uesday September 27,1988
THE MCGILL TRIBUNE V o lu m e
Published by the Students' Society of McGill University
8 Issu e 4
U n d e r f u n d in g S o lu tio n P ro p o s e d >y S tép h a n e S t-O n ge M cG ill Administrationhas proposed i solution to university underfunding o r the 1 9 8 9-1990 academ ic year. The 58-pageplan, entitled ‘Versunfinancen e n t éq u ita b le d e s u n iv e r sité s québécoises’, outlines a two-phased proposal to finance the accumulated debts o f the Q uebec university system and to revise the current funding for mula w hich has m ade major research institutions such as M cG ill suffer heavily. The plan provides for an in jection o f $48.7 m illion to correct ‘historical base budget’ inequalities, and o f $ 5 0 m illion to place the Q uebec system closer to par w ith Ontario uni versities and create a new base for funding. Dr. Paul Davenport, V ice-P rinicipal (Planning and Computer Services), collaborated with M ichel Robillard, Director o f the U niversity Planning O ffice, in writing the report. H e b e lieves other university administrations w ill accept the proposal. “Other university administrators m ay not agree on the percentages in v olved , yet members o f CREPUQ (C onference des Recteurs et Princi paux des U niversités du Q uebec) sup
port the principles underlining the findings o f the Report,” stated D aven port. H e added that there m ay be “d is cussion about the econ om ies o f scale for other U niversities”. A decision by the M inis erofH igh er Education and S cien ce, Claude Ryan, is not expected until later this fall. “The M inister has not com m ented on the recom m endations, nor does any one expect him to do so ,” said D aven port. B efore m aking a decision , the M inister m ust "receive advice from CREPUQ and the individual univer sity adminstrators, discuss these pro posals and the M inistry’s ow n v iew s, and then table its decision ,” continued Davenport. Luc Rhéaume, Press Attaché to M in ister Ryan, stated that the M inister has read the proposal and is finalizing his position. “Each university has a sp ecific way o f seeing the problems. M cG ill w ish es to receive 50 percent o f the fund in crease,” says Rhéaume. H ow ever, M cG ill and other similar universities with strong research pro grams have been disproportionately burdoned by the present funding for m ula, and any revision m ust take this
into account. The “Green Report” suggests funding increases in teach in g, research, and support staff costs, indirect research costs financing,post graduate degrees expenses and the varying costs o f different faculty are the principles to be agreed upon. The report proposes W eighted Stu dent Units to m easure average costs o f various university programs. For ex am ple, various “c y cles” o f education are weighted at different values in order to reflect the varied costs o f separate programs. A s a result, the relative w eights are ‘ 1 ’ for undergraduate programs, ‘2’ for m aster’s degrees, and ‘3’ for doctoral program, m ulti plied by the number o f full-time equi valent students, or FTE’s , and the weights o f the four proposed disciplinary d ivi sion; peri-m edical, ‘3.2’, m edical, ‘ 3 ’, laboratory,‘ 1.5 ‘, and non-laboratory, ‘ 1 ’. M cG ill, in addition to “carrying” a disproportionate percentage o f gradu ate students, also operates large pro grams in such disciplin es as m edicine and engineering, which cost much more to run per student than arts or m anage m ent programs. In 1986, som e o f the w eights w ere m anagem ent, 0.7 8 , arts, 1.07, applied scien ce, 1.45, m edicine.
S a d ie s I I I to b r e a k e v e n
S ad ie's m open w ith a sm ile b y A n d rew G reen M cG ill’s new est tabagie, Sad ie’s III, located in the upper cam pus, has received an enthusiastic response and is “m ore than breaking even ” finan cially, according to S ad ie’s manager D aw n B on n ell. B onn ell has com piled sales figures for the tabagie, w hich has been operat ing from 11 am to 2pm in the basem ent o f C hancellor D ay H all since Septem ber 6, and she says they “bode w ell for the year.”
in,
S ad ie’s in the M cC onnell E ngi neering B uilding, is also expected to operate around the break-even point this year, and B onnell estim ates that the original Sadie’s w ill m ake perhaps as m uch as a $ 10,000profit this year at its U niversity Centre location. The addition o f the new S ad ie’s location has been part o f what B onnell d e scribed to the Tribune as “ the best back-to-school ever seen ” for the ta bagies.
