Find some FAQs (frequently asked questions) and answers about the Queen's University budget.
Like other universities in Ontario, Queen's is experiencing growing financial pressure due to a provincial tuition cut and freeze for in-province students since 2019 and expected for another two years, and a decrease in international student enrolment. Increasing costs and inflation have added to the budgetary strain. This has resulted in a structural operating deficit.
These financial pressures are long-term factors that require us to change how we operate at structural and systemic levels. To help us return to a balanced budget, we are reducing our expenditures to align with our revenues. Our budget planning aims to return the university to structural balance while ensuring more resources over the long term go towards delivering on our academic mission of excellence in research and teaching now and into the future.
We are confident that the planned measures will return us to a balanced budget, and our efforts have been well-received by leading financial analysts, including S&P Global Ratings, which affirmed its 'AA+' long-term issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Queen's University.
Our expenditures are outpacing our revenues on an ongoing basis, which is what makes it a structural operating budget deficit.
Like other universities in Ontario, Queen's is experiencing growing financial pressure due to a provincial tuition cut and freeze for in-province students since 2019 and expected for another two years, and a decrease in international student enrolment. Increasing costs and inflation have added to the budgetary strain.
We are reducing our expenditures to align with our revenues. Our budget planning aims to return the university to structural balance while ensuring more resources go towards delivering on our academic mission of excellence in research and teaching now and into the future. These financial pressures are long-term factors that require us to change how we operate at structural and systemic levels.
While these decisions are not easy and some of the work ahead will be difficult, it is necessary and doable. With the support of the entire Queen’s community, we will emerge as a stronger and more resilient institution.
Our efforts have been well received by leading financial analysts, including S&P Global Ratings, which affirmed its 'AA+' long-term issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Queen's University, which further demonstrates we are on the right path.
Budgets are always projections—best estimates based on available information—so it’s normal for them to change. In 2023-24, we projected a budget deficit of $62.8 million. Over the course of the year, this was reduced to a projected final figure of $28.2 million.
The university has achieved this because of the measures we put in place to reduce operating costs as part of our Balanced Budget Plan. Some of these measures took immediate effect, allowing us to achieve a lower operating deficit than was originally projected.
For the year ahead, the projected operating budget deficit is $35.7 million for the 2024-25 fiscal year. This deficit incorporates the anticipated impacts of measures that we have already announced and implemented, including voluntary retirement and early exit incentives, reductions in general spending, and operational improvements. We expect revenues to remain flat due to the provincial tuition cut and freeze for in-province students that has been extended for another two years, and a decrease in international student enrolment, which is also accounted for in the projected operating budget.
The 2024-25 budget also includes a contingency of $16.8 million to address in-year needs that may arise, providing flexibility in case the $6 million in unconfirmed post-secondary education sustainability funding from the provincial government does not materialize.
In 2023-24, the university saw exceptionally high returns in its Pooled Investment Fund (PIF), with total projected investment income of $69.8 million. This exceeds the $5.2 million in PIF investment income that is budgeted for operational expenditures each year.
These projected investment returns are allocated to the university’s capital reserve to support capital investments such as maintaining and building the academic and research facilities that are critical to delivering on our academic mission, which receive little or no other dedicated funding. They also serve as a buffer in years of investment losses, since investment returns are highly unpredictable, based on market fluctuations, and cannot be relied on as a stable source of funding.
A single windfall in one year is not enough to address our structural operating deficit and would not address the underlying issues. We would risk finding ourselves in a similar situation in years when investment income isn’t as strong. The university is committed to tackling this issue now, rather than allowing it to linger. And because PIF income is highly volatile (there have been losses in two of the last four years), it is not a revenue source that we can continuously rely on.
Funds that are provided for specific use are restricted to that use; those that are unrestricted may be allocated for a variety of uses based on the financial strategy of the institution. Those dollars that are endowed are required to be used as specified by the donors.
No. Queen’s is facing a projected operating budget deficit of $35.7 million in the current 2024-25 fiscal year and must continue with the steps being taken to address our financial situation. Our expenditures are still outpacing our revenues on an ongoing basis, which is what makes it a structural operating budget deficit, and which is why the measures we are taking are continuing.
If you were to compare it to personal spending, you could say that we’re spending more on expenses like housing, food, and transit than our paycheque brings in each month. This might tempt you to spend investment income earned by your RRSP, but that’s a short-term solution that can’t be sustained. You will have to reduce what you are spending to live within your means, so you don’t end up in an even worse position in the longer term.
We are confident that the planned measures will return us to a balanced budget.
Our efforts have been well received by leading financial analysts, including S&P Global Ratings, which affirmed its 'AA+' long-term issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Queen's University, which further demonstrate we are on the right path.
No. Budgets are always projections—best estimates based on available information—so it is normal for them to change. In 2023-24, we projected a budget deficit of $62.8 million. In 2024-25, the projected budget deficit is $35.7 million.
The university has a duty to ensure that capital assets, such as buildings, are in good repair. Queen’s investments in capital projects such as new buildings, classrooms and labs are critical to building a strong future for our academic and research mission. In addition, we are confident that the measures we have planned and put in place as part of our Balanced Budget Plan will be successful.
Like other universities in Ontario, Queen's is experiencing growing financial pressure due to a provincial tuition cut and freeze for in-province students since 2019 and expected for another two years, and a decrease in international student enrolment. Increasing costs and inflation have added to the budgetary strain.
We are reducing our expenditure to align with our revenue. Our budget planning aims to return the university to structural balance while ensuring more resources go towards delivering on our academic mission of excellence in research and teaching now and into the future. These financial pressures are long-term factors that require us to change how we operate at structural and systemic levels.
Queen’s has implemented several initiatives to provide faculty and staff members with options, including a Voluntary Retirement Plan and a Voluntary Exit Initiative. Details about both are available on queensu.ca/budget.
Queen’s adjusts its program and class offerings every year based on numerous factors, including student interest. We are committed to continually evolving our academic programs and ensuring that core courses are available.
Like other universities in Ontario, Queen's is experiencing growing financial pressure due to a provincial tuition cut and freeze for in-province students since 2019 and expected for another two years, and a decrease in international student enrolment. Increasing costs and inflation have added to the budgetary strain. The university has been working to manage these factors and has stepped up efforts in recent years to ensure that the institution can emerge from this situation stronger and more resilient.