Report: UTM Campus Affairs Committee - January 15, 2020

In Attendance:
Brian Hoppie (Acting Manager, Parking & Transportation), Vicky Jezierski (Director, Hospitality & Retail Operations), Brian Kennedy (Financial Manager, Student Housing and Residence Life), Antonia Lo (Assistant Director, Student Services and Ancillaries), Lorretta Neebar (Registrar & Director of Enrolment Management), Chad Nuttall (Director, Student Housing & Residence Life),

Secretariat:
Cindy Ferencz Hammond (Assistant Secretary of the Governing Council), Alexandra Waters (Governance Coordinator, UTM)
 

1. Chair’s Remarks
   The Chair welcomed members to the first meeting of the year and noted that the nominations for elected positions on Campus Affairs Committee opened on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 and would close on Friday, January 17, 2020. The Chair reviewed the available positions for each constituency on the Committee and encouraged those who were interested to submit nominations by the deadline. The Chair advised members to contact Ms Cindy Ferencz Hammond, Deputy Returning Officer if they had any inquiries about the available positions and the nominations and elections process.
    
2. Enrolment Report
   The Chair invited Ms Lorretta Neebar, Registrar & Director of Enrolment Management, to provide an overview of undergraduate enrolment statistics at UTM. Ms Neebar reported that the UTM undergraduate student population was approximately 15, 424 students, with a proportion of 26% international students. For 2019-20, overall enrolment targets had been achieved, with an incoming international student population at 29%. She discussed the countries of citizenship of the undergraduate student population, and noted that China, India and Pakistan were the countries with highest representation. Statistics demonstrated that in 2019-20, approximately 66% of incoming international students attended educational institutions in Canada prior to their attendance at UTM, which included high schools and other post-secondary institutions.
   
   Ms Neebar stated that the number of entrance award recipients continued to rise, and in 2019, the scholarship award structure was revised such that the lowest qualifying admission range (88%-89.9%) was eliminated and the funds were redistributed to the remaining, higher admission ranges. She noted that international students representation among scholarship winners was high; 41% of those that received entrance scholarships 2018-19 were international students, and 37% in 2019-20. She further added that a significant number of students eligible for renewable scholarships continued to be successful in achieving them. Lastly, Ms Neebar discussed the graduation rate and noted that Universities reported their graduate rates based on the six-year statistic, which was 67.3% at UTM. Ms Neebar noted that compared to other similar institutions in the Province of Ontario, UTM continued to have a strong graduation rate.
   
   In response to a question about the criteria for renewable entrance scholarships, Ms Neebar listed the following qualifications: a 95% high school average, maintenance of a full-time course load and a minimum CGPA of 3.7.
   
   In response to a question about admission stream categories, Ms Neebar stated that students were not admitted to programs of study until after their first year. This led to fluctuations in the enrolment of subject areas, and therefore admission categories had been deliberately broad.
   
   In response to a question about graduation rates, Ms Neebar stated that programs with higher admission criteria, deregulated programs, and those with a more defined structure, exhibited faster graduation rates. She noted that international students also tended to graduate at a faster than average rate.
   
   In response to a member’s question about the increase in domestic enrolment, Ms Neebar stated that external factors, such as the York University strike in 2018, resulted in a higher than expected intake that year. The increase in domestic enrolment indicated that the University had a strong foothold in the domestic market.
   
   A member referenced the withholding of a portion of the tuition revenue related to over-enrolment of international students in 2018-19, and questioned if this will continue. Ms Christine Capewell, Executive Director, Financial & Budget Services, stated that UTM it would continue for the length of time the students remained enrolled at the University.
    
3. 2020-21 Operating Plans: UTM Service Ancillaries
   The Chair informed members that the Committee considered operating plans for all UTM service ancillaries on an annual basis. These plans included a Management Report that described the proposed services and programs offered within the financial parameters of the University’s operating budget and financial policies set by the Business Board. The plan also included each ancillary’s annual operating budget, as well as changes to programs and levels of service, categories of users, accessibility, and compulsory or optional fees. Only the proposed budget for 2020-21 was presented for approval.
   
   The Chair invited Saher Fazilat, Chief Administrative Officer, to present. Ms Fazilat reminded members of the University’s four financial objectives for service ancillaries: operate without subsidy; provide for capital renewal; maintain a 10% operating reserve; and, having achieved all of these objectives, contribute to the operating budget. Ms Fazilat noted that prior to being submitted to the CAC, a number of bodies were consulted and provided input with respect to the budgets, which included the review of Residence and Meal Plans, Food Services and Parking with their respective advisory committees. During her presentation, Ms Fazilat discussed the following:

Hospitality Services

• UTM was the first campus in Canada to earn the Silver Fair Trade Campus designation;
• Lower than expected revenue was attributed to the delayed opening of the Davis Building Food Court, and the shortfall was partially made up through film bookings on campus;
• Meal plan rates would increase by a weighted average of 3.6%, attributed to the forecasted Food Consumer Price Index (Food CPI) and the average cheque factor in calculating the minimum tax-exempt meal plan cost.

Student Housing & Residence Life

• The ancillary would contribute $2.5 million to the Construction Reserve in 2020-21 to build capital reserves for the down payment of a new residence, with a targeted opening date of 2024;
•  Recommended increases to residence rates ranged from 1.85% to 5.0%;
• Mortgage-related expenses and renovation costs continued to be the primary factors that influenced the budget.

