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Thanks to collective efforts by all units across campus and successful student recruitment initiatives, our 2024/25 budget is projected to be balanced without additional budget cuts or reductions.

In recent years, we have been graduating more international students than we have been able to recruit due to many contributing and ongoing factors. This trend started during, and was impacted by, the COVID-19 pandemic (including travel restrictions, lockdowns, backlog in processing study permits).

In 2023, the federal Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced changes to study-permit requirements that created uncertainties for students. They also restricted the number of study permits available and began requiring a provincial attestation letter (PAL). The Province of British Columbia worked quickly to put a PAL system in place, allowing prospective students to apply for a study permit from IRCC.

In fall 2024, the federal government announced additional restrictions and study permit limits. While we are still awaiting clarification and additional information from our provincial colleagues, based on the previous allocations, we are optimistic that we will receive sufficient PALs for our international undergraduate, graduate and continuing studies students.

However, there is increased competition globally to attract high-quality students. Many of our principal source countries, including China and India, are now offering more on-shore domestic opportunities for students limiting the number of students choosing to study in Canada. Countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States remain the top destinations for most international students, but other countries such as Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore are becoming increasingly popular. These countries continue to aggressively pursue international enrolment.

During the 83-day encampment on our campus, UVic incurred significant costs to support the ongoing health and safety of our campus community, including members of the encampment, and to mitigate disruptions to university activities and damage and destruction to university property.

These costs include enhanced safety measures undertaken during June convocation ceremonies, which helped to prevent disruptions for our graduating students and their guests, as well as for faculty, staff and other visitors. The area where the encampment was on campus, referred to as the Quad, required significant clean-up to restore the greenspace ahead of the fall term. This included the removal of pallets, broken furniture, garbage and biohazards. Over the duration of the 83 days, our campus also saw—and continues to experience—increased acts of vandalism that require repair and attention.

Keeping the members of our campus community safe is our top priority. Additional security on site during the encampment helped us address incidents of violence against encampment members and against others from our campus community, as well as various disruptions to campus operations.

Combined encampment-related costs are estimated at $1.06 million. Security on campus accounted for $695,000 and included overtime costs for campus-security staff, along with contracts with Paladin Security and the Saanich Police Department. Other costs included $365,000 for enhanced convocation measures, external counsel and facilities management, including addressing vandalism on campus.

We continue to support free expression and uphold our community’s right to safe, peaceful and lawful protest. However, in exercising these rights, there is a requirement to act in a responsible manner that respects the rights of other members of the university community, upholds the university’s values, and adheres to the policies on our campus that support physical safety, respect and inclusion.

As we continue to reflect on and learn from the actions on our campus over the past few months, our focus remains on supporting inclusivity and on creating a sense of belonging for all members of our community.

With respect to recruiting international students, we continue to diversify both in terms of countries and the programs we are marketing. We have partnership with Kaplan, an international form with an expansive network of recruiters and agents in countries all over the world. UVic recruiters are also ramping up efforts, and our leaders are visiting countries like China, India and the United Arab Emirates to make connections and enhance our reputation and profile. As well, the Student Affairs’ team launched a new marketing campaign in September 2024 to reach key international audiences for our undergraduate programs.

Recently, we clarified and sped up our admission processes for all students, with offer letters going out four weeks earlier than in previous years. UVic maintains and controls admissions and standards, and we remain committed to quality. We will also be sensitive to specific grading differences in countries and regions to ensure that we are assessing student achievement accurately.

To reach more learners, we continue to strengthen pathways through our Division of Continuing Studies for students who do not initially meet English-language requirements. Revisions to the pathway program were approved by Senate on March 1, 2024.

New micro-certificates, degree programs and professional graduate programs are also helping to set us apart and attract new learners. Also, we are exploring possibilities with transnational education and developing a framework for other opportunities in Asia Pacific.

While there isn’t provincial funding for general growth, UVic continues to successfully qualify for targeted, Ministry-funded academic expansions, providing more spaces for students within in-demand programs that align with community needs. Recent academic expansions have included engineering and computer science programs as well as health-related programs.

To further diversify revenue, UVic's real estate strategy outlines the development of a new mixed-use University District near our main campus, including the Ian Stewart Complex—one that encompasses new housing and supporting commercial uses.

Finally, a Budget Design Committee has been developing a new budget model for the university to incentivize innovation, entrepreneurialism and service excellence.

UVic is responsible for the financial stewardship of over $700 million in total annual revenues. To enhance accountability, budgetary control, and oversight of resources, UVic maintains separate funds for its diverse activities.

The general operating budget includes the general operations for the university—everything from salaries and benefits to scholarships and bursaries to keeping the lights on. It is composed of two parts: general operating revenue and general operating expenditures. 

Other funds separate from the operating budget include sponsored research, ancillary operations, specific purpose, and capital.

Additional information, including actuals and projections are included in the Planning and Budget Framework.

Operating costs for the university are funded from two main sources: government grants, which accounted for 54% of revenues in 2023/24, and student fees (tuition), which accounted for 35%. Department revenue, other grants and contracts, federal grants and investments make up the remaining percentage of revenue.

Tuition from international students make up approximately 37% of total tuition revenue, whereas international student enrolment comprises 17% of student FTE. International undergraduate students pay more in tuition than domestic students because the provincial grant is not intended to provide funding for their education.

The importance of people to the university is reflected in the operating budget, with 80% of annual operating expenditures allocated to salary and benefits. Reflecting the mission of the university, 80% of the total operating budget is allocated to academic areas including faculties, research, library, student financial aid, and student services, with the remaining 20% allocated to maintain and operate facilities and for support functions.

Additional information about UVic’s operating budget is available in the Planning and Budget Framework.

The Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills (PSEFS) sets enrolment targets for UVic based on annualized FTEs, and UVic’s Board of Governors approves our enrolment levels to help meet those targets. UVic’s grant funding, like other post-secondary institutions in BC, is provided by PSEFS based on our domestic enrolment targets. This represents our “PSEFS-funded target,” and we submit a Board-approved “Institutional Accountability Plan and Report” to PSEFS every summer that demonstrates how well we have met those targets.

UVic sets a higher internal target for enrolments for the purpose of its own academic and budget planning, which takes into account undergraduate international students (who are not funded by government and pay full international tuition).

International graduate students are included along with domestic students in the PSEFS graduate targets.

Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrolment is a weighted measure of student enrolment that takes into account course load. This measure is the principal enrolment accountability with the province and determines our funding for domestic students. For undergraduates, the FTE for a particular term is calculated by dividing a student’s total registered units by the expected unit total for that particular program and year level. For full-time graduate students, the term FTE is 1.0. For part-time graduate students, the term is 0.33.

An annualized FTE measures course activity over a 12-month period, beginning with the Summer Session. For an undergraduate, this is the sum of the FTEs for the summer, fall and spring terms. For a graduate student, the annualized FTE is the sum of the three FTEs divided by 3.

Learn more about FTEs and other definitions.

No. Government funds up to our domestic enrolment target, which they set. Any additional students enrolled provide only tuition revenue, which is insufficient to cover the full cost of education.

From time to time, UVic works with the BC Government on targeted expansions of programs, which increases our enrolment target and provincial grant. Recent increases have included software engineering, computer science, social work, health information science, and nurse practitioner programs.