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CBC
09-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Most of Nova Scotia's universities are in the red. Here's why, and what's next
Nova Scotia's universities are planning cuts, program reviews and tuition increases to grapple with budget shortfalls over the coming year. All of the province's large universities are planning to run a deficit in 2025-26. The troubled times come amid a significant drop in international enrolment, a government-mandated tuition freeze for some students and stagnating provincial funding. Here's the financial outlook for each university over the coming year: Acadia University: $2.8-million deficit. Atlantic School of Theology: $7,551 surplus. Cape Breton University: $6.8-million deficit. Dalhousie University: $20.6-million deficit. University of King's College: $750,000 deficit. Mount Saint Vincent University: $1.59-million deficit. NSCAD University: $1.245-million deficit. Saint Mary's University: $2.8-million deficit. St. Francis Xavier: $1.966-million deficit. Université Sainte-Anne: not provided or published. This is not business as usual. Most universities are accustomed to surpluses, not deficits. Dalhousie University, Cape Breton University and Mount Saint Vincent University have reported surpluses every year of the last five up to 2023-24, but all three are in the red this year. Some universities have had a deficit in at least one of the previous five years, and St. Francis Xavier University and the University of King's College have run deficits in several recent years. The president of the Atlantic School of Theology, Rev. Heather McCance, says although the school has a very small surplus on the books right now, the new collective agreement with faculty reached on July 1 will affect the budget, but until it is ratified, she cannot provide more details. Why is this happening? For decades, provincial governments provided the majority of the operating revenue for universities, but across Canada that percentage has dropped from about 55 per cent in 2012 to closer to 40 per cent in 2023. Nova Scotia is no exception. Although the province gave a two per cent increase in the operating grants to universities this year, it is not keeping pace with inflation. Government funding now makes up 33 per cent of university revenue in this province. Many universities turned to tuition to compensate, and the global market was the focus of these efforts. International students pay a premium for studying at Nova Scotia universities, paying more than double or even triple the tuition rates charged to Canadian students. Cape Breton University threw its weight behind this strategy of enticing international students, to the point that 77 per cent of its student body in 2023-24 came from outside Canada. Other universities had smaller but still significant proportions of international students, with Saint Mary's at nearly 28 per cent, Université Sainte-Anne at about 27 per cent, and Dalhousie and Mount Saint Vincent at 21 per cent the same year. International model has crashed But in January 2024, the federal government announced a cap on international student permits amid concerns about the effect of skyrocketing numbers on the housing market and to crack down on so-called "diploma mills." In September, Ottawa further reduced the intake of international students by 10 per cent, and included graduate students, who had previously been exempt. The effect has been drastic and swift. Cape Breton University, for instance, had 6,974 international students in 2023-24, but that fell by 1,200 last year and is expected to continue dropping this fall. Dalhousie's international enrolment fell from 4,279 in 2023-24 to a projected 3,382 in 2025-26. Acadia had 489 full-time international students in 2023-24, and that's expected to drop to 374 in 2025-26. As of March, applications to Acadia from would-be international students had fallen by 58 per cent from the previous year. Mount Saint Vincent is anticipating a 5.5 per cent drop in international enrolment. Peter Halpin is the executive director of the Association of Atlantic Universities. He said universities in the region rely more heavily on international students than other parts of Canada, with an average of 30 per cent of enrolment coming from abroad, compared with 20 per cent in the rest of the country. Halpin said Nova Scotia universities overall lost more than 14 per cent, or more than 2,000 international students last year alone. "That represents a major revenue loss for many institutions, and 2025 looks equally as grim, quite frankly," he said. 'It was never going to be sustainable' Peter McInnis is the past president of the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the former president of the St. FX Association of University Teachers. He said the days of relying so heavily on income from international students are likely over. "It might change a little bit, but I don't think it'll ever be the numbers that it was before," said McInnis, who is also an associate professor of history at St. FX. "That was never going to last, it was never going to be sustainable.… It was always going to be unstable and volatile." The processes that international students must go through now to get a student visa and attend university are so onerous that students are choosing to go elsewhere, said Halpin. "The damage to Canada's brand internationally is very, very significant. International students have options, and right now Canada is not perceived as a welcoming country." Other reasons for the financial pinch universities are experiencing include fluctuating interest income, province-mandated tuition freezes for some students and contractual increases to expenses, including labour costs. What's next Some universities have said they will be implementing across-the-board cuts to departments, axing programs, reconsidering their real estate footprint, tapping into special reserves of funding, not renewing contract staff, considering retirement incentives and increasing tuition for out-of-province and international students. Most schools do have other sources of funding, including from capital campaigns, endowment funds and research grants, but those sources are often tied to specific uses and cannot be applied to operating budgets for day-to-day use. "Immediate decisions must be made to generate additional revenue, find efficiencies across both the administrative and academic sectors, and live within our means," reads Acadia's budget document. "Without intentional and significant change, Acadia is heading down a path of being financially unviable in the short term." Despite the current situation, McInnis said universities are still worthy of investment and support. "We actually have a really vibrant educational system in the province and it's something that we should sustain," he said. Halpin agreed. "They make such a valuable contribution to Nova Scotia's economic growth and attraction of talent and driving the research agenda and creation of new business that, you know, I think there's always going to be a place for strong competitive universities in the province."
