Government & Policy
Bill 1 ‘Access to the Future Act’ Creates PSE Endowment Fund
The March 2nd Speech from the Throne presented some details of the provincial government’s proposed initiatives on post-secondary education, notably the ‘Access to the Future Act’ (Bill 1), which establishes an endowment fund of up to $3 billion from future provincial surpluses to support innovation and excellence in the post-secondary system in Alberta.
Premier Klein, who had earlier announced that, as a ‘centennial gift’ to students, the Alberta government would assume the cost of this year’s tuition increases at post-secondary institutions across the province, was again quoted as saying that ‘strengthening the post-secondary education system’ is the government’s highest priority. ‘Albertans have told us that now that the debt is gone, they want part of future surpluses directed to higher learning in the province. That’s exactly what we’re going to do,’ Mr. Klein said.
Apart from anything else, Bill 1, as tabled, is remark-able for the language of its Preamble, which echoes recent public advocacy campaigns in committing the government to ensuring ‘that all qualified and motivated Albertans have the opportunity to participate in high-quality advanced education,’ while supporting innovation ‘to enhance access, to remove financial and non-financial barriers to participation, and to make the learning experience more successful and rewarding.’
The proposed PSE endowment, to be called the ‘Access to the Future Fund,’ will be allocated from future surplus revenues ‘as considered appropriate by the Minister of Finance,’ to a maximum of $3 billion, with 4.5% of the total allocation available annually for expenditure by the Minister of Advanced Education, on the advice of an ‘Access Advisory Council’ set up under the new Act.
The purpose of the Fund, as Bill 1 makes clear, is ‘to support innovation and excellence that enhances and
expands opportunities for Albertans to participate in accessible, affordable and high-quality advanced education opportunities.’ To that end, the Fund will provide innovation seed money, as well as matching grants, intended to foster and promote quality learning and instruction, as well as the development, attraction and retention of faculty, staff and graduate students, among other initiatives.
Accessibility and affordability are highlighted in the new legislation. As previously announced, an ‘afford-ability review’ will re-visit the tuition fee policy, as part of a larger, ‘comprehensive’ consultation on access and affordability issues. The ‘Access to the Future Act’ makes specific reference to the identification and establishment of enrolment targets and minimum entrance requirements, in addition to a single-point application system for the whole system, a simplified application system for scholarships, bursaries and other financial assistance, as well as plans to increase participation in PSE of ‘disadvantaged’ individuals.
The new Act also earmarks up to $1 billion more from future unbudgeted surpluses for the Alberta Heritage Scholarship Fund, which is designed to encourage excellence by recognizing outstanding achievement. Also, over time, a further $500 million will be injected into the Alberta Heritage Science and Engineering Research Endowment.
Other post-secondary initiatives announced in the Throne Speech include: a new graduate and fellowship program, which will award about $3 million to some 300 Masters and Ph.D. students; support for develop-ment of the ‘Lois Hole Campus Alberta Digital Library,’ which will make holdings of individual PSE institutions available to all students and faculty across Alberta; and investment in new apprenticeship certification programs and apprenticeship training initiatives, particularly for aboriginal people, with a focus on areas experiencing skills shortages.
Meanwhile, it is expected that much-anticipated increases to the government’s base operating grants to PSE institutions will be announced in the provincial Budget in April.
Click here to read Bill 1 (doc).