AGENDA ITEM NO: 12.1
UNIVERSITY COUNCIL
PLANNING AND PRIORITIES COMMITTEE
FOR INFORMATION ONLY
PRESENTED BY:
Bob Tyler, Chair, Planning & Priorities Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
October 21, 2010
SUBJECT:
2011-12 Operations Forecast
COUNCIL ACTION:
For information only
CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND:
The Planning and Priorities Committee is responsible for providing advice to the
President on the budgetary implications of the Operations Forecast and report to Council
ATTACHMENTS:
Memorandum on the 2011-12 Operations Forecast.
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Peter MacKinnon, President
Brett Fairbairn, Provost and Vice-President Academic
FROM:
Bob Tyler, Chair, Planning and Priorities Committee of Council
DATE:
October 12, 2010
RE:
Operations Forecast 2011-2012
________________________________________________________________________
As Chair of the Planning and Priorities Committee of Council, I am pleased to have the
opportunity to provide the Committee’s perspective on aspects of the 2011/12 Operations
Forecast. The Committee reviewed drafts of the Operations Forecast on September 22nd
and October 6th, and on September 29th, I represented the Committee at a meeting where
the University’s funding priorities were discussed with representatives of the Ministry of
Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration and the Ministry of Finance. Last
spring, the Committee reviewed the key messages to be included in the 2011/12
Operations Forecast, and its ad hoc Finance Subcommittee reviewed the University’s
projected 2011/12 operating budget.
Without question the Planning and Priorities Committee supports the principle of
responsible stewardship, which is highlighted in the 2011/12 Operations Forecast in the
context of efficient and effective use of public resources and their allocation to strategic
areas of priority. The University must continue to make strategic choices, guided by the
Second Integrated Plan and the Strategic Directions and with due consideration of its
financial risks. It was apparent at the meeting with the Province on September 29th that
the provincial representatives appreciated the University’s transparent approach to
planning and budgeting and the straightforward way in which its financial requirements
for 2011/12 were presented and justified. It was also evident that our message would
benefit from our providing more insight into how strategic decisions are made at the
University of Saskatchewan and how the University garners the information it uses in
making such decisions.
In light of the potential for declining enrolment and the significant impact that a reduction
in tuition revenue would have on the University’s operations, the recruitment and
retention of undergraduate and graduate students must be one of our highest priorities, if
not our highest. This is a significant challenge considering the increasingly competitive
post-secondary landscape. The Operations Forecast speaks to enhancement of our efforts
to recruit and retain international students and students of Aboriginal origin. Success in
recruitment and retention depends very much on the quality of the student experience we
provide, which has many facets. The Planning and Priorities Committee is encouraged by
a number of initiatives in the Operations Forecast that will improve the student
experience and underpin student recruitment and retention efforts. We support the request
for capital funding for the proposed Gordon Oakes-Red Bear Student Centre, Phase 2 of
the College Quarter Undergraduate Housing Project, classroom revitalization and
enhancement, and additional daycare space. We also support the targeting of funding to
increasing undergraduate and graduate scholarship funding, to improving access to
student advising, and to enhancing support services for international students. We
encourage the University to consider establishing a targeted undergraduate scholarship
fund which would offer competitive scholarships to our most outstanding in-province
high school graduates, thereby enticing them to undertake their university education in
Saskatchewan. Scholarships of this nature would also aid in attracting outstanding out-ofprovince students to the University of Saskatchewan.
Although the University has an enviable record with respect to recruiting and retaining
students of Aboriginal origin, we must do more. The future success of the University and
the Province depends on our fostering the success of Aboriginal students. Therefore, we
encourage the University to consider additional investments in transition programming
(building on the success of the Royal West Campus), in outreach programs directed at K12 students (particularly in mathematics and the natural and physical sciences), and in
distance learning to improve access to our programs by rural and remote students.
With respect to the projected increases in tuition rates, the Committee understands how
tuition levels are determined and that tuition is not used to balance the budget but rather
is set at a level that is intended to be “competitive, accessible for students, realistic and
sustainable”. Although the Committee believes that the University is well served by its
current tuition policy and it supports the introduction of a tuition differential for
international graduate students, it is concerned that if increases in tuition levels continue,
at some point the affordability of a university education in Saskatchewan will be
threatened for some potential students. The projected increases in tuition over the next
three years will be construed by many as being substantial. It is vitally important,
therefore, that the University clearly and effectively explains to its public, particularly
current and potential students, how a significant portion of the new tuition revenue will
be directed towards improving the student experience.
The University of Saskatchewan continues to experience an unprecedented period of
capital growth. At the same time, the total value of deferred maintenance continues to
grow, making capital renewal and revitalization and preservation of the value of the
University’s buildings critical budgetary considerations. The Planning and Priorities
Committee supports the University’s request for a sustaining, annual capital budget that
would allow it, over time, “to manage deferred maintenance to a point where one-time
requests for deferred maintenance projects would be minimized, if not eliminated”. The
Committee also supports the University’s practice of requesting funding that will
specifically address the costs of operating new additions to the physical plant as they
come on stream. Opportunities for new capital projects must be carefully scrutinized, not
only in terms of their benefit to the University, their capital cost, the availability of
resources to undertake their construction, and their long-term operating costs, but also
from the perspective of their ongoing and future maintenance costs.
In closing, the Planning and Priorities Committee acknowledges and appreciates the
considerable effort expended on preparing the 2011/12 Operations Forecast. The
University’s financial requirements are realistic, clearly presented and based on sound
budgetary assumptions, and the point is well made that the University’s long-term
aspirations reflect a shared vision, with the government of the day, for the Province of
Saskatchewan.
On behalf of the Planning and Priorities Committee,
______________________________
Bob Tyler, Chair