Post-secondary spending in the Alberta budget

The Alberta government, experiencing the province’s first recessionary period since 1986, released its proposed 2009-10 budget yesterday. The significant developments in post-secondary education spending include the following:

• A six per cent operating grant increase for colleges and universities.
• Tuition increases to be capped at the rate of inflation for the fourth consecutive year.
• Spending on post-secondary infrastructure in 2009-10 and 2010-11 projected to be only about half of the amount invested in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

The Calgary Herald points out the following with regard to the downward direction of post-secondary infrastructure funding:

The province’s halt in the pace of post-secondary infrastructure stands in sharp contrast to the federal government’s recession-time stimulus injection of $2.75 billion for building upgrades and research innovation. Ontario, meanwhile, pledged $4 billion over two years for college and university projects.