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The Board of Governors of the University of New Brunswick has approved a balanced operating budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year.

The $178.4-million budget represents an annual increase of $4.47 million, or 2.6 per cent. It is the third budget in a multi-year series designed to ensure the university’s long-term financial stability, following the dramatic effect of recent downward trends in global economies and financial markets. 



“It has been a challenging time for universities across the country, including ours,” said Eddy Campbell, president and vice-chancellor of UNB. "Over the past few years, everyone at the university has worked tirelessly to find savings, reduce costs and increase efficiency in order to ensure our university continues to offer the quality education and world-class research our province needs." 


Over the past seven years, UNB has cut more than $20-million from its operating budget, Campbell noted. About 70 per cent of the operating budget will support faculty/department costs and academic/student services. Approximately 15 per cent supports administrative and development services and 12 per cent is earmarked for maintenance and utilities with the remaining three per cent designated to other activities. 



The provincial government has remained committed to its investment in the further development of a provincial knowledge economy by maintaining the operating grant to public universities. In providing an additional one-time operating fund of $1.8 million in 2012-13, the provincial government has helped UNB to balance its budget and close the funding gap with other jurisdictions. 



Currently, provincial government funding accounts for 60.6 per cent of the 2012-13 budget, with 32.5 per cent generated from tuition and 6.9 per cent from other sources.

“We do have concerns over the long-term sustainability of the provincial government’s investment in UNB,” added Campbell. “We are currently negotiating those future funding agreements, but we certainly do appreciate the government’s continued investment in UNB, especially during challenging financial times.” 



While the current fiscal environment required the university to review all of its spending, Campbell noted that care was taken to protect financial support for students as well as core student services. 



“We recently completed a strategic plan to guide our future priorities with one of our goals being financial resilience and responsibility,” notes Campbell. “With this plan in hand, we are able to minimize budget impacts on the quality of our programs and the overall student experience.” 



The balanced budget includes cost adjustments to tuition fees. Ancillary fees, however, are not being increased in 2012-13, and provisions have been made for continuing improvements to classrooms, laboratories and student spaces. Through multi-year planning, funding for student financial support (scholarships and bursaries) remains at the same level despite uncertain financial markets.

Tuition for students in undergraduate programs will increase by $175, the cap suggested by the provincial government. Inflation-based adjustments will also be made to residence fees on the Fredericton and Saint John campuses. 



The complete budget is now available for viewing at:
//www.unb.ca/vpfinance/budgets/index.html

Updated tuition and fee schedules will be available over the coming days at:
//www.unb.ca/financialservices/students/tuitionandfees/index.html

For media inquiries, contact:

Greg Carriere
Senior Manager, Communications 
University of New Brunswick
(506) 453-4546

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