University of Waterloo president speaks out on financial struggles

Money remains a problem at the University of Waterloo (UW).

After UW announced the details of their financial situation in November, the school has been pressuring the provincial and federal government for change.

UW was down $15 million on their operating budget in 2023, and they are forecasting a deficit of $100 million in a few years if matters remain status quo.

President Vivek Goel was on the Mike Farwell Show Wednesday explaining that the university can’t make the infrastructure improvements it needs to so that it can close the ever-growing gap between operating costs and revenue.

“You can’t do that forever,” said Goel. “It’s like if you are not fixing your roof on your house in order to pay your mortgage, eventually your house is not livable. So we’ve been not spending on certain things that we should be spending on just to close that gap.”

The school has deferred expenses in areas like capital improvements, dealing with maintenance on their 50-year infrastructure, and investing in new IT systems.

The financial issues stem from a long-standing tuition freeze and stagnant operating grants.

In response to calls for help from the post-secondary institutions, a “blue-ribbon” panel appointed by the province was asked to review the financial health of the university sector. That panel recommended operating grants increase and the tuition freeze be lifted.

“We also call on the province to act on the recommendations of its own panel and ensure that we’re adequately supported,” said Goel. “If we don’t have that kind of support on the revenue side, we will have to look at cost-containment measures.”

The deficit numbers were revealed before the recent announcement from the federal government on the international student visa cap. This only made matters worse.

Goel told the Mike Farwell Show that UW is not at threat of going under, but the Laurentian University situation is a reminder of what can happen.

A struggling university will also harm the regional economy. Goel said that UW has an operational impact worth more than a billion dollars, and creates 10,000 jobs in the region.