Restraint remains the watchword for university spending as The University of Western Ontario enters the final year of its four-year planning cycle.
The university is projecting revenues of $564.2 million and expenditures of $586.1 million. The shortfall of about $22 million will be made up from an operating reserve in keeping with reaching a Board of Governors-mandated reserve of $2.5 million.
“We’re at the situation now where the major portion of the revenue that we expected to realize from the (Ontario) government’s Reaching Higher plan has been realized,” says Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Fred Longstaffe.
“The one area we are continuing to see additional growth is through the final stages of graduate expansion.”
The proposed budget was presented to Senate and will move to the board for approval.
The university responded to the multi-year Reaching Higher Plan by front-loading its spending in 2007-08 and 2008-09 with new hiring and new projects. The final two years of the four-year plan were to feature slower growth.
That planned easing off in spending was complicated by a worldwide economic crisis.
With a steep downturn in the economy Western lost $46.25 million in anticipated income from non-endowed funds. Longstaffe says the impact is still being felt in budget restraints for faculties and supports units.
However, some areas such as one-time allocations, the support of Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) granting proposals and modernization of buildings are returning.
New one-time allocations being recommended for 2010-11 include $12.5 million to support donor matching in the university’s $500 million fundraising campaign; $4.9 million for CFI matching funding; $2.5 million towards the Inter-Disciplinary Initiative fund (to be allocated over the next five years); and $1.2 million towards the Doctoral Supervision Internal Grant (DSIG).
Projected as one-time only last year, Longstaffe says the highly successful DSIG program will continue.
“It’s a good step forward and a recognition of the hard work supervisors in the programs do to bring the students along.”
On graduate expansion, Longstaffe says the university should be able to meet the master’s allocation this coming year, but PhD levels may fall short by about 50 spots.
“PhD students are of special importance to us because they help to build the research and scholarship mission of our university and secure our place as one of Canada’s great research-intensive universities. It would be a disappointment if we were unable to realize this perhaps once in a lifetime opportunity to receive this funding support.”
Internationalization is a priority for the university, with plans to increase the number of first-year students by 100. Western’s incoming international class currently makes up 2.8 per cent, less than half the provincial average.
“To help facilitate that we are making international students eligible, for the first time, to receive scholarships in 2010-11,” says Longstaffe, noting $250,000 has been set aside. An additional $50,000 will support international student recruitment and $50,000 for English as a Second Language initiatives.
“We would really like to be able to close that (percentage) gap over time, for the benefit of the experience of our undergraduate students here, and the strong message that comes from giving our students the opportunity to interact with international students.”
However, tuition costs for first-year international students will rise six per cent (to $15,530), with a four-per-cent increase for continuing international students (to $15,240).
For Canadian students, first-year tuition will increase 4.5 per cent to $5,159 (with the exception of Engineering – $8,743; Media Technology Program – $5,450; and Nursing – $5,159). There will be a four-per-cent increase for all continuing students.
The provincial government announced the current tuition framework would continue for another two years, stating 10 per cent of the increase should be set aside for needs-based student aid. The estimated tuition set-aside funding for 2010-11 is $11.3 million.
In the Capital budget, Western is recommending $112 million worth of expenditures, with $55 million for new construction, the majority for the new Ivey building ($39 million) and the Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment Facility (WindEEE) at more than $9 million.
Just over $20 million targets major renovations, the two largest being Physics & Astronomy ($8.1 million) and Stevenson and Lawson halls ($7 million).
Other details include:
· A $1.4-million increase in student support funding for scholarships and bursaries, for a total of $51.8 million.
· With utilities expected to cost more than $20 million, the new Energy Efficiency Initiative ($1.5 million) will target projects that reduce energy consumption.
· $750,000 for general classroom and computer laboratory upgrades.
· An additional $250,000 for library acquisitions, bringing the total to $13.3 million.
Read the Operating and Capital budget at:
https://www.ipb.uwo.ca/documents/2010_budget.pdf