With the development of a college business plan and budget for 2021-2022 underway, I am writing to provide an important update on that process, including the ongoing factors affecting our financial outlook for the year ahead.
As you know, the sudden onset of COVID-19 last March had a significant effect on our operations and enrolments, and required a recalibration of the 2020-2021 budget, including expenditure reductions college-wide.
As we look ahead to 2021-2022 we know that a recovery period remains on the horizon, but we’re also coping with a second wave of the pandemic that has been longer in duration and larger in scope than we anticipated last spring. The measures and restrictions associated with the second wave have resulted in a drop in our international enrolment and will keep the majority of our academic delivery and services remote and online through the spring, with a significant return to campus not anticipated before the fall.
This reality is reflected in our enrolment projections for the year, and the ongoing remote delivery of programs and services will also mean a reduction in other sources of revenue.
Our enrolment projections are based on the assumption that as conditions improve and vaccination strategies unfold, measures will be slowly relaxed in the coming months. Delivery for the Spring term will be mostly remote delivery with only essential services on campus. By the fall we anticipate increased hybrid delivery and the expansion of on-campus services. By the Winter 2022 term we hope to be in a position to assess all programs and services for a return to campus.
These enrolment assumptions translate to projections of just over 3,000 students for the Spring 2021 term, just under 9,000 for Fall 2021, and approximately 9,400 for Winter 2022. While these projections are a slight increase over last year’s enrolments, they still fall significantly below pre-COVID levels.
The 2021-2022 budget will need to align our resources with our current and projected enrolment and revenue estimates, requiring the identification of savings and efficiencies and the deferral of some activities. As we confront these challenges, we will also need to leverage our entrepreneurial spirit and identify new sources of revenue to offset revenue loss.
While COVID has created temporary financial challenges for us, we entered the pandemic without a burden of debt and from a position of financial strength, due to prudent fiscal management and our trailblazing efforts to strategically diversify revenue. Making difficult but responsible decisions now will ensure that our financial position remains stable and that we emerge from the pandemic on solid financial footing.
Budget development is now underway at the department and divisional levels. As with last year, the process will be guided by the following principles:
- Commitment to transparency;
- Minimizing the impact on students and our employees;
- Positioning Niagara College to thrive in the post-pandemic recovery period.
Additional updates will be provided as we work towards the approval of a final budget at the end of March. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to your dean or director.
I want to acknowledge how stressful our work and our lives have been as we approach a full year of adapting and persevering in the face of a global pandemic; I also know that the need to address budgetary constraints can be challenging.
It has been a long and turbulent year. I am immensely grateful for your ongoing resilience and dedication. As we look forward to the better days that lie ahead, I continue to be inspired by the ability of our college community to model our NC DNA – even in difficult times – by putting our students first while continuing to support one another.
