I’m pleased to share with you that our Board of Governors has approved an annual business plan that includes a balanced budget for 2019-2020.
Our 2019-2020 budget makes strategic investments in our people and campuses as we continue to provide high quality education and enhance our students’ experience as our college community grows in numbers and diversity.
2019-2020 Budget Highlights
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The budget also strengthens our financial position at a time when the landscape of postsecondary education in Ontario and across Canada is changing. In addition to a decline in domestic markets, along with strong growth in international enrolment, there are funding changes, especially in Ontario, where the provincial government has introduced new and revised policies:
- Domestic tuition has been reduced by 10 percent;
- Students now have the option to opt out of certain ancillary fees;
- There is a move toward more performance-based funding which, over the next five years, will see the amount of funding tied to the outcomes of our Strategic Mandate Agreement (SMA) increase significantly to 60 per cent.
Supporting college goals
As we enter the third year of our 2017-2021 Strategic Plan, this year’s business plan and budget support the goals associated with our key strategic directions of cultural and global engagement, experiential focus, and creative, innovative and entrepreneurial thinking, and the collaboration and resourcefulness that forms our institutional foundation. These initiatives include:
- The development and implementation of additional programming and resources to support the success of international students, including enhanced orientation and services for students, and professional development initiatives for faculty and staff;
- Implementing the government’s new tuition/funding frameworks with a focus on ensuring student support;
- Advancing the college’s thrust in the agricultural sector by seeking funding for new initiatives and resources;
- Continued investments in talent management, succession planning and leadership development for our people;
- Completion of a master plan to shape decisions around our campuses and facilities for the next 10-15 years.
Enrolment Strategy
Our enrolment strategy for 2019-2020 will see a slower rate of growth than we’ve experienced in the past two years as we support greater international student diversity at the program level, and increase our focus on accessibility and supports for our students.
The intent is to have greater enrolment in the summer, which allows us to make better use of our facilities by levelling out utilization, while enhancing retention strategies for students as more programs will have courses offered in the summer session. This strategy also complements a focus on mature domestic students by increasing the frequency of intakes, which will provide a better opportunity to attract applicants facing employment challenges. This shift will include the introduction of new summer intakes as well as moving some capacity from winter starts to summer starts.
The fall enrolment is forecast to increase by approximately two per cent, to slightly over 11,000 students. The total full-time equivalent (FTE) enrolment over all three terms is expected to increase by four per cent, to a total of slightly over 13,000 FTE.
Continued investment to support students, faculty and staff
The 2019-20 budget includes important investments in our people and our campuses as we support the growth and increased diversity of our college community, and the evolving needs of our learners. We will also be making important investments in mental health supports for our students. As we begin to implement this year’s budget, we will provide additional information regarding specific investments and initiatives for the coming year, as we continue to equip our team to meet the evolving needs and expectations of our students.
These investments follow significant initiatives in last year’s budget, many of which were made possible due to the recent surge that we’ve seen in international enrolment – something that is being experienced system wide. This surge has resulted in a projected budget surplus for 2018-19, which will allow the college to pay down our campus redevelopment initiatives without incurring debt. This will serve to strengthen our financial position as we adapt to the demographic and funding changes referenced above.
Additional investments made in 2018-19 include new full-time faculty and staff positions, learning resources and professional development for faculty and staff.
Our 2019-2020 Business Plan is available online here. Please do not hesitate to contact your senior vice president with any questions you may have regarding the college budget.
Thank you
As we look ahead, I’d like to extend my thanks to all of your for your continued work in support of our students’ success. With our spring convocation ceremonies just around the corner, I hope that we can all reflect on how our individual roles have contributed to the educational journey of every student who crosses the convocation stage next month.
