Despite Waterloo’s history of pragmatic and careful financial management, external pressures on the entire post-secondary sector mean Waterloo is facing significant financial challenges now, and in the years ahead. To return to a balanced budget, the University is building a three-year plan that will involve a multi-faceted approach including integrated planning, reduced spending, optimized efficiency, and revenue generation.
Our three-year plan includes
Integrated planning
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Implementing a new Waterloo Budget Model to support better decision-making
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Integrated Planning and Budgeting Processes that identify efficiencies and synergies
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Developing a new Campus Master Plan
Reduced spending
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Ongoing budget reductions across all university operations, faculties and departments
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Voluntary retirement program
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Limited hiring program / Hiring Freeze
Optimized efficiency
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Implementing Workforce planning
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Optimizing coordination of roles
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Investigating shared service and resource approaches
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Functional reviews with consultant support
Steps taken so far – in detail
Reducing ongoing spending
This year, we are managing the deficit by reducing ongoing spending by $42 million centrally, and in our faculties and academic support units. The remainder of the projected $75 million deficit is being covered in-year using one-time contributions from central funds and from faculties and academic support units.
We continue to explore actions, such as reviewing our vehicle fleet across all functions of the University to realize savings and efficiencies while maintaining essential service levels.
Organizational and functional reviews
At the heart of our three-year plan will be an iterative and ongoing effort to reduce duplication and improve efficiency across all areas of the institution, including through recent and ongoing reviews of units (portfolios of the Vice-President, Research and International, the Associate Vice-President, Academic, and the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, and the Plant Operations unit) and functions (Communications and Marketing, Finance, IT). As these reviews are completed in the coming weeks and months, we will start similar reviews of other administrative areas. As part of these processes, we will obtain appropriate benchmark data on administrative operations to compare to peer institutions.
We have partnered with Nous Group, an international consultancy firm that has worked with top institutions around the world and in Canada. Nous Group’s experience, knowledge, and expertise will help us develop evidence-based recommendations to make changes benchmarked against other similar institutions.
2024 voluntary retirement program
More than 70 people joined our voluntary retirement program for employees over 65 with at least 10 years of service.
Hiring freeze
Effective November 18, 2024, we transitioned from a limited hiring program to a hiring freeze. The University’s circumstances demand that only rare exceptions to the hiring freeze be considered for faculty and staff positions after following a stringent review process. Our hiring freeze has already helped us to save money while evaluating which empty positions need to be filled and which can be reconsidered or restructured.
Your feedback is important
We are committed to keeping you and the organizations that represent you informed and engaged throughout the budgetary process. If you have feedback and ideas that you would like to share, please email budget@uwaterloo.ca.
Thank you in advance for your commitment to the University, and for thinking differently, acting with purpose, and working together as we navigate these operating budget challenges.