Budget approved, reports on undergrad French language compliance evaluation and Framework for Mental Health and Wellness presented
The University of Ottawa Board of Governors (BOG) met on May 29 to approve the 2023-24 budget. The meeting also included reports on the University’s Strategic Framework for Mental Health and assessing the conformity of U of O’s undergraduate programs under the Ontario French Language Services Act.
2023-24 Budget Approval
The budget was presented by the provost and vice-president of academic affairs, Jill Scott, who called the budget “realistic and responsible” and that it takes into consideration risks such as inflation, uncertainty for international student recruitment and Bill 124.
A key change to the 2023-24 budget is the 40 per cent decrease in the university’s entrance and cutting the merit scholarships at the undergraduate level, affecting students who enrolled in the university after September 2022.
This decision was explained by Scott as being made to “align [the U of O] with other U6 universities in Ontario”. She highlighted how the U of O was the only U6 (Research-Intensive) university to provide generous scholarships. Scott additionally reported a budget restriction of non-academic salaries in 2022-23, which she claims created $13 million in savings for the university.
The Ontario 10 per cent tuition cut and five-year tuition freeze for domestic students were declared as main adversaries to the university’s budget. It was also reported that the university is struggling to meet admission targets due to a “significant” decline in international Anglophone applications. Scott cited China as a leading country of admission decrease due to the country’s increased capacities, isolationist policies and demographic decline.
There was also a reported decline in Anglophone Canadian students, particularly from the Greater Toronto Area, due to most students opting to study closer to home. Scott cited these factors alongside inflation and improved labour market conditions, primarily affecting graduate-level admissions.
Another prominent change to the budget included a large variety of tuition increases. For international undergraduate students enrolled after 2021, tuition increases range from 5.5 to 12 per cent depending on your year of study. International graduate students will also see a similar tuition increase depending on their year of study but doctoral program fees will remain unchanged.
There will be program-dependent tuition increases as well. First-year undergraduate domestic and out-of-province Canadian students in Telfer (business), common law, and engineering will see a 7.5 per cent tuition increase. Undergraduate and graduate out-of-province students outside of these programs will still see a tuition increase of 5 per cent, with the exception of those in doctoral programs.
Scott responded to the tuition changes citing that the U of O does a “great deal of benchmarking” against their competitor institutions and to other internationally-ranked universities, to ensure they are setting tuition fees “accordingly”. Scott went on to explain that tuition fees for returning students are stated “up front”, and to incoming students before they accept their offer.
“We were the only U6 university offering generous admission scholarships,” Scott responded in regard to the admission scholarships change. “During the pandemic, we saw quite a lot of grade inflation. That [inflation] led us to a fairly substantial increase of $13 million in our overall undergraduate scholarships.”
Scott also clarified that the merit scholarships were removed but with a grandfather clause. “All those students who came into the university understanding that they were eligible for a merit scholarship with benefit from [the scholarships] until they graduate,” she said.
Jessica Tchida, an undergraduate student board member and graduating psychology student, was present at the meeting and asked how the BOG can further support students in regard to the financial aid changes and what students can anticipate in future years. Tchida emphasized a concern for the future of international students with these changes.
“On one hand, I think a lot about how [the] decisions that are made in the budget are going to impact students and the constraints that we have from a financial standpoint with funding. For example, Francophonie and also within provincial funding,” said Tchida.
“I was disappointed in the sense that [the budget] was disproportionately affecting out-of-province students and international students, specifically international students, based on the constraints of the actual funding that we receive both provincially and otherwise.”
Tchida also acknowledged that the university did its best to provide the same quality of services in regard to provincial financial constraints and other restraints in the budget. She stated that her questions asked at the BOG meeting were about budget cuts, changes to student services, and “fear about what’s going to happen to our campus going forward, based on our financial situation”.
“The answer that I’ve received at the board meeting was it’s not that changes will not occur because they can’t guarantee that it won’t affect the student population,” explained Tchida. “But the decisions that they have made, or the restructuring of the university that they’ve done – either internally or within services – has been done in a way to minimize impacts. [They university] really did their best to try to limit any sort of day-to-day impact for students.”
In a statement to the Fulcrum, university spokesperson Jesse Robichaud said the university is “fully aware of the financial pressures that our students are facing” and “are doing everything we can to make post-secondary education as affordable as possible while safeguarding the financial stability of our university”.
“University of Ottawa students have access to one of the most generous financial aid and award programs in the country. The budget approved on Monday did not contain any new changes to the financial aid and award program,” Robichaud said. “The changes to university fees comply with the current framework on tuition fees and the guidelines on ancillary fees set by the Government of Ontario.”
Undergraduate Compliance Evaluation under the Ontario French Language Services Act
Presented by the U of O’s vice-president of francophone and international affairs, Sanni Yaya, the report is the result of an evaluation launched by Yaya in Feb. 2022. The U of O was designated as a public service agency under the French Language Services Act in 2016.
“In view of the unique role [the designation] plays for the Francophone minority, the University of Ottawa had reaffirmed and strengthened its founding mission to preserve and develop the French language and Francophone culture,” Yaya said in the report.
The evaluation reported that of the 137 undergraduate programs designated under the French Language Service Act, 93 per cent were compliant – which means that each program could be completed solely in French on a full-time basis. Only 11 of the evaluated programs were non-compliant.
For a program to be designated under the French Language Service Act, “all compulsory courses in a program must be offered in French and there must be sufficient optional courses available in French to complete the program within the required time-frame”.
Of the 137 designated programs, the faculty of arts and the faculty of social sciences offered the most program options, with 39 and 43 programs to choose from, respectively. The faculty of arts also had eight non-compliant programs, the most of all of the faculties.
Strategic Framework for Mental Health
Elizabeth Kristjansson, the university advisor of mental health and wellness, presented the Mental Health and Wellness Strategic Framework at the BOG meeting. This report follows Kristjansson’s appointment as an advisor and the President’s Advisory Committee on Mental Health and Wellness, both in 2020.
“We must examine the ways in which we lead, teach, work, study and interact to shape uOttawa as a caring and compassionate university,” said Kristjansson in a foreword to the report.
The framework focuses on prevention and support through seven priority areas, such as “engaging curricula” and “capacity building and mental health and wellness literacy”. There are four ‘guiding principles’ outlined in the report; caring and compassionate university community; “whole of community” approach; collaboration; and accountability, evaluation, and improvement.
The report claims there will be “periodic evaluation of the university’s progress” through methods such as focus groups and surveys. Additionally, the framework will be reviewed every five years to “ensure [its] continued relevancy in advancing a caring and compassionate environment that empowers our university community to thrive”.
New tuition fee exemption system for Francophone International Students
A new scholarship system for Francophone international students was additionally unveiled at the meeting to replace the previous tuition fee exemption scholarship introduced in the 2021-22 budget.
The budget book states that; “[u]nder the new system, Francophone international students pay the same tuition as Anglophone international students but receive a scholarship that brings their net tuition fees in 2023–2024 above the revenue received by admitting an Ontario student (grant and tuition included)”.
The members of the board also discussed some challenges that the university is currently facing, such as insufficient capital reserves for academic programs over the next five years. It was also discussed that student-professor ratios at the university are too high, with Scott claiming that faculties have been making “very prudent decisions” in response to delivering their programs.
During the meeting, university president Jacques Frémont claims that he hears student complaints about university fees and that the provincial government is “not taking their fair share”.
You can view the BOG agenda (including its budget book) here.
