President George addresses need for more government funding

McMaster Daily News
January 30, 2007

President Peter George made a presentation to the province's Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs in Hamilton yesterday as part of the committee's 2007 pre-budget consultations. He was commenting on the need for more government funding for undergraduate students, reform of the university funding formula and deferred maintenance costs.


"The application numbers show that more and more people want to attend university and an increasing number of students are choosing McMaster," said President George. "The government has been very successful at increasing application numbers, but it's not providing the funding for all of those students. It's putting McMaster and many other universities in an increasingly difficult financial position. The quality of university education and the province's future prosperity are at stake and I wanted the Standing Committee to have a very clear picture of the problem and what steps need to be taken to find long term solutions."


Ontario universities are grappling with an influx of 14,000 students in 2006/07 who are not being funded by the government. President George said the enrolment increase has resulted in a $100 million funding shortfall in 2006/07 and that will only increase in subsequent years.


Please click here to read President George's presentation to the committee.