The Saint Mary's Budget

• Overview of Five-Year Financial Sustainability Plan - July 12, 2024
• Board of Governors approves FY25 budget, endorses Five-Year Financial Sustainability Plan - June 3, 2024
• University Financial Update - May 10, 2024
• University Update and Meeting Invitation - April 23, 2024
• Update on University Finances and Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget Process - April 3, 2024
• Information re: Province's funding announcement for 2024-25 - February 6, 2024
• University Financial Update from President Summerby-Murray - January 23, 2024

Why has SMUWorks been paused this year (FY24/25)?

The university is the largest employer of our students every year. In FY 2023-24, the university invested almost $5.5 million in student employment.

While the SMUWorks program has been paused as a percentage of our overall investment in student employment, SMUWorks represents less than 10%.

There are many options for students seeking on-campus employment and for faculty seeking to employ students, including: many faculty already choose to employ more graduate students from their associated research grants; the Summer Undergraduate Student Awards program has grown significantly over the last few years, expanding beyond the initial NSERC externally funded awards and now includes contributions from university donors; and specific employment opportunities such as the SEI (Student Employment Initiative) program are open for students with disabilities. 

One area that will receive more attention and funding is research-related work opportunities for undergraduate students. This will be highlighted in the university’s next strategic plan and is a priority for the campaign.

Given the financial difficulties, should we have built the Sobeys Inspiration Hub at $43 million?

The Sobeys Inspiration Hub and related renovations to the Loyola Academic Centre were a key component of our campus plan, designed to increase faculty/student collaboration, including exploring entrepreneurship and other experiential learning, research and flexible classrooms and also to provide spaces for student societies and student social and study space. Since it opened in Fall 2023, the spaces have been extremely well used by student teams carrying out pitch competitions, launching businesses, and preparing for exams. Capital expenditure is funded separately and, as in the cases of the Sobeys Inspiration Hub, Isaacs Commons, Dauphinee Centre and other projects, benefits from significant contributions from provincial and federal governments, key donors and philanthropy, and long-term capital borrowing (within our Board-approved parameters such as debt per student, available spending ratios etc.)

The Sobeys Inspiration Hub plus the surrounding improvements to Loyola Academic and the new Isaacs Commons were funded by a number of partnerships and gifts to Saint Mary’s, including federal and provincial government funding (approx. $19 million); fundraising (approximately $11 million); and university financing (approx. $13 million). This is a cost-effective approach to providing new spaces for research, collaboration and student engagement. Capital spending is separate from the operating budget, and if you look around at all the significant buildings and infrastructure built and maintained at universities, you can see why universities require a separate budget for this important area.

What is the update on filling senior leadership positions?

The search for the Provost & Vice-President, Academic and Research is underway. The committee has met with the search consultant, initiated a campus consultation, and developed the position description and posting. The process is on track and will be completed in summer 2024.

The search for the Vice-President, Finance and Administration is in the interview phase, having worked with the search consultants to establish a shortlist. Interviews begin on May 6, 2024. The Presidential search is also underway under the leadership of the Board of Governors. In terms of decanal searches, we were very pleased to announce the appointments of Dr. Michel Delorme as the new Dean of the Sobey School of Business and Dr. Sam Veres as the new Dean of Science. 

Why did the university student financial aid budget grow so quickly?  

It is important to recognize that this is not just a ‘student financial aid’ budget – student financial support would be a better description. As a matter of fact, bursaries represent the smallest percentage of this budget – and we want to change this.  

Main categories include:  

• Entrance Scholarships – new and renewed 
• Academic Achievement Awards (in program) 
• Bursaries 
• Tuition discounts for international exchange students  

Historically, three out of these four categories had been designed with criteria that did not allow the university to ‘cap’ how many dollars were awarded each year, they were ‘guaranteed’.  We have already changed that for the Entrance scholarship program design and started the process for the Academic Achievement Awards.  It is not just about placing controls on student financial support. We have raised more than $20 million for scholarships and bursaries in the last four years, and we have increased the goal associated with this priority in our campaign from $20 million to $50 million.   

Why is SMU experiencing declining enrolment?

While Saint Mary’s has its own unique circumstances, rest assured that other institutions are also experiencing enrolment issues in similar and different ways. In our case, part of our challenge is that historically, we have a reliance on our local HRM and Nova Scotia populations (which are experiencing a demographic decline in high school students) and operate in a very competitive Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada marketplace. Our teams are working hard to develop long-term, sustainable strategies for both domestic and international markets to ensure we are attracting the best and “right” students to Saint Mary’s and that support stable and consistent enrolment.

Will there be early retirement packages?  

We are looking at a variety of means to reduce costs and that includes looking at salaries and benefits. Non-unionized employees are currently under a salary freeze (including Deans, University Librarian, AVPs, VPs and President). That is helping. There are provisions for SMUFU and NSGEU members for early retirement incentives in their respective collective agreements. These incentives end at the age of 67 – but we invite faculty and staff over 67 to reach out to HR if you would like to discuss an incentive option. We must use all the tools at our disposal to remedy the current situation. 

What would you say to a future faculty member or researcher about coming to work at Saint Mary’s University?

We are determined to do the work necessary to keep up our place as one of Canada’s top primarily undergraduate universities. In the university’s next strategic plan, we will indicate our support for and investment in EDIA (Equity Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility), research excellence, student success and more. The work we are doing now to turn around deficits and return to financial sustainability will enable us to build a bright future for the entire Saint Mary’s community.