The Alberta government is reviewing post-secondary funding after cuts to international student permits

The Alberta government has tapped economist Jack Mintz to chair a panel to examine post-secondary financing in Alberta.

The panel will also look at higher education financing models in Canada and around the world.

Advanced Education Minister Rajan Sawhney says the panel’s creation comes after the federal government introduced stricter restrictions by limiting the number of international student permits.

“The landscape has changed. We have seen federal policies around international students that will impact the revenue that post-secondary students will receive,” Sawhney told CBC on Thursday.

“So the timing is right to do this review because we want to make sure that postsecondary education is properly funded, and they have done a lot of the heavy lifting in the past in terms of reducing these operating subsidies. So it’s time to understand what other jurisdictions are doing and how they can be more competitive.”

New, stricter restrictions on international students at Canadian universities and colleges are worrying industry watchers, who warn that continued uncertainty over post-secondary education could damage Canada’s reputation as an attractive place to study and live.

Canada’s post-secondary sector was already adjusting to a reduction in international study permits and other measures announced in January when Immigration Minister Marc Miller further tightened the cap in mid-September.

He reduced the intake by another 10 percent over the next two years (437,000 will be admitted), and now includes graduate and doctoral students, who were previously exempt. He also added enhanced access to the postgraduate work permit program.

In 2020, a review of Alberta’s post-secondary education system was conducted to look at the viability of schools, eliminate duplication and make recommendations on how to better prepare students for careers.

The Alberta government has awarded a $3.7 million contract to US consultancy McKinsey & Company to delve into the province’s network of 26 institutions. The company has an office in Calgary.

One of the company’s many recommendations as they concluded their 2021 report was the creation of new boards to oversee multiple universities, colleges or polytechnics in the province.

That should have been the McKinsey review the deepest dive in Alberta’s post-secondary system in, at the time, 13 years.

NDP education critic David Eggen says the time for reviews is over.

“Basic funding for post-secondary education is at an all-time low relative to the economy, and the last post-secondary budget was essentially flat, and that was at 6.7 percent inflation and so on,” Eggen told reporters on Thursday.

“I’ve never seen post-secondary education in such a tight situation, students are literally unable to complete a full degree. A lot of people have to drop out, and (with) the inflation… the cost of livelihood only worsens the situation. So it is an emergency that requires action, not another reflective study.”

The provincial government says its 2024 budget has invested in job training and an estimated $1.4 billion in student support, as well as an increase in operating cost funding for post-secondary institutions.