New university funding deals include tuition freeze for Nova Scotia students
Acadia University memo acknowledges financial challenges ahead
New bilateral funding agreements between the provincial government and universities will freeze tuition at current levels for Nova Scotia undergraduate students, but they also appear to represent a major shift in the way the government involves itself in post-secondary education.
An internal memo earlier this month from Acadia University president Jeffrey Hennessy, obtained by CBC News, lays out the terms of the Wolfville university's deal, but sources familiar with the other agreements confirmed Wednesday that the tuition freeze is the same at the province's other nine universities.
"This is a win for student accessibility, but the loss in tuition revenue was not accompanied by an increase in funding," Hennessy writes in his memo.
"Overall, this will represent a significant net loss in operating revenue to Acadia."
Hennessy writes that Acadia's agreement is for two years and provides a two per cent increase to base funding in each of those years. The university's financial statements show that in the last fiscal year it received about $36.3 million in government grants.
Potential funding holdbacks
In his memo, Hennessy is frank about his interpretation of the new agreement based on conversations with government representatives.
"I believe relationships between universities and the provincial government have fundamentally changed in perpetuity. My feeling is that there is transformational sectoral reform in the wind and that this is just the first step.
"I believe Acadia can have a strong relationship with government, but it will be, by necessity, different and will not be achieved by simply refusing to comply or by publicly contesting these initiatives."
Along with the revenue loss through the tuition freeze, he said there are "substantial funding holdbacks subject to Acadia meeting certain conditions."
"The 2025-26 holdback totals $1.7 million, and the 2026-27 holdback totals $3.8 million. We will work hard to meet all these requirements, but there is a risk in a loss of funding if we miss any targets."
The memo does not detail the targets Acadia must meet in order to avoid those holdbacks, but Hennessy said there could also be a holdback of a little more than $1 million in 2026-27 unless the school satisfactorily submits an academic program review.
Impact of Bill 12
That review would involve "program modernization, revitalization and rationalization," he writes.
"According to the agreement, '[p]rogram rationalization involves reducing or discontinuing programs with low labour market need, low utilization, high program costs and those that no longer align with the institution's strategic priorities.'
"This is perhaps the most sweeping and impactful section of the agreement, and my strong sense is that the 2026-27 funding reduction would be only the first of such financial penalties for failing to comply."
The new agreements come on the heels of the Progressive Conservative government passing Bill 12 during the winter session of the legislature.
The legislation gives the province more oversight over universities and the ability to link funding decisions with the government's social and economic priorities.
The minister of advanced education will have the ability to appoint up to half of the members of a university's board and force a revitalization plan if there are concerns about a school's financial health.
While some students and faculty members have expressed concern about the government using Bill 12 as a way to interfere with the independence of universities and their operations, Advanced Education Minister Brendan Maguire has said the legislation is about ensuring the long-term financial viability and sustainability of all 10 universities in Nova Scotia.
Maguire has pointed to a recent auditor general's report focused on university funding and noted that the province must ensure that the hundreds of millions of dollars it provides universities is being well used.
In his memo, Hennessy said it is a pivotal moment for Acadia and they have "one shot and limited time to get it right."
"I know the academic program review piece of this will alarm many of you, but I believe there is a way to do this in a transformative and substantial way that delivers on the promise of a truly excellent applied liberal university for the 21st century," he writes.
"Our mission here should be to do this our way and to present to government a truly excellent, sustainable, responsive, and inspiring academic offering. I fear that failure to achieve this will lead to our future being defined for us instead of us being the architects of the next version of Acadia.
"My hope is that you will accept the urgency of this moment and that we can work together to emerge from this pivotal moment with an Acadia of which we can all be proud."
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