Humber College
2015-16 Business Plan and Financial Budget approved by Humber's Board of Governors
Tuesday, March 31, 2015

I am pleased to announce that the Humber Board of Governors has approved the 2015-16 Business Plan and Financial Budget, which supports continued implementation of the 2013-18 Strategic Plan.

In the spirit of our strategic plan commitment to strengthen our business planning and resource allocation model, the Executive Advisory Council – supported by the Office of Strategic Planning and Institutional Analysis – led a collaborative and consultative process to develop the 2015-16 Business Plan and Financial Budget. Our processes continue to evolve as we strive to broaden our planning horizons and we anticipate additional focus on integrated planning at the divisional levels in the coming year.

This continues to be a time of transition for Ontario’s postsecondary sector. The 2015-16 Business Plan and Financial Budget were developed within the context of our Strategic Mandate Agreement with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Postsecondary institutions are facing a changing economic climate, a declining demographic profile and an increased focus on international enrolment. Internally, the development of an Academic Plan and supporting Strategic Enrolment Management Plan will further refine our recruitment, retention and program planning efforts as we rise to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by the shifting external landscape.

The budget assumes an overall 4.4 per cent increase in enrolment during the 2015-16 fiscal year, and the initiatives outlined in the business plan ensure that we are supporting our students throughout their postsecondary journey. We will introduce nine new programs across the range of credentials and we will add 42 full-time staff members to support academic delivery and other services for students.

Some of these initiatives are highly visible: extensive infrastructure work at both the North and Lakeshore campuses is underway or slated to begin in the 2015-16 fiscal year. Projects include the opening of the Learning Resource Commons and Bio Science Labs and classrooms at North, and the Arts Academy at Lakeshore Campus, with work continuing on the Welcome Centre, Athletics facility and Centre for Entrepreneurship.

The business plan also details transformational strategic initiatives that push us to think beyond the status quo and support new and innovative practice. These initiatives include the launch of the first Centre of Innovation in Healthy Living, the development of a comprehensive strategic research plan and a government relations strategy. In the area of teaching and learning, we will pilot a Change Management Framework and Toolkit as we implement the Human Resources Management System, which is the third and final stage of the Enterprise Systems Project. As well, Student Success and Engagement will launch a co-curricular record for students, and we will finalize the development of space standards and a space allocation process.

With a focus on building and maintaining partnerships that benefit our learners, we will evaluate the effectiveness of our Program Advisory Committees and begin implementation of the multi-year Alumni Engagement Strategy. Of course, we can do none of this important work without ensuring that our people, processes and technology are well supported, and the business plan identifies several investments that will ensure the efficacy and efficiency of our foundations.

The 2015-16 Financial Budget will invest more than $385M in core operational and ancillary business areas as well as projects that are directly related to the objectives outlined in the strategic plan, and none of this would be possible without the ongoing passion for excellence demonstrated by our faculty, support staff and administrators. I thank you for your dedication and caring.

To access a copy of the 2015-16 Business Plan, as well as additional information related to the implementation of the 2013-18 Strategic Plan, please visit humber.ca/wearehumber/staff/humber-planning-documents.