University of Alberta losing 400 staff and faculty

Larger class sizes expected

By Elise Stolte, Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON — At least 400 staff and faculty will be leaving the University of Alberta this year through retirement programs and layoffs, say officials, while the number of incoming students is expected to remain the same.

Other staff have dropped from full-time to part-time positions, and it's still unclear how many contract and sessional instructors will be hired for this September.

Provost Carl Amrhein announced 43 people have already been laid off and 181 took early retirements. Between five and 30 more layoffs are expected this summer.

In addition, 171 people took other retirement packages, said Russell Eccles, president of the non-academic staff association.

Planning for classes this fall will be a challenge, said registrar Gerry Kendal.

The university set entrance requirements and had accepted many students before finding out about funding cuts in the February provincial budget.

That will mean larger class sizes, and in some cases, few optional courses to choose from, he said.

 This article was published in the Edmonton Journal on June 3, 2010. Read the full article on the Edmonton Journal website.