Figure 4 shows total student enrolment compared with educational expenditures in the Province from 1979/80 to 1995/96. Expenditures are expressed in constant dollars using 1979/80 as a base year and adjusted to reflect the consumer price index. Enrolment dropped by approximately 40,000 students over the period while expenditures, in constant dollars, remained relatively stable showing a slight decline over 1979 levels in the most recent fiscal year. In actual dollars, expenditures increased from 258 million in 1979/80 to 567 million in 1995/96.