CTV News
29-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Dalhousie University releases 2025-26 budget, announces $20.6M deficit
Dalhousie University released its 2025-26 Operating Budget Report, announcing a $20.6 million deficit, as well as cuts to all faculties and tuition increases for some international students. In the report, the university says it's facing a challenging year ahead as a decline in enrolment growth has had a long-term impact on revenue. The university says it's taking a multi-year approach and leveraging initiative focused on enrolment growth, increased retention and cost reduction in hopes of achieving a balanced budget by 2027-28. The 2025-26 Operating Budget Report represents a total of 70 per cent of the university's financial activity including the operating, endowment, and ancillary funds. The remaining 30 per cent relates to capital, research, and special purpose accounts which are not available to support day-to-day operations, so the university says it is not included in the report. Cuts to faculties and units' budgets According to the report, the university is working to cut annual operating expenditures by $26.7 million over the next three years. To meet that target, the budget requires all faculties and units to reduce their budgets by one per cent. While compensation increases were previously accounted for in the overall university budget, the new report states faculties and units will be expected to absorb the compensation increases outlined in the collective agreements for faculty and staff in their own budget. Total costs for absorbing the compensation increases are expected to amount to around four per cent – or $50 million – over three years. This would mean in the coming year faculties and units need to plan for a five per cent budget reduction. Combined with the cuts to annual operating expenditures, overspending will be reduced by around $75 million by 2027-28, according to the university. Tuition costs rising for some The university signed a bilateral agreement with the province on April 24 which targets two points of interest with respect to the university's operating budget. One of those being tuition fees for all Nova Scotian undergraduate students be frozen at current rates for the next two years. The university adds it will not increase tuition for other Canadian students pursuing an undergraduate degree. 'The impact of this change on the original budget plan is a reduction in tuition revenues of approximately $2.4 million,' read the report, adding for 2026-27 Canadian students outside Nova Scotia will be put through the annual planning process. For new or returning international undergrads who are not part of the 2023-24 or 2024-25 tuition guarantee pricing model, they will see an increase of around 6.7 per cent. International graduate students taking part in non-thesis programs will pay 7.2 per cent more, and 9.2 per cent more for thesis-based programs. The other half of the agreement provides a two per cent increase in the university's government grant for the next two years, which the university says is consistent with the budget plan released in February. The report also says the university will be working with faculties to review the capacity of programs to help identify opportunities for growth in terms of enrolment, as well as a focus on student retention. 'This Operating Budget Plan outlines what we need to do, financially, to be responsible stewards of our resources as we aim to return to a balanced operating budget in the next three years,' said Kim Brooks, Dalhousie University's president and vice-chancellor, in the budget report. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
26-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Dalhousie University facing $20M deficit, across-the-board cuts
Dalhousie University has released its final operating budget for the next year, announcing a deficit of $20.6 million, cuts to all faculties and tuition increases for some international students. The university is planning to run a deficit in 2025-26 and the following year, with the goal of returning to a balanced budget by 2027-28. "Across Canada, universities and colleges are grappling with the impacts of reduced international enrolments against the backdrop of rising costs outpacing government funding. Dalhousie is no exception," reads a message in the budget document from the university provost and chair of the budget committee, Wanda Costen. "Though our financial scenario is shared by peer institutions nationally and globally, it is up to us to resolve it in a way that supports Dalhousie's goals and priorities." The 2025-26 budget requires all faculties and units — which include academic departments, but also other departments such as athletics, facilities management, finance and administration — to reduce their budgets by one per cent. In addition, faculties and units must absorb