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Saskatchewan's two universities will be communicating formally with the government starting next month, following one of the recommendations in the Mackay report released in September. Lawyer Harold Mackay was commissioned last year to report on ways the two universities could work together to deal with funding cuts. One of his recommendations was to establish a Government Universities Consultation Committee. Late last month, the government approved the recommendation and established the committee, which will have its first meeting on 25 February 1997. Brij Mathur, the Associate Deputy Minister of Post-Secondary Education, said the committee basically follows Mackay's suggestion. "Essentially, the committee is for increasing candid communication at the highest level," he said. "It's not a representative committee. None of the internal parts of the universities are represented." |
The committee is made up of the Premier and Deputy Premier, Minister and Deputy Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Minister of Finance, the two University Presidents, and the Chair of the Board of Governors of each university. Don Wells, President of the University of Regina, will be sitting on the committee. He said they would not be a decision-making group, but would be meeting to share concerns and progress. "We'll be communicating with the government on what their priorities are. It's also a way we can alert the government to issues at the universities." Two other committees are going to be set up at the university level. The Inter-University Council will include two student representatives from each university as well as other top officials. The Inter-University Coordinating Committee will al so be meeting to discuss program coordination between the universities. Dave Beros, President of the U of R Students' Union, will be representing students on the Inter-University Council with Marlene Brooks, President of the | Graduate Students' Association. They were both optimistic about student input int
o the process. "No, it (student representation) isn't adequate, but I'm happy with it," Beros said. Brooks was also happy to see students on the Council, saying it was good to have the small start into having input. At the University of Saskatchewan, President George Ivany released a report in November containing his recommendations for universities, which included increasing tuition, amalgamating colleges, and eliminating staff. At the University of Regina, tuition will reportedly be increasing by over 30 per cent over the next four years and over 100 professors have been offered early retirement packages. The Government Committee and the two Inter-University committees will ensure continued communication and coordination, which is essential because the universities have already begun following through on some of Mackay's recommendations. |