With a recent Auditor General report finding the provincial government is not effectively funding, monitoring or holding universities accountable for billions of dollars in public funds,
STFX University VP of Finance and Administration Monica Foster said STFX does a lot of reporting to the Department of Advanced Education from the standpoint of financial analysis, especially in the last year with the Strategic Alignment plans.
Charles V. Keating Centre, St. FX University. (Ken Kingston photo)
Foster said an average of 33 per cent of university funding comes from the province, but for STFX it is around 25 or 26 per cent.
The report noted over the past five years, Nova Scotia’s 10 universities received $2.5 billion from the Department of Advanced Education. The report also states at the time of an audit, it was determined the department was not effectively holding universities accountable for public funds in the 10 years since the Universities Accountability and Sustainability Act.
The Auditor General made 11 recommendations in the report, with the Department of Advanced Education already accepting the recommendations, with the government announcing it plans to begin implementing the recommendations immediately.
When asked about the recommendations, Foster said if a lot of them come forward it could help STFX. She said the key take-away from the report for STFX is that STFX is underfunded compared to other universities in Nova Scotia, and that Nova Scotia universities per student are funded less than other universities in Canada.
