May 22, 2009
Even with a 10 per cent increase in operating funding from the provincial government and a 3.5 per cent increase in tuition revenue expected in 2009-10, the University of Saskatchewan will have to dip into its operating reserves and make permanent cuts to address declining revenue from investments and a pension fund shortfall.
Details of the budget, made public May 20, show total revenue for the year projected at $361 million, which includes about $253 million from the province and about $80 million from credit and non-credit course tuition. To bring expenses in line with revenue by year-end, the Board of Governors directed the university to use about $950,000 from operating reserves and to make a total of $10 million in permanent budget reductions over the next two years.
AppelSpeaking about the details of the budget, Ginger Appel, director of budget strategy and planning in Institutional Planning and Assessment, pointed out that even though tuition revenue is expected to go up by about $2.7 million in 2009-10, it continues to decline as a percentage of total revenue, to 22 per cent this year from 23 per cent in 2008-09.
On the expenditure side, salaries and benefits are projected to increase by 6.3 per cent, or about $15 million, to $251 million, due largely to normal salary progression and the terms of negotiated union settlements, she said. There is a separate, related expenditure of $4.6 million which represents payments the university will start making in January 2010 to address a deficit in pension funds.
The budget also shows a $688,000 increase in spending on central utilities, including electricity, natural gas, water and telephone, to $18.8 million in 2009-10 but Appel said that increase will likely disappear as part of the plan to reduce operating expenses. “Utilities have come in with a surplus balance in the last couple of years,” she said, thanks in part to the use of forward contracts to lock in prices.
“We’ll realize some savings by capturing the surplus and by finding more efficiencies in options like keeping building temperatures one degree cooler in winter and one degree warmer in summer. Will that make a difference for me here in my office? Not really, but it may make a difference on the bottom line.”
An additional $62,000 will be directed toward the Academic Priorities Fund in the coming year to support institutional priorities established in both the first and second integrated planning cycles. The budget also shows $2.3 million for University Advancement (UA), targeted funding from the province that will be used to build the institution’s fundraising capacity. Appel said that money “will flow to UA as it’s required as part of their strategic plan for the next three years.”
In addition to the operating grant, the province is providing the university with a total of $20 million in capital funding, $5.5 million of which will go toward repayment on the Thorvaldson, Kinesiology and College Building projects. Another $8.5 million will be spent on alterations, grounds, capital renewal and deferred maintenance.
| 08-09 Budget | Adjustment (2009-2011) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Allocation | Percentage | Total Dollars | |
| Administrative Units | |||
| Centre for Continuing and Distance Education | $3,289,559 | 3.0% | $99,000 |
| Consumer Services Division | $611,170 | 49.9% | $305,000 |
| Educational Media Access and Production | $1,818,984 | 2.0% | $36,000 |
| Facilities Management Division | $19,396,423 | 4.8% | $925,000 |
| Finance and Resources | $4,343,218 | 2.0% | $87,000 |
| Financial Services Division | $5,879,268 | 2.0% | $117,000 |
| Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness (ULC) | $1,190,148 | 0% | $0 |
| Human Resources Division | $3,847,284 | 2.0% | $77,000 |
| Information Technology Services | $8,095,648 | 4.5% | $364,000 |
| Student and Enrolment Services Division | $9,659,291 | 2.0% | $193,000 |
| University Advancement | $5,074,380 | 0% | $0 |
| Senior Administration | $9,774,224 | 1.0% to 5.0% | $212,000 |
| TOTAL for Administrative Units | $72,979,597 | 3.3% | $2,415,000 |
| Academic Units | |||
| Agriculture and Bioresources, College of | $10,615,255 | 2.1% | $225,000 |
| Arts and Science, College of | $48,339,635 | 4.0% | $1,950,000 |
| Business, Edwards School of | $11,072,000 | 1.5% | $166,000 |
| Dentistry, College of | $5,561,288 | 10.0% | $556,000 |
| Education, College of | $8,325,725 | 8.0% | $666,000 |
| Engineering, College of | $12,892,339 | 2.6% | $337,000 |
| Environment and Sustainability, School of | $367,181 | 0% | $0 |
| Graduate Studies and Research, College of | $966,934 | 0% | $0 |
| Kinesiology, College of | $4,357,871 | 1.0% | $44,000 |
| Law, College of | $4,203,418 | 4.0% | $168,000 |
| Medicine, College of (Includes School of Physical Therapy) | $28,122,349 | 2.0% | $562,000 |
| Medicine Accreditation | $16,893,000 | 0% | $0 |
| Nursing, College of | $7,218,571 | 1.0% | $72,000 |
| Pharmacy and Nutrition, College of | $3,979,523 | 3.0% | $119,000 |
| Public Health, School of | $308,000 | 0% | $0 |
| Public Policy, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of | $543,288 | 0% | $0 |
| University Library | $10,110,884 | 1.2% | $125,000 |
| Veterinary Medicine, Western College of | $22,035,604 | 2.0% | $441,000 |
| TOTAL for Academic Units | $195,912,865 | 2.8% | $5,431,000 |
| TOTAL for Central Funds | $67,632,902 | 3.4% | $2,308,000 |
| TOTAL for University of Saskatchewan | $336,525,364 | 3.0% | $10,154,000 |
For complete information about the 2009-10 budget and budget measures, visit www.usask.ca/vpacademic or www.usask.ca/vpfr
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