Operations Grants
Alberta Advanced Education and Technology provides ongoing operating grants to twenty-one public, board-governed institutions to support the delivery of credit instruction. Operating grants are also provided to six not-for-profit private university colleges for delivery of approved, credit degree programs.
The six private university colleges receive grants that are 75% of equivalent funding levels provided to public institutions, in recognition of their privately owned capital assets, their less intensive research activity and their exclusion from Alberta’s tuition fee policies. Further, Board members of private university colleges are not appointed by the Minister.
Alberta’s for-profit private institutions do not receive direct funding from Alberta Advanced Education and Technology (operating grants, inflationary adjustments or targeted funds). However, these institutions (which include approximately 155 licensed vocational institutions) receive indirect support if their programs of study are designated for student financial assistance. Students receiving student financial assistance will flow their awards (loans, grants and scholarships) from Alberta Advanced Education and Technology to private institutions through the payment of tuition and mandatory fees.
Ongoing operating grants to institutions are provided as base funding rather than as a per-student amount adjusted annually by enrolment changes. However, periodic reviews of these base-funding amounts have taken enrolment levels into consideration when making funding adjustments (the last equity funding review was completed in 2005). Ongoing operating grants are institutions’ main funding source to support the delivery of credit instruction.
