TRU second-quarter budget projections climb out of deficit position

But the latest Board of Governors meeting on Friday (Dec. 5), showed a $9.6 million change between first and second quarter projections.

“We’ve had a lift in student enrolment in the fall term, we’ve got new programs coming on stream, and we’re making progress with managing our projected deficit,” notes TRU President, Dr. Airini, “What we saw at the board was we have tackled a good solid $5 million more of that. And we’re making good progress moving forward.”

The updated financial picture is partly due to a $5 million award from the Mastercard Foundation, along with several million dollars tuition fees from a bump in enrolment, and things like travel reductions, early retirements, and not filling open positions.

“We will be adjusting to what it means to no longer have our cherished colleagues with us. And we’ve got some good work underway around shared services, around how we actually organize ourselves as well,” adds Airini.

There’s now an estimated surplus of $1.3 million. But that does not mean no other changes will be required to get out of a deficit position with future budget years.

“So we’ve got two phases of change work that we need to see ourselves through. The first is an 18-20 month period that started in August and we’re right in the midst of that right now. And that is going to see us needing to make further changes. We still have to reach our target in terms of a $20 to $25 million change to our operating position,” explains Airini.

The latest financial forecast comes at a time when the province has launched an independent review into post-secondary institutions, with a goal of long term fiscal and operational sustainability in mind. The review is something the TRU Faculty Association is in favour of, however President Tara Lyster says they do feel that public consultation is lacking.

“It’s important that this consultation looks at the ratio of frontline workers to administration in all institutions provincially. And to ensure that the people doing the work, the frontline faculty and staff working with students are of a larger ratio than the administration,” notes Lyster.

It’s not clear what changes will actually come of this provincial review, but TRU FA says it wants to make sure access to education isn’t negatively impacted.

“When the decision making is made at universities, we keep the decision making on programming in the hands of the faculty experts so that the critical thinking and discourse that happens at institutions continues and that we don’t move toward a business model for running public, post-secondary education.”

A report on the post-secondary review, with recommendations, is expected to be delivered to the province by mid-March 2026.

“I can’t speak for the premier or for decisions that the ministry might make. What I do hope is there will be an even deeper understanding of how important it is to have this kind of university in this place for this region of this province,” Airini says, when asked what they hope to see out of the review process, “Thompson Rivers University is a unique, significant contributor as a dual-sector research university for the Interior region and for all of B.C.”

by Dylana Kneeshaw

TRU second-quarter budget projections climb out of deficit position

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