The University of Western Ontario is offering a sneak peak at the faculty and support unit budgets for 2009-10 to 2010-11, which includes continued graduate growth and strategies to reduce operating budgets in the wake of the challenges created by the global economic crisis.
The Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) released its Preliminary Recommendations on Faculty and Support Unit Budgets, and Tuition Fees today. This document reviews the progress made since last year’s budget and the priorities and new initiatives for 2009-10 fiscal year.
Although publically available online in the past, given the heightened interest in the university’s operating budget this is the first time the university has included recommendations for the support units in the preliminary document.
Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Fred Longstaffe says the university wanted to ensure “all units can have as much time as possible to plan in detail to meet the budgetary reductions that are necessary in 2009-10.” The Support Unit recommendations are traditionally first released as part of the full budget document in April.
To make the information as accessible as possible, the university has posted budget updates on Western’s homepage.
In the report, the university says the recommendations “are a direct reflection of the increased constraints. We understand that the reduction in resources available will be difficult for all units, but it is required if we are to maintain a balanced budget at the end of the four-year planning period.”
Budget cuts are necessary to meet the expected $41-million shortfall in operating revenues between 2008-09 and 2010-11.
The university made significant progress on initiatives set out in the 2008-09 budget, particularly in the areas of professoriate and graduate expansion.
The university is on course with its program to increase diversity in the professoriate, including appointing 12 women to tenured or probationary faculty positions.
Longstaffe says the university has also worked extremely hard to recruit additional graduate students and, as a result, has been successful in meeting its aspirations for growth at the Master’s level and nearly reached its goal for doctoral level students. These recruitment achievements have also been rewarded with significant provincial funding, he adds.
“Our graduate students make enormous contributions to Western’s success in scholarship, research and education – and we are very happy to see their numbers grow along the trajectory laid out in Western’s strategic plan,” he says.
“The budgetary program that helps to support the recruitment of women faculty is also continuing to making a positive difference. That said, there is still much work to be done in increasing diversity amongst Western’s professoriate, and in that regard, we will continue to make every effort to encourage the success of highly qualified candidates.”
As indicated in the Budget Update, Longstaffe says graduate expansion continues to be a priority. The university plans to double its doctoral enrolment every 10 years.
Longstaffe sees graduate expansion as securing Western’s position among the best research-intensive universities in the country. He is hopeful provincial funding earmarked for graduate growth will remain in place to support this expansion.
“We are hopeful that revenues will continue to flow as committed by the province in its Reaching Higher plan. However, we all recognize that the global recession will have a negative impact on the province’s revenues, and that this has potential to have implications for the university’s operating revenues,” he says.
The provincial government is expected to release its budget in late March.
Whatever the provincial funding level, the university is committing to continue funding programs that provide resources to faculties in support of graduate expansion, including offering additional resources through the new Doctoral Supervision Internal Grant.
This one-time recommended program supports an increase in full-time domestic doctoral students and provides research funding directly to supervisors of doctoral students to support their research.
The new budget also includes the Employee Retirement Incentives program, which have been designed for eligible faculty and staff positions funded through the university’s operating or ancillary budgets.
Faculties and support units are expected to reduce their operating budgets by an average of 5.5 per cent for the next two years, which may necessitate layoffs. The Employee Retirement Incentives initiative has been offered to eligible faculty and staff to decrease the number of people impacted by the potential layoffs.
The Preliminary Recommendations document will be presented to Senate for discussion on Feb. 27. The complete University Operation and Capital Budget recommendations for 2009-10 will be presented to Senate in mid-April.
Click the Preliminary Recommendations on Faculty and Support Unit Budgets, and Tuition Fees for more information.