U of S needs to 'tighten up' on spending, official says

The University of Saskatchewan needs to get a tighter grip on spending in order to deal with a looming $45 million budget crunch, according to one vice-president.

On Wednesday, the U of S released the latest work from its TransformUS initiative. The university began the exercise when it realized it was headed for a deficit of $45 million, if no changes were made.

The university has targeted an array of academic programs for restructuring. As well, job cuts are anticipated in senior management.

"Over the next two years we need to tighten things up in the university to reduce our expenses and save about five per cent on our budget," Brett Fairburn, Vice-President-Academic, said Wednesday. "In many ways we're about half-way through this process."

The broad strokes for some of what is expected are laid out in a 30-page action plan.More work lies ahead to determine exactly how the cuts and restructuring will be carried out and when.

The TransformUS project has generated considerable debate on campus about the role of the university and how it is managed.