April 15, 2016

The provincial budget, announced yesterday, is good news for Medicine Hat College according to Wayne Resch, vice-president, administration & finance.

“It’s clear that the government believes in the value of education, and we’re very pleased to see follow through on previous commitments to a two-percent increase in our base grant,” said Resch. “This will certainly help us meet the needs of our students, and provides a good base for our future planning.”

The budget supports affordability and accessibility for students by continuing the freeze on tuition fees established in last year’s provincial budget.

Resch said, “We’re here for students and we certainly hope this helps people access the programs they need.” He explained that the two percent budget increase translates to about $600,000. Conversely, the tuition freeze reduces potential revenue by about $100,000.

The institution’s expenditures in this fiscal year are planned to be $56,507,850.

Resch notes that the college now has the information needed to complete the budget process. Managers had previously submitted and presented proposals to the budget committee. “The provincial budget was the missing piece; we’re now able to refine the budget requests to focus on priorities for the coming year.”

MHC’s draft budget for fiscal 2016-2017 will be presented to the Board of Governors on May 17.