’t have the requirements they need when they enter the workforce.
The University says its actions were necessary becuase of unusually high wage, salary and pension increases coupled with insufficient government funding. Because Queen’s can’t run a deficit, the argument goes, the four per cent cuts had to be made.
Although it’s not the University’s fault they received less money than expected, it could and should have been planned for.
The University seems to have been caught off-guard and its makeshift response leaves students bearing the brunt of the circumstances, even as they pay higher tuition.
The disordered approach to compensating for the potential deficit meant all departments were affected. A more pragmatic process could have seen well-endowed departments receiving smaller cheques instead. At the very least, those affected by the cuts should have been told about them much sooner—a few days before classes begin can hardly be considered sufficient notice.
Queen’s touts its high-quality education and facilities to some of the top students in the country, and yet students—ostensibly the University’s major stakeholders—were left high and dry. As the University seeks to boast renowned researchers and professors as part of its faculty, it has mixed up its priorities.
It seems funds for undergraduate education are being spread thinner each year. Even though Vice-Principal (Academic) Patrick Deane is consulting all faculty deans regarding how to absorb the cuts, the last-minute cut courses and overflowing seminars indicate the University needs to determine a more efficient and effective way to distribute funds.
Budget cuts are often a necessary evil, but there’s a right and a wrong way to make them. Luckily for Queen’s students, it doesn’t take an upper-year seminar to figure out which this was.
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