真假?
Dear Members of the Carleton Community,
It is no secret that these are challenging times for post-secondary institutions in Ontario. The market downturn in 2008 and the slow economic recovery since then have increased the financial pressures on universities. Carleton is not immune to these pressures. While we have managed our financial resources carefully, we expect to have some difficult decisions to make as we conclude the university's budget planning process for 2010/11. Our objective as always is to protect our ability to deliver on our academic mission, protect our research capacity and preserve the unique experience Carleton offers our students.
Our planning efforts are complicated by a number of factors, including the need to make additional payments to the pension fund. Current estimates indicate that a payment of $15 million may be required in 2011/12 with annual payments of $24 million commencing in 2012/13. To put this into perspective, $24 million is more than eight per cent of our current operating income, and 15 per cent of our current full-time salary budget. This payment represents a decline in value of the university pension fund and a solvency payment is required to replenish the lost value. Although the Council of Ontario Universities has been advocating for pension solvency relief, we expect that these payments will still be required. This total will have an impact on the financial resources available to us as we plan for the years to come.
The challenge is compounded by the fact that our provincial funding picture is also unclear. The province's current multi-year post-secondary funding framework - which provides guidelines for tuition fees - has expired. Tomorrow, March 25, the province will announce its 2010 budget. It is one of the most anticipated budgets we have faced in the past two decades for several reasons in addition to the pension solvency issue:
* 'Reaching Higher', the province's transfer payment program for universities and colleges, ends in 2010. Over the last five years this program has provided more than $6 billion to universities and colleges. It is not yet clear if the Reaching Higher program will continue, but given the province's $25-billion deficit, any reduction or freeze in provincial grants will have a serious impact on us.
* The current tuition framework has also expired. We hope to receive further direction from the province that will allow us to conclude our budget planning process in time to present Carleton's 2010/11 financial framework to the Board of Governors in April.
The funding situation creates challenges and will require some difficult decisions as we go through the planning process for 2010/11. While the measures we might take are still under consideration as we await the provincial budget, our goal, as stated above, is to ensure stability and to minimize the impact on Carleton's ability to achieve its academic objectives. Our task will not be easy, but Carleton has faced financial challenges in the past and has thrived.
Following the tabling of the provincial budget we will provide the Carleton community with an overview of what we think it means for the university. In the meantime, should you have any questions please don't hesitate to let us know.
Sincerely,
Roseann O'Reilly Runte, President and Vice-Chancellor
and
Duncan Watt, Vice-President (Finance and Administration)