The president of the University of Alberta predicted Wednesday that cuts are coming and that he expects tuition to go up under the province's United Conservative Party government.

David Turpin told students in his state of the university address at Convocation Hall that, based on the recommendations in the MacKinnon report on the province's finances, all Alberta post-secondary institutions face "difficult decisions ahead."

"With a new government in place ... we anticipate reductions in funding," Turpin said.

"We are now halfway through this fiscal year without a budget letter from the province, so the budget that will be tabled on Oct. 24 will likely affect us immediately."

The MacKinnon report, released to the public on Sept. 3, focused three of its 26 recommendations on post-secondary education.

They included a change in how Alberta colleges and universities are funded. The panel chaired by former Saskatchewan finance minister Janice MacKinnon recommended the government provide smaller grants, forcing post-secondary institutions to charge higher tuition and seek more "alternative sources" of funding, which raises the prospect of corporate partnerships.

The result would be a "a revenue mix comparable to that in British Columbia and Ontario," the report said.

Turpin said he doesn't know the specifics of what the government is planning. But he expressed concern that higher tuition could become a barrier for students.

"Cuts in the government grant can be offset by increases in tuition but we cannot expect our students and their families to shoulder this burden alone," Turpin said.

"We must plan to absorb cuts and find efficiencies. We will make careful, considered choices."

Turpin said the U of A will have to look at savings in administration and at the programs it delivers. He vowed some of the tuition increase will be allocated to a bursary to help needy students.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley said she thinks a change in the revenue mix will shift the burden onto students by bringing in "American-style tuition rates."

"Students in Ontario shoulder the burden of 35 per cent of the cost of post-secondary educations through their tuition payments," she said. "In Alberta, that number is currently 18 per cent."

At a news conference at the University of Alberta on Wednesday, NDP Leader Rachel Notley accuses the UCP government of contemplating "American-style" tuition rates. (Peter Evans/CBC )

Notley said the increases will hurt students' ability to go to college or university. Students may have to work more to cover the costs of their educations, which could hurt their academic performance and extend the time they need to complete their degrees.

Laurie Chandler, press secretary for Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, accused the NDP of fearmongering.

"Any decisions will take into account student affordability and accessibility, but claims of doubling tuition are outrageous and false," she wrote.

"I'd also remind you that student share of tuition costs are actually only part of the total tuition costs. Students pay about 20 per cent of tuition costs, while the Alberta taxpayer pays approximately 50 per cent."

A first-year bachelor of arts student at the U of A pays $5,300 for tuition. A bachelor of arts student at the University of Toronto now pays $6,100. The amount was $6,780 last year. The Ontario government dropped the amount by 10 per cent for this tuition year.

Low student-faculty ratio

First-year student Alexander Dowsey, who attended the NDP news conference, said the direction contemplated by the UCP is troubling for him and his peers. He is also concerned about the MacKinnon report's focus on the economic viability, which could lead to cuts to institutions and programs.

"Alberta students are not financial commodities to be funnelled into areas deemed to be profitable by the government," he said. "You cannot assign a value to a future, because it's priceless."

In his address, Turpin noted the U of A has one of the lowest student-faculty ratios in the country. Comparable Canadian research universities have seen government support drop from two-thirds to about one half of their funding, he said.

That has given them an incentive to increase enrolment, something the U of A hasn't had to do thanks to provincial enrolment targets and the tuition freeze, he said.