reduction in ‘been ~The surgery of academic offerings Classes axed to cut costs Vancouver CUP - British Columbia’s colleges and uni- versities say they’ve found alternatives to what Simon Fraser University finance di- ~ rector calls the ‘‘surgery of _ academic offerings’ ", but the price is steep. This summer at the Uni- -. versity of British Columbia, twelve tenured professors were fired and_ scores | of non-tenured professors were laid off when UBC eliminated their programs. The programs cut included Recreation, Education and Communications Media and Technology. Acting vice president a- cademic Daniel Birch esti- mates the university saved $6.5 million by reducing the payroll. Jim Banham, UBC communications officer said the university has been en- couraging faculty to retire early and imposed a hiring freeze to reduce the payroll for months. The university was allocat- ed two per cent less funding this year and five per cent last year. “Students have felt the significant ways,’’ said Banham. Tuition jumped 10 per cent this year and 33 per cent last to about $1200 a year. - Banham said he couldn’t estimate how many course sections have been cut be- cause of the ‘‘enormous com- plications’’ involved. He added that the general trend has been to increase class sizes rather than cut sections. At Simon Fraser Univers- ity, tuition jumped ten per cent for Canadian students and 200 per cent for foreign students. Last year SFU raised tuition _ 27 per cent. Ernie Scott, director of finance at SFU said the uni- versity is managing mainly because it now has a deficit of $1.8 million. SFU has also cut the Centre Of Fine Arts by one third, a cut many students consider surgical. The cut saved SFU $400,000. The total grant re- duction for SFU is $3.2 mil- ' lion or five per cent of the total operating grant. SFU also took a hard line with staff and faculty salary negotiations. The Board of Governors imposed a_ salary freeze on faculty this year, and 17 full-time faculty lost their jobs. According to Scott, 160 full-time faculty have laid off since 1982. Support staff do not expect any gains although negoti- ations have not concluded. University-of Victoria plan- ned its budget expecting a significant reduction in en- rolment. When student fig- ures remained constant, the Board of Governors post- poned submitting a budget. The faculty president said that though a salary freeze is in the air, cost saving has been through attrition of faculty. Many professors, in- cluding Ernie Chang, the Dean of the new engineering program, have left UVic for more profitable jobs. Some of the positions have not been filled.. During the summer eight faculty members ac- cepted early retirement and none have been replaced. The colleges have been ~ dealing with cutbacks for two years longer than the univers- ities and have less autonomy when deciding where to cut costs. At Capilano College, Di- rector of Planning Alan Smith said the grant has been steadily dropping since 1982 - 1983, and over $1 million has been lopped off in that time. “Out of a $12 million bud- get, that’s pretty significant,’’ he said. Smith said the college will manage again this year with- out reducing the number of sections offered, by increas- ing the faculty workload. “That saved us $800,000,’’ said Smith. As well class sizes went up Students fight Vancouver CUP - Foreign students and teaching assis- tants on work visas in British Columbia have asked the courts to force B.C.’s health ministry to give them medical _coverage. The ministry announced . Aug. 1 that the students and T.A.s would no- longer get medicare. “We're arguing that this, new policy contravenes the Medical Services Act,’’ said Lisa Price, organizer for the Association of University and College Employees, the union representing the teach- ing assistants. The Medical Services Act says that medical coverage must be available to all resi- dents of the province. It defines resident as anyone who has lived in the province for 12 months. ‘‘It doesn’t mention citizenship at all,’’ said Price. ‘To simply change the rules without amending the legislation we-~think is ° il- legal,’’ she said. Carlos Schrezor, a UBC visa student, said the government is being inconsis- tent when it defines resi- dency. He said he is consider- ed a resident when he pays taxes but when he applies for medical coverage he is not a resident. Price added the policy may also contravene the Canada Health Act. In the act, pro- vinces get transfer payments on condition that they extend medical coverage. to all resi- dents. “If the court agrees this policy is illegal under the Canada Health Act then there is nothing the province can do about it,’’ Price said. The court date has been set for Sept. 19. Until this sum- mer, visa students qualified for coverage after they had spent a year in B.C. using an expensive private plan. Visa students must have medical coverage before they can. register for university. After the Aug. 1 cut, Health Minis- a Or sad CL oct and tuition rose 7.5 per cent. Last year tuition rose by 10 per cent. The college also reduced library services. ‘‘Some- thing’s got to give,’ Smith said. ‘‘We could have banged up tuition 12 - 15 per cent but we didn’t want to do that. We are trying not to ride the whole thing out on the backs of students.’’ The colleges are tied to a funding formula based on how many full-time students are enrolled. If they cut sec- tions or_raise tuition too high, enrollment will drop and so will the grant. Cam Avery, communi- cations director of Vancouver Community College said they have spread the reductions throughout the college. ‘“We just keep squeezing,’’ he said. The college has imposed various incidental fees like a $3 per credit materials fee and $1 per course activity fee. Tami Roberts, Student Society staff member said tuition has gone up 130 per cent for university transfer students in the last year at VCC, ‘Roberts added that there has been a significant drop in offerings since 1983. Last year the faculty at the Langara campus of VCC took a pay cut to aviod layoffs. or Medicare ter Jim Nielsen extended coverage until October 31 to give visa holders time to arrange private coverage. UBC student Schrezor’s wife is eight months preg- nant. Her baby may not be born until after Schrezor’s coverage expires but she can’t get private coverage because private firms will not Come On Up to carry people with pre-existing conditions. However, according to Terry Moran,: at the Health Ministry, coverage would be extended for Schrezor ‘‘until the termination of pregnancy and would cover check-ups and so forth’’. because of the difficulty of getting private coverage. The Keg at the Station Monday * Monday Night Football «x e Big Screen e Special New York Steak Sandwich ¢ Unmentionable, unedibles Tuesday * Tuesday i is for Students * e Specials on lunch, snacks, etc. e Evening - live entertainment 800 COLUMBIA ST. NEW WESTMINSTER 524-1381 - team trivia See You There!!