Brandon U trims budget, but avoids job eliminations

Brandon University has announced a budget cut of 3%, which does not include the elimination of jobs. Instead, measures to trim $1.23 million include leaving some positions vacant or filled by part-time employees for periods of up to a year. "No teaching positions were eliminated, no layoffs occurred at our university," the VP of finance and administration said Sunday. The university also reports that it has recovered about half the students lost because of Manitoba's longest-lasting faculty strike during the fall of 2011. Other changes to the budget include making tuition refunds available to students only for the first 3 weeks of classes, down from the current 4, and an increase of $3.5 million to the university’s operating budget. Winnipeg Free Press