Photo by B. Hapi In the past, Sad ie’s I and II have not consistentlym ade profits. L osses have been borne by the Students Society o f M cG ill U niversity, says B onn ell. This year, she hopes S ad ie’s w ill be able to make som e m oney for the Society. The new tabagie appears to have been w ell-received by students, as sales continue to im prove w ith tim e. “It’s a great idea,” com m ented S S M U V ic e President (U niversity A ffairs) M aria B attaglia. “It’s time that upper campus had a chance” to buy S ad ie’s item s easily, she told the Tribune. A former president o f the Law Students Society, Battaglia says that Law students are happy with the new service, and that it is hoped that Sad ie’s III w ill also serve students at other upper cam pus build ings, such as the Stewart B io lo g y B uilding or the M acIntyre Education Building. Sad ie’s III was installed at a cost o f less than $ 1000, and is staffed by Law Students, thus creating jo b s, according to Bonnell.
«
Plans for a third tabagie in the upper cam pus w ere considered tw o years ago, w hen Battaglia was w ith the Law Students S ociety, but at that time the costs o f installing a third Sadie’s were estim ated to be too high, at over $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 in dollars o f that year. H ow ever, recently a large room in Chancel lor D ay Hall w as sectioned into twe parts, as the larger part w as renovated to becom e a gam es room . This al low ed the installation costs to be greatly reduced to less than $ 1000. The SS M U execu tive decision to open S ad ie’s III w as not reached until late A ugust, and as aresult the tabagie is still currently operating in a m ake shift manner. B onnell says that Sadie’s III is hoping to im prove its display, variety o f goods, and accessibility. The 11 am to 2pm hours o f operation may be expanded in the future. Sad ie’s is also planning a ribbon cutting opening cerem ony for its new location in O ctober.
graphic by Kirsten Myers 1.76, and dentistry 3,17. These weights are relative, according to Davenport. “The w eights are not alw ays a good m easure. W hat w e are spending on certain programs m ight not reflect what w e ‘should’ be spending,” says D av enport. H e adds that the numbers do not determine the internal distribution o f funds within the university, but the breakdown o f funds proposed to the Ministry. Student Society V -P External Mark Cameron agrees with the findings o f the report. H e adds that the 1986 fig ures apply only to incom ing students o f that year, and the new w eights w ill apply to all students. A s w ell as teaching costs, the report proposes that the M inistry finance all indirect research costs incurred from research funded by ‘ex cellen ce’ grants from private organizations. These costs include administrative, library, opera tion, building, and equipm ent m ainte nance costs. A t present, M cG ill re c eiv es 30.3 percent o f the estim ated $92.8 m illion in indirect costs o f the Q uebec system , w hile U niversité de M ontreal receives 19.3 percent and C oncordia 4.61 percent. A s w ell, m edical research grants, o f w hich M cG ill receives 33.4 percent and U o f
M receives 17 percent, are calculated in the report. Percentage Distribution o f T each ing, Research and Total Costs
Institutions such as M cG ill suffer heavily “The greatest amount o f funds are distributed for teaching,” says D aven port. The V ice-Principal is hopeful that the M inistry w ill find the report and the new findings helpful as it tries toextricate itself from the w reckage o f an apathetic education policy. Perhaps Dr. D avenport’s and Dr. Robillard’s equitable and w ell-researched report w ill be read and digested by the bu reaucrats at the M inistry and the L ib eral G overnm ent’s sham eful neglect o f the Q uébec university system w ill com e to an end.
F a n s g ro a n as R e d m e n lo se. P a g e
10.
B e n J o h n so n a n d d ru g s. P a g e Photo by Julie-Arme Perry
11,