How Haskayne spent revenue from their 2010 market modifier
By Susan Anderson, November 20 2014 —
Students enroled in the Haskayne School of Business (HSB) after 2010 have paid $239 more per course, the year the provincial government approved a market modifier for commerce students.
In January 2010, the provincial government called for market modifier proposals from post-secondaries. The University of Calgary submitted proposals for engineering, business, law, medicine, the master’s of education and business administration programs. The U of C also proposed a $500 non-instructional fee increase.
The provincial government approved Haskayne’s undergraduate and MBA market modifier.
HSB dean Jim Dewald said money from the market modifier was used to hire new faculty and to keep class sizes small. The school allocated just over $1 million to hire six new professors.
HSB spent $100,000 from the market modifier on teaching assistants to help with tutorials, grading and marking.
“Over the last five or six years, standard tuition increases have not met the increases in salaries for faculty,” Dewald said. “Government has been even worse because we had the big government cut.”
Students’ Union business representative Jasmine Chitroda said money from the market modifier has improved Scurfield Hall. More screens were added in classrooms, new software was installed on computers and new furniture and charging banks were purchased.
Forty-five per cent of market modifier revenue goes to administration, with another 45 per cent going to Haskayne and 10 per cent toward scholarships.
“For the 45 per cent [that goes to Haskayne], there are visible changes. Whether students know that it’s the result of the market modifier or not is hard to tell,” Chitroda said.
She said that while these changes are positive, the other 45 per cent is unaccounted for.
Administration justifies taking 45 per cent of market modifier revenue to fund business students taking options in other faculties. The money goes to a central administrative pool divvied up throughout the university, but it’s not clear where it goes specifically.
“Through all our digging, [administration’s 45 per cent] has still been a black hole and something that we’re disappointed in. We don’t know where Haskayne students’ money is directly going,” Chitroda said.
This summer, Chitroda found that strict qualifications kept business students from receiving scholarships funded by the market modifier. She helped re-write the qualifications so students can receive the full amount HSB gives out every year.
Dewald said business students understand the trade-off between paying more and getting a better education.
“If we’re going to ask for this additional money through tuition, we have to give much higher value,” Dewald said. “We’re seeing a lot of students wanting to come here even though there are more options.”
The total cost per course in HSB is $776. Most other undergraduate students pay $539 per course.
HSB only charged new students the extra amount, meaning students registered in or before 2010 never saw their tuition rise. This fall was the first semester all Haskayne students payed the modified tuition.
The increase will bring in $1.5 million for the school this year, less than five per cent of operating costs. In total, the school has generated $3.5 million in extra revenue.