Parking Services

• Most of the parking permit rates will increase by 1.5% compared to prior year;
• Lot P9 would be re-designated to a premium lot and an increase of 15% to the permit price was proposed to allow for better demand management for parking spaces. It was noted that Lot P9 would lose 100 parking spaces during the construction of the Science Building;
• The CCT underground garage permit was also recommended to increase by 15% to be more in line with market comparators, to reflect higher maintenance costs of the lot and to allow for better demand management;
• The permit price for Lot P1 would increase by 3.0%, Lot P5 would remain constant and all other lot permits would increase by 1.5%;
• Pay & Display daily rates increased to $20 per day in the CCT lot, $17 per day in Lot P9, and $15 per day in all other surface lots;
• Future plans included construction of an underground parking garage under the proposed Arts, Culture and Technology (ACT) Building, for which construction was scheduled to begin in 2022-23.

During the discussion, the following points were made:

In response to a question about the unchanged permit price for Lot P5, Ms Fazilat stated there was demand for more affordable pricing across reserved lots, and noted that P5 had been under-utilized, therefore the lower rate would promote better use of that lot.

In response to a member’s question about the categorization of “Miscellaneous” fees, Mr. Chad Nuttall, Director, Student Housing & Residence Life, noted that the category aligned with particular accounting codes operated by the University.

A member expressed concern about the expense associated with the construction of an underground parking garage under the ACT Building, and questioned if other sites had been considered. Ms Fazilat stated that no land was available for the further construction of surface lots on campus, and noted an expressed need for parking on the north side of the campus. She indicated that the parking garage would be constructed in such a way that it could be remodeled in the future for alternative purposes. Ms Christine Capewell, Executive Director, Financial & Budget Services, additionally noted that the construction of the underground garage would align with the payoff of other capital project loans, which would ease the financial burden on the ancillary at that time.  

On motion duly made, seconded and carried,

YOUR COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED,

THAT, the proposed 2020-21 Operating Plans and Budgets for the UTM Service Ancillaries, as summarized in Schedule 1, the service ancillary capital budgets as summarized in Schedule 5, and the rates and fees in Schedule 6, as recommended by Saher Fazilat, Chief Administrative Officer, in the proposal dated December 2, 2019, be approved, effective May 1, 2020. 
 

4. Reports of the Presidential Assessors

(i) Update on the Development of the 2020-21 Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees (Student Service Fees)
The Chair invited Mr. Mark Overton to provide an update. Mr. Overton provided members an overview to the approval process of Student Service Fees, which would be presented at the next meeting of the Committee. He indicated that, as per the 1996 Memorandum of Agreement between the University of Toronto, the Students’ Administrative Council, the Graduate Students’ Union, and The Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students for a Long-Term Protocol on the Increase or Introduction of Compulsory Non-tuition Related Fees (The Protocol), students provided input on an annual basis with respect to compulsory non-academic incidental fees. Mr. Overton indicated that fees pertaining to Recreation and Athletics, the campus shuttle service, Health Services, Career Services, and child and family care support, would be brought forward to the Campus Affairs Committee and the UTM Campus Council for consideration. Consultations were underway regarding services, programming and support, and finalized proposals would be presented at the next Committee meeting. Consultations for Health Services and Recreation & Athletics were completed and presented to the Quality Service to Students Council (QSS) for consideration. These proposals and accompanying advice from QSS would also be presented at the next meeting of the Committee.

To close his report, Mr. Overton highlighted the heightened activity on campus related to the Career Centre’s Summer Job Fair. Many UTM students were taking advantage of the opportunity offered by Trillium Hospital for highly sought after summer positions and interviews and offers were ongoing throughout the day.  

(ii) Capital Projects Update
The Chair invited Ms Saher Fazilat, Chief Administrative Officer, to provide an update on capital projects. Ms Fazilat stated that the tender had closed for the Science Building and construction was scheduled to begin in March. Multiple bids had been received from architectural firms around the globe for the ACT Building, which was targeted to open in 2025. She discussed plans for a new 400-bed residence which was targeted to open in 2024, and additionally noted that the University would not move forward with construction of the Academic Annex as the bids received exceeded the budget. The old Temporary Food Court would be converted to a Student Services Commons, which would be a level 2 capital project for which a Project Planning Group would be convened shortly. Lastly, she noted that consultants had now been engaged on the Campus Master Plan and that she would update the Committee as plans on that project progressed.

CONSENT AGENDA

On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried

YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED,

THAT the consent agenda be adopted and that Item 6 - Report of the Previous Meeting, be approved.

5. Report on Capital Projects – as at November 30, 2019

6. Report of the Previous Meeting: Report 37 – October 28, 2019
Report number 37, dated October 28, 2019 was approved.

7. Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting

8. Date of Next Meeting – February 11, 2020 at 4:10 p.m.

9. Other Business
There was no other business.

The Committee moved in camera.

10. Capital Project: Science Building at the University of Toronto Mississauga - Revised Total Project Cost and Sources of Funding

On motion duly made, seconded and carried,

YOUR COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED,

THAT the recommendation regarding the Capital Project: Science Building – Revised Total Project Cost and Sources of Funding contained in the memorandum from Ms Saher Fazilat, Chief Administrative Officer, dated January 8, 2020, be approved in principle.

The meeting adjourned at 5:19 p.m.

January 21, 2020