the cost of compensation increases outlined in collective agreements for faculty and staff in their own budgets. Previously, compensation increases were accounted for as part of the overall university budget, and the cost was not directly passed on to individual units. The cost of absorbing compensation increases is expected to amount to about $50 million over three years, or four per cent per year, so in total, faculties and units are effectively planning for a five per cent budget reduction over the coming year. Job losses to come David Westwood, the president of the Dalhousie Faculty Association, said the budget cuts will undoubtedly mean job losses among faculty and staff. "The only way for faculties to make cuts these days is people," he said. "There's nothing but meat and bone left. Any fat that used to maybe be there like 20 years ago is long gone. You can't just like get rid of staplers and photocopiers anymore. It's people." Westwood said the cuts will affect faculty on short-term contracts, which will simply not be renewed when they expire. Those cuts will result in program cancellations, fewer course offerings, larger class sizes and, ultimately, a poorer quality of education for students, he said. The job losses will also affect staff who help the university function, like administrative, technical, clerical and custodial positions. Westwood said Dalhousie's financial picture is not as dire as it is portraying, adding that the school has capital funds, research funds and other sources of income. He also pointed out that the school has the money to build a new multimillion-dollar NHL-sized rink, currently scheduled to open next year. "I believe they need to prioritize better our academic mission and maybe kiss goodbye some of their pipe dreams about infrastructure and new buildings and all that fancy glossy stuff and say, let's get back to business. We're a university, we teach people, that is what we do, let's do it," Westwood said. In a statement, the Dalhousie Student Union said it is deeply concerned about the cuts and their impacts on students. "Reductions in course offerings, increased class sizes, and diminished student supports are not just abstract numbers on a budget sheet — they directly impact the quality of education and the well-being of students who are already navigating a challenging academic and financial environment," said union president Maren Mealey. The CBC has contacted Dalhousie University for comment. The budget report acknowledges that the operating budget only represents about 70 per cent of the university's financial activity, but says the remaining 30 per cent relates to capital, research and "special purpose accounts" that are unavailable for day-to-day operations. Tuition frozen for some The budget gives more certainty to students and would-be students who were not protected by a tuition freeze. This April, Dalhousie, like the other universities in the province, signed an agreement with the provincial government outlining funding and accountability requirements over the next two years. The two-year agreements did not allow universities to increase tuition for Nova Scotia residents in undergraduate programs, but there were no restrictions on tuition increases for students coming to Nova Scotia universities from other provinces, international students or graduate students. Dalhousie has opted not to increase tuition fees for undergraduate students coming from other provinces. Graduate students and students in professional programs will pay two per cent more. Fee hikes for some international students International students, though, face a different picture. New and returning international undergrads who are not part of the 2023-24 or 2024-25 tuition guarantee pricing model — which ensures a fixed tuition price for a designated period of time — will see an increase of 6.7 per cent. International graduate students will pay 7.2 per cent more for non-thesis programs and two per cent more for thesis-based programs. Mealey said the student union is concerned about the impacts of tuition hikes on international students. "International students are often uniquely vulnerable to affordability crises, and tuition increases for these students only deepen existing inequities," Mealey said in the statement. "Students should not be made to shoulder the burden of budget shortfalls they did not create. We urge the university to explore alternative solutions that prioritize students and build a more transparent, sustainable and equitable environment for all students." In January 2024, the federal government announced a cap on international student permits amid concerns about the effect of skyrocketing numbers on the housing market and to crack down on so-called "diploma mills." The cap has caused financial turmoil for universities across the country that had come to rely on the higher tuition rates paid by international students.
