Rewriting the Public University Funding Model for a Changing Student Economy
Public universities are being asked to do more with resources that are becoming harder to predict. They must educate larger and more diverse student populations, maintain aging campuses, support research, respond to labor-market shifts, and preserve access while governments, families, and students all face financial constraints. These pressures are not confined to one institution or one province. Across Canada and other publicly supported higher-education systems, the traditional funding model is being tested by rising costs, changing demographics, and competing expectations about what universities should provide. A funding model under multiple pressures Public universities typically rely on a combination of government grants, tuition revenue, research funding, philanthropy, ancillary services, and other…
