Faculty and student reps aren't surprised by auditor's blistering MUN report
MUN's faculty association and students' union says running university like a business is part of the problem
Two union representatives say they aren't surprised by the lack of oversight and flagrant spending contained in the Newfoundland and Labrador auditor general's scathing report on Memorial University — and say they've been sounding the alarm for years.
The 80-page report was released on Monday by Auditor General Denise Hanrahan, who detailed a culture of overspending, inefficiency and a lack of accountability.
"I think the AG report confirms what students have been saying for decades and what the student unions have been saying for decades," said John Harris, the MUN student union's executive director of external affairs.
"I think there is a serious bloat in the administration of this university and there needs to be a lot more oversight, democracy and transparency at the administration level."
Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association president Josh Lepawsky said the findings aren't surprising.
"We have been trying to bring attention to these kinds of issues in the aggregate, literally for years now, especially around problems with governance at the university," said Lepawsky.
The audit's findings are just more evidence, he said. One thing in the report that stood out to Lepawsky: the board of regents, both past and present, hadn't used their powers of oversight that would prevent the very things the report found.
Harris also said he believes the board of regents has acted in a secretive manner.
Students' mild response
Response to the audit from students who spoke to CBC News was tepid.
MUN's administrative costs were $893 higher than the average for all other universities compared in the report.
Flynn Boardman-Raffet, said he supposed that high cost "was a good thing, 'cause it means they have to do their job well if they're being paid the most."
Liam Conway said he's had a positive experience at MUN. "AAdministrators make it fun, so I think they're paid a good salary for a reason."
Erika Farrell also wasn't surprised by the higher cost but called it sad, while Sam Hawco said he was a little surprised and"didn't like the sound of that."
The report also noted some administrative staff get 95 days of annual leave per year, which Farrell suggested was possibly necessary for some people.
Corporate-style governance
Both Harris and Lepawsky said the underlying issue is that the university is governed more like a corporation than a higher learning institution.
Rather than a corporate CEO, Harris said the university needs a leader, which means listening to students and staff, and making decisions by reaching a consensus. The leader should also, he said, be chosen through consultation with the community.
"If we want to have these high-powered CEO-style presidents, this is the kind of spending we're going to get," said Harris.
Lepawsky said the higher administration cost isn't unique to MUN but is part of a trend across Canadian universities, "which is a really decades-long process of becoming run and modelled more as a private corporation than a public institution."
The people who fill the roles of upper administration and sit on the board of regents tend to be from the private sector and have pricey compensation packages, he said.
That lopsided spending in favour of administration negatively impacts faculty and students, he said, noting that over the last decade the university's budget has been cut every year at the same time compensation packets for upper management have grown.
"That money from a smaller pool has to come from somewhere," said Lepawsky.
Lepawsky said that can mean tenured and tenure-track professors aren't hired after faculty members retire and that the university depends more on per-course instructors who don't have job security.
"As a consequence, the core mission of the university has been literally … dismantled as a consequence of funnelling that money to parts of the university that are not delivering the core mission," said Lepawsky.
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With files from Darrell Roberts