New York Times
20-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Tuition Hikes and Layoffs Are Coming to a Broad Set of Universities
Public universities in the Midwest are raising prices for out-of-state students, as Florida schools consider making the same move for the first time since 2012. Cornell and Duke are among the colleges weighing layoffs. The University of Minnesota is cutting hundreds of jobs, even as undergraduate tuition soars as much as 7.5 percent. Just as America's colleges are preparing to welcome what could be the largest freshman class in the nation's history, political and economic forces are unleashing havoc on higher education budgets. Schools are grappling with meager upticks in state support and topsy-turvy economic forecasts, and Republicans in Washington are pursuing federal budget cuts and threatening tax hikes. Students and employees from coast to coast are poised to feel the squeeze. Although the exact consequences will vary by school, administrators are warning that many students may have to pay more, professors may lose their jobs, programs could vanish and support services could shrink. The turmoil is not limited to any one type of university or college, or any one state. A day before Michigan State University trustees opted for tuition increases, a California State University campus minutes from the Pacific Ocean announced that it was trimming its work force. 'If you're a student or family looking to go to college this year, all of the numbers are going in the wrong direction,' said Ted Mitchell, the president of the American Council on Education, who described the mood among higher education leaders as 'dark but resolved.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
19-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Out-of-state university students could face tuition hikes in Florida
Out-of-state students attending Florida universities could see a 10 percent increase in tuition this fall and an additional hike the following school year, under a rule unanimously adopted by the state university system's Board of Governors on Wednesday. Tuition hikes for out-of-state students would have to be approved by university boards of trustees and schools would have to maintain their current ratio of in-state students to out-of-state students. If increases are approved for the 2025-2026 school year, they would be the first tuition hikes in more than a decade for out-of-state students, according to documents distributed before Wednesday's Board of Governors vote. None of the state's 12 universities has raised tuition since 2012, and Florida State University hasn't had an increase since 2004, the documents said. Florida has the nation's third-lowest tuition and fees for out-of-state students, at an average of $21,690 in 2023-2024. That was about 28 percent lower than the national average of $30,140. Nearly 33,000 undergraduate students from outside the state — about 12 percent of all students — attend Florida's public universities. Roughly 25,000 of the state's 76,000 graduate students, or 33 percent, are nonresidents. Balancing financial impacts and educational access Board of Governors member Alan Levine, who proposed the increase, noted that "our total cost of a degree is one of the lowest in the country for students." Levine said in a text message to The News Service of Florida that the proposal would allow increases of up to 10 percent this fall and up to 15 percent in fall 2026. He said his "strong suspicion is it will end up being less than 10% this year as trustees try to minimize impact on current students." A hike over two years would give out-of-state students more leeway to plan their finances, Levine suggested during the meeting. Florida law caps annual tuition increases for in-state and out-of-state students at 15 percent. "We want to make sure we don't create sticker shock for students that are here currently," Levine said. Maintaining ratios of in-state and out-of-state students would ensure that Floridians don't lose slots in schools to higher-paying applicants. "We do not want to see universities raising their nonresident enrollment rates to increase revenues, particularly at the expense of in-state students," Levine said. Tuition increases approved by university boards of trustees would have to be shared with university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues. An across-the-board 5 percent tuition increase for out-of-state undergraduate students at all of the state's universities would generate nearly $24.2 million annually, according to the document presented to the board. A 15 percent hike would bring an extra $72.5 million to the state. Tuition for out-of-state students varies throughout universities. For undergraduates, the University of South Florida offers the lowest per-credit hour rate for nonresidents, at $346.50. The University of Florida weighs in as the highest, at $707.21. The average statewide is $491.90. Debating compliance and institutional priorities Board of Governors member Eric Silagy tried to link the proposed increases to part of Florida law that says tuition for out-of-state students should offset the cost of providing education to such students. Silagy said three schools in the system — New College of Florida, Florida A&M University, and Florida Polytechnic University — don't meet the requirement. "I don't think we should be allowing the board of trustees to go up to the maximum 15% because these three schools have an obligation, not a choice, an obligation, to be in compliance with state law," Silagy said. Silagy, who has harshly criticized New College in the past, argued that schools where Florida taxpayers are "subsidizing" out-of-state students shouldn't be allowed to increase the number of nonresident students. According to Silagy, the state is spending more than $82,000 per student for New College, which has 802 students, including 90 who aren't Florida residents. As a comparison, the state spends roughly $19,000 per student at the University of Florida. Silagy's remarks drew fire from New College President Richard Corcoran, a former state House speaker who was recruited by Gov. Ron DeSantis to remake the Sarasota liberal-arts school into a conservative higher-education institution. Corcoran called Silagy's comparisons of New College to other Florida universities "odious." "When we, the new board, came onto the scene, here's the rhetoric that we were told: 'Be the Hillsdale of the South. Grow your prestige to what you were in the past,'" Corcoran said, referring to the conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan. New College is "just not like the rest" of Florida's public universities, Corcoran argued. "I mean, we took over an absolute failed institution, had it been not publicly funded, would have closed a decade ago, without question," he said. "The question is, do you want to build, for the Legislature and the governor, a world-class liberal-arts institution? If the answer is yes … we can't be graded or evaluated in that same context."
