Funds allocated to UOIT and Durham College indicate significant growth with an increase of students, staff and space for the coming school year.
Both post-secondary institutions will benefit from the Ontario government’s decision to invest $310 million to help increase enrolment by 62 per cent to 70 per cent.
Durham College will use the money primarily to fund the enrolment growth. Enrolment is expected to jump from 7,000 to 10,000 over the next five years.
“This is good news,” said Durham College’s chief financial officer Nevzat Gurmen. “We are grateful to the ministry.”
The government announced an additional $50 million for post-secondary education, and Durham College will receive between $1.5 million and $2 million as a year-end grant.
“It was unexpected. The funds will go towards operational spending, such as faculty salaries or computer purchases,” Gurmen said.
“It’s great to have year-end money to put towards issues of sustainability and also the financial health of the college,” said Durham College president Don Lovisa.
The current funding formula model allows for the college to receive a small portion of grant money up front and the rest at the end of the school year. The amount of funding received is based on enrolment from two years ago. It used to be three years ago.
“We’d like to see it differently. It’s getting better. If we could do it now one year and then actually fund this when the students come in, that’d be great.
The funding policies of the government is an annual discussion and every government takes a look at trying to improve the funding formulas,” said Lovisa.
For the next school year, UOIT and Durham College will hire more faculty and staff to accommodate the increase of students expected in the fall.
“Next year, we need to be really focused on creating a very good plan for continued growth of demand with the GTA and ensuring that the significant growth that we’re anticipating can be accommodated, which will mean that we have to be thinking about new programs,” said UOIT president Ronald Bordessa.
