Every fall, UBC’s leadership launches a comprehensive and consultative planning process to determine how best to allocate our financial resources for the upcoming year. Coordinated planning activities on the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses result in a consolidated budget proposal that is submitted to the Board of Governors each spring.
Like many other Canadian post-secondary institutions, UBC is currently navigating a challenging and uncertain financial landscape. Recent external policy changes, continued global economic instability, rising geopolitical tensions, and heightened competition in the sector are affecting international student enrolment across the country. Careful planning is helping UBC to navigate these uncertainties and remain focused on our academic mission, but in the current context, we must take a conservative budgetary approach as we plan for 2025/26.
Across the university, leaders are actively assessing operations and programs and exploring ways to meet our evolving needs within our current resources. Throughout November, meetings have been held between UBC’s financial leadership and the leaders of each Faculty and Administrative Unit to review and discuss the financial outlook for each area. These discussions are ongoing and will continue to evolve throughout the months ahead as we work collaboratively towards a balanced budget proposal for 2025/26.
We deeply appreciate the effort and collaborative spirit shown across the university throughout this process. We understand this is a challenging time; however, this is also our opportunity to embrace innovation, adopt new technologies, and reimagine how we work. By working together, we can build a stronger, more resilient, and forward-thinking institution.
Our next step in the 2025/26 planning process will be the consolidation of Faculty and Administrative Unit financial plans into draft budgets for each campus, before we engage in sessions with various UBC community groups in the new year. The final budget, consolidating the plans from both campuses, will be presented to the Board of Governors in March. More details can also be found on the UBC Finance website.
We want to thank you for your support as we take a prudent and proactive approach to financial planning. By strengthening UBC’s long-term financial health we can enhance teaching, learning, and research at the university for years to come.
Gage Averill
Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver
Lesley Cormack
Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, UBC Okanagan
Frank Laezza
Vice-President, Finance & Operations
This message was distributed by Bulletin at the UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan campuses.