BoG discusses a strategic plan for accommodating enrolment growth

At the December 13 meeting of the University of Alberta Board of Governors (BoG), the financial update included discussion on tuition increases. Additionally, the board discussed Built for Purpose: The University’s Strategic Campus Plan and the Integrated Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan.

Financial update

Todd Gilchrist, vice-president (university services, operations and finance), reported a forecasted annual operating deficit of $21.9 million. That amount is against a budgeted deficit of $46.2 million, he said.

“That change is mainly attributable to higher than budgeted investment income returns,” Gilchrist said.

The proposed 2025–26 tuition increase for domestic students is two per cent. Provost and Vice-president (academic) Verna Yiu said that the university will keep domestic student financial support at its current amount of $8.5 million. The university is not proposing any additional offsets.

The university is also proposing a ten per cent international tuition increase for all undergraduate and course-based graduate programs, Yiu said. This increase would apply to students who begin their degrees in fall 2026. The university is currently developing the tuition proposal for thesis-based graduate programs.

“The international student offset of 8.55 per cent of all tuition revenue will continue in fall 2026,” Yiu added.

Built for Purpose: The University’s Strategic Campus Plan

The draft of Built for Purpose focuses on how the university will physically accommodate projected growth. It will outline how the university utilizes its land, buildings, and infrastructure, in addition to associated learning, support, and research spaces.

By 2033, the university is aiming to increase enrolment by 16,000 students, according to the U of A’s 10-year strategic plan SHAPE. According to Gilchrist, Built for Purpose focuses on the university’s growth in the next 20 years. It was developed “in alignment with our core missions of education, research, and engagement,” Gilchrist said.

Guy Bridgeman, BoG member, asked how the university will measure progress “relative to peers in terms of our space.” Gilchrist replied that there will be a dashboard to measure the progress of the plan.

U of A Students’ Union (UASU) President Lisa Glock asked how the plan will inform barrier-free access considering that “over 10 per cent of students identify with a form of disability.”

Ashley Bhatia, associate vice-president (infrastructure planning, development, and partnerships) said that university members with disabilities have been consulted.

Integrated EDI Action Plan

The Integrated EDI Action Plan aims to create an environment “where talented people from diverse backgrounds, interests, and perspectives will feel welcome and flourish,” Tom Ross, BoG member, said.

Giri Puligandla, BoG member, said that the plan addresses that “the university is a place of tension, discomfort, disagreement.”

“That’s what makes it an academic institution where ideas are expressed freely. People’s identities, backgrounds, and differences actually create that space for us to grow together,” he said.

Janice MacKinnon, BoG, said that she would be voting against the plan. She said that “the document talks about Canada as a settler colonist society,” which she said she found “disturbing.” MacKinnon raised concern with the university presenting “one view of Canadian history.”

Carrie Smith, vice-provost (EDI), said that this aspect of plan was informed in partnership with the Indigenous Engagement Advisory Council.

“We built this framing not around a single or unified vision of Canadian history. I completely agree with that. The plurality of voices and stories around how we understand ourselves historically and our position at the university within that history is so important,” Smith said.

A motion to amend the language used in the document to define Canada’s history was carried.