Turning the Page: KFA Presents Budget Priorities to Provincial Government Committee

On September 17, the KFA presented to the provincial government’s Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services on how and why to prioritize post-secondary education in the 2019 budget. Our presentation was based on a submitted document prepared in part by the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC (FPSE), which highlighted key province-wide issues such as:

• the need for a sustainable post-secondary funding model—one that includes tuition coverage for all developmental programs, and is not over-reliant on tuition fees, especially from international students;
• a strategic approach to internationalization that prioritizes student experience and success rather than financial gains;
• an emphasis on affordability for all students;
• the negative impact of increases in precarious, low-wage academic contract work;
• the imperative of financially supporting efforts of decolonization and answering TRC calls to action;
• the need for ongoing broad consultation between government and post-secondary stakeholder groups.

This written submission was augmented by a conversation with committee members about KPU’s specific challenges and opportunities, which included questions from Green Party and BC Liberal members of the SSC Finance and Government Services Committee. Click here if you’re interested in reading the document submitted, or here for the transcript of our verbal presentation and follow-up discussion. Thanks to President Bob Davis and Secretary-Treasurer Suzanne Pearce for speaking up on behalf of Kwantlen faculty members!