Medicine Hat College

By Logan Stein

Budget Cuts

Medicine Hat College facing $540,000 in cuts

Mar 2, 2020 | 4:09 PM

MEDICINE HAT – Medicine Hat College is one of many post secondary institutions around the province that are feeling the pinch of the provincial cut to education.

The cuts made by the United Conservative Party, which averaged 5.1 per cent across all 26 institutions in Alberta, were equal to $117.6 million in total funding that was eliminated.

Medicine Hat College is bracing for these cuts. As they will experience their Campus Alberta Grant, which is a sum of money that is based off performance based funding, reduced by 1.7 percent. Which is equivalent to $540,000 in funding that they will no longer be receiving.

President and CEO of Medicine Hat College, Kevin Shufflebotham, said that they are in the early stages of discussing their options, and that there is currently no word as to how many positions could be eliminated at the college, but that positions will definitely be impacted by the loss of funding.

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” If we focus our decisions on our new strategic plan, and minimize our impact on students, that’s how we will achieve these targets. “

Shufflebotham gave insight into the college’s ten year plan. Which is focused on the college spending their resources differently, in relation to aligning the college more with the region in terms of what programs will receive more attention.

“A part of the government’s conversation with us around the budget cuts is that we had to minimize impact on students. The other advantage is that we have a newly approved strategic plan, so if we focus our decisions on our new strategic plan, and minimize our impact on students, that’s how we will achieve these targets.” said Shufflebotham.

Shufflebotham is working with college leaders to develop a plan that will work with the governments funding decisions, while sustaining the college over the following years.

Medicine Hat College has over 6,000 students enrolled annually.