Posted on March 28: Ontario budget addresses needs of the double cohort

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BY Shelly Easton

March 28, 2003

The needs of double cohort students looking to enter university in Ontario this fall will be met by provincial support announced in the March 27 budget.

“The budget is a further indication of the government's commitment to supporting students who wish to attend university and its understanding of the importance of maintaining a quality educational experience on Ontario campuses,” says McMaster President Peter George.

“Operating dollars to fund the anticipated increased enrolment, a new program to help universities raise new dollars for bursaries and scholarships, faculty recruitment and research create a package of support that will help universities like McMaster continue to offer the best possible quality of experience for our students.”

George says McMaster is also eagerly awaiting a detailed announcement from Queen's Park for SuperBuild funding for state-of-the-art classrooms in McMaster's new Centre for Learning & Discovery that is currently under construction and will be ready for students in September 2004.

The budget called for:

  • the creation of a Quality Assurance Fund for universities that would provide $75 million in 2003-04 and rise each year to reach $200 million in 2006-07

  • an increase in the multi-year operating grant commitment to the postsecondary sector by an additional $75 million, bringing the total to $443 million more in 2003-04 than in 2000-01

  • $400 million to support phase 2 of the Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund

  • a $1 billion investment over 10 years to set up a new Cancer Research Institute of Ontario; Bette Stephenson, chair of the Ontario Innovation Trust and Cal Stiller, chair of the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund will co-ordinate this effort to expand research capability

  • $20 million over five years to establish a new Centre of Excellence for Electricity and Alternative Energy Technology, bringing together several universities, including McMaster; the centre will cost-share five chairs in applied energy technology.

President George says in announcing the new Cancer Research Institute of Ontario with funding of $1 billion over 10 years, the government is
taking a bold new initiative to make Ontario a world leader in cancer
research. “McMaster researchers will undoubtedly play a key role in the development of the institute's research program,” he says.

Quality facilities, teaching, programs and libraries are all important components of the university experience and the announced Quality Assurance Fund will go a long way to helping universities like McMaster ensure students have access to an environment of excellence.

A recent EKOS survey completed for the Council of Ontario Universities found that although people were concerned about access to university, particularly during the double cohort years, that maintaining quality education was their first priority.

“McMaster is committed to providing a quality experience and it is reassuring to know that in the face of competing priorities that the government has chosen to focus resources on postsecondary education,” says President George. “It is a wise investment in Ontario's future.”