UNB News
News and stories from one of Canada’s top universities

The University of New Brunswick’s Board of Governors has approved the university’s 2018-2019 budget, which represents a continuation of the plan to balance the operating budget by the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

“The overarching strategy of 2018-19 budget is focused on aligning available resources and priorities to invest in our academic mission and research,” said Dr. Eddy Campbell, UNB president and vice-chancellor.

The 2018-19 budget is presented with an operating deficit of $5 million which was brought to a balanced position through the use of internally restricted net assets.

Expense growth continues to outpace revenue growth, but the University is making significant strides toward closing that gap by integrating and enhancing recruitment efforts, focusing on revenue-generating goals, and developing programs and partnerships with other institutions.

Details of the budget include:

• The Province of New Brunswick has provided a one per cent increase in the operating grant to UNB, along with $1.9 million in pilot project and ancillary partnership funding;
• UNB has increased the basic tuition fee for the 2018-2019 year by two per cent and the international student differential fee by three per cent;
• There are no one-time expenditures in the 2018-19 budget. The following items have been added to the base budget: funding for the communications and marketing offices, a reduced recruitment marketing campaign, rapid recruitment scholarship support for graduate students, staffing for the human rights office, increased health coverage for international students, and costs related to the regulatory compliance and provision of enterprise software.

This budget includes $2.3 million in budget reductions, which was accomplished without layoffs by eliminating vacant positions.

Three active budget committees provided input on the budget process and decisions from September through to the completion of the budget in April. The budget oversight process ensures budget options and choices are reviewed and analyzed and that multiple points of view are considered before the final proposal is brought to the Board of Governors for approval.

See detailed information for the 2018-2019 budget year, including university operations, capital activity, spending from university endowments and residence operations.

Media contact: Sonya Gilks