The Humber College Council (HCC) held its second meeting of the 2020-2021 academic year on Thursday, October 15, 2020, online using Microsoft Teams. To ensure the Humber community is informed of upcoming events, new initiatives, and important issues, the College Council reports the highlights of its meetings. For more information or to provide feedback on these highlights, please contact risha.toney@humber.ca.
Roundtable
Risha Toney [Transfer Recruitment Coordinator, Office of the Registrar] announced the launch of a new website for students transferring to and within Humber. Students can search databases related to transfer credits, diploma to degree pathways and Ontario graduate certificates. A digital Diploma to Degree brochure was also launched.
Rose Anthony [Faculty, Student Success and Engagement], shared information about Counselling Services’ Healthy Minds for Stressful Times student support group. These virtual drop-in group sessions take place every Tuesday from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The objective is to help students with feelings of overwhelming stress and anxiety. Email Rose at rose.anthony@humber.ca with any questions. A poster can also be provided if faculty want to promote this initiative to their students.
Ignite: Student Engagement Coordinators
Camila Ruiz Tacha and Erika Johnson [Student Engagement Coordinators (SECs), Ignite] introduced their new roles, replacing the previous roles of Ignite President and Vice-Presidents. These three new positions are paid and have a tenure of two years.
The SECs are leading many initiatives advocating on issues related to food security, academic quality assurance, and student financial security. They’ve also had COVID-19 impact meetings with senior management relaying concerns shared by the student body. Furthermore, they are working closely with Humber equity hubs and advocating on behalf of students in residence.
A few of the activities being led by the Student Engagement Coordinators include: a weekly financial web series called “Earning and Learning”, providing students with financial insight to best manage their funds during these unprecedented times; Learning Essential Support, a fund set aside to assist students to purchase essential non-tuition items such as uniforms, software, safety equipment, etc. $49,868.87 was disbursed to 174 students; establishing Academic Program Representatives who will act as a liaison between students’ peers and Ignite to voice concerns about their program.
They also hope to have a presence at the new International Graduate School [IGS], supporting International students, and they have partnered with the Centre for Entrepreneurship by sponsoring their Launch Me Competition, contributing $5,000 towards the $20,000 of seed funding to be disbursed to student entrepreneurs.
Upcoming events include: Money Management Masterclass, and the Black Excellence Conference.
Mid-year Forecast and 2021-22 Budget Planning
Sanjay Puri [Vice President, Administration and CFO] provided an update on the 2020-21 budget and forecast and budget planning for the 2021-22 year-end. S. Puri started off by noting that this current situation is fluid, and the numbers are changing on an ongoing basis.
Before the pandemic, the original 2020-21 budget estimated a surplus of $5.8 million. This budget was revised, and the Board of Governors approved a budget with a deficit of $40.5 million. This revised budget estimated a 20% reduction in enrollment (domestic/international mix) and a decline of over $60 million in non-tuition and ancillary fees. Spending would be managed through hiring deferrals, reduced discretionary spending, renovations and select projects deferred which would save an estimated $19.8 million.
To date the actual numbers are below the original budget but are trending ahead, in most instances, of the revised budget. Summer enrollment was 5 percent higher, while fall enrollment was 17% higher than estimated. This amounted to an $8.4 improvement in revenue. This figure includes a provision for uncollectable student fees. Non-tuition and ancillary fees and services revenue declined by $2.6 million and cost savings from spending management is $10 million.
Based on these numbers, there is a mid-year financial improvement of $15.8 million. As such, the year-end budget is forecasted to have a deficit of $24.7 million (instead of the initial $40.5 million). Items that will influence this number is winter 2021 enrollment and how well spending is managed.
Budget planning and forecasting have already begun for 2021-22. The $150 million operating grant from the provincial government will remain unchanged for a period of 5 years, positive or negative, due to the corridor formula that the government uses. The performance-based segment of this funding has been deferred.
Tuition for domestic students will remain unchanged with a planned international fee increase of 3%. This would mean an additional $3 million in revenue for the college. However, this amount is still to be confirmed. A final decision will be made next month. Program-based and non-tuition fees are still to be determined.
Academic delivery will remain as is with limited on campus activity and physical distancing requirements in place. Domestic enrollment is stronger while international is a bit weaker. S. Puri also noted that there has been a shift to PT studies with students taking less courses per semester. Finally, with regards to staffing, HR business partners will be engaged to review the impact of the “new normal” and only essential hiring will take place.
During the Q & A segment, a question was asked about communicating to students the lack of a reduction in tuition fees due to most courses being delivered online. Kelly Jackson [Associate Vice-President, Government Relations and Communications] indicated that Humber.ca/updates has an FAQ to assist with answering tuition fee related question. Chris Whitaker [President, Humber College] added context and asserted that no college in the province has reduced their tuition fees and that due to COVID, it now costs more to deliver our programs.
The next meeting of the College Council will be held on Thursday, November 12, 2020. For meeting highlights, supporting materials, and opportunities to provide feedback, please visit the College Council website.