MUN Claims No Courses Were Cut in Humanities and Social Sciences

In a February 15, 2026, CBC article, Memorial University’s Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, Natasha Hurley, stated that her faculty had to cut courses each year due to shrinking budgets: “about 96 this year across the faculty.”

MattBarter.ca filed an access-to-information request for the list of the 96 courses cut. Acting University Privacy Officer Kaitlin Butler responded that Memorial did not locate records responsive to the request and that, through consultations, they had been advised that the number reflected in the CBC article was “misstated.”

“The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) did not cut 96 courses, nor did it cut 96 course sections,” Butler stated.

Butler said, “The budget for HSS included a budget reduction in the contractual teaching budget, equivalent to the cost of 96 [Pre-Course Instructor] PCI contracts. While there was a budget reduction, no courses in the Faculty of HSS were cut, and this reduction is not, and cannot be, connected with any specific course(s).”