Report: UTM Campus Council - March 08, 2022

REPORT NUMBER 52 OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MISSISSAUGA CAMPUS COUNCIL

MARCH 8, 2022
 

To the Governing Council, University of Toronto

Your Council reports that it met on March 8, 2022 at 4:10 p.m. in a Virtual Meeting Room.

Present:
Shashi Kant (in the Chair), Alexandra Gillespie (Vice-President & Principal), Sultan Akif, Hassaan Basit, Harvey Botting, Rafael Chiuzi, Ann Curran, Dario Di Censo, Sanja Hinic-Frlog, Robert Gerlai, Shelley Hawrychuk, Jay Nirula, Gerard Otiniano, Laura Taylor, Kathleen Yu, Ziyaad Vahed, Ron Wener

Non-Voting Assessors:
Rhonda McEwen (Vice-Principal, Academic & Dean), Susan Senese (Interim Chief Administrative Officer), Mark Overton (Assistant Principal, Student Services & Dean of Student Affairs)

Regrets:
Samra Zafar, Laura Cocuzzi, Ivana Di Millo

In Attendance:
Scott Mabury (Vice-President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships), Jeff Lennon (Interim Assistant Vice-President Planning & Budget), Christine Esteban (Executive Director, UTM Budget, Planning & Finance), Josh Haas (Coordinator, Student Policy Initiatives), Andrea Carter (Assistant Dean, Student Wellness, Support & Success), Chad Nuttall (Assistant Dean of Students and International Initiatives), Antonia Lo (Assistant Director, Student Services & Ancillaries), Erin Kraftcheck (Medical Director, Health & Counselling Centre), Felicity Morgan (Director, Career Centre), Jessica Silver (Director, Student Engagement), Veronica Vasquez (Director, International Education Centre ), Megan Evans (Assistant Director, Hospitality Operations), Renu Kanga-Fonseca (Director, Strategy and Sport Wellness, Department of Recreation, Athletics and Wellness), Hans van Monsjou (member of the Campus Affairs Committee), Layana Alnabhan (member of the Campus Affairs Committee)

Secretariat:
Cindy Ferencz Hammond (Assistant Secretary of the Governing Council)

1. Chair’s Remarks
   
   The Chair welcomed members and extended a welcome to members of the Campus Affairs Committee who had been invited to attend the meeting to participate in Item #3, the Institutional Budget presentation.    He also congratulated the winners of the elections of the Teaching Staff and Administrative Staff constituencies on the UTM Campus Affairs Committee, which were announced on February 25 and thanked all who participated in the governance elections. He noted that the announcement of election results for all student seats would occur on April 4. Finally, he reminded members that there were three seats available on the UTM Campus Council in the Community / Alumni constituency and that the applications period would close on Monday, March 14.
    
2. Report of the Vice-President and Principal
   
   Professor Gillespie began her report with the news that following the advice of Peel Public Health, UTM had increased its in person presence to over 80% of classes on February 7, 2022, the first division at UofT to do so this year. She expressed her thanks to the students, faculty and staff of UTM, who met the challenge of returning to campus with great success and highlighted the importance of the in-person experience to students who were experiencing their first class lectures on campus.
   
   Professor Gillespie emphasized that safety measures, including vaccination, masking, ventilation, UCheck, and distancing, in addition to the decline of the virus in the community overall, had worked, noting that confirmed COVID cases among the campus community declined from 15 in January to one in March. She acknowledged that given the size of the UTM community, these low numbers did not include symptomatic, but likely untested and unreported cases. She noted that UTM would continue to deal with COVID-19 for a long time, and reminded members of the support resources available to them through the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), Family Care, Accessibility Services, and the Health and Counselling Centre (HCC).
   
   Professor Gillespie then reported on major projects and accomplishments during the pandemic, since March 2020, including the following:

• Restructuring and new staffing of offices of VP & Principal, CAO, including Campus Safety, Registrar, Advancement, and Communication;
• Indigenous Table established;
• Project Management Office established;
• Sustainability Strategic Plan completed;
• New Campus Master Plan completed;
• New Campaign Plan completed;
• Initial steps towards new Academic Plan;
• New initiatives in Student Advising and Strategic Enrolment Management;
• New budget process under new Budget Planning Committee;
• Review and rescoping of capital projects.
  
  She noted that UTM was proud of its pandemic response, with 330,000 vaccinations delivered through the collaboration between UTM, Peel Public Health, and Trillium Health Partners, which helped put Peel at the forefront in vaccination rates in Ontario. She noted that as a result of the pandemic, work on the development of a strategic plan was delayed, but over 500 consultations had been completed. A draft of the Strategic Framework would be available on the UTM website by the end of the week for final comments before it was submitted for governance consideration. With respect to the UTM operating budget, she signalled that changes to the University Fund and tuition, combined with pandemic costs, inflation and rising construction costs, posed new challenges, which would be discussed in more depth at the next meeting of Council.
  
  The Vice-President & Principal closed her report by reaffirming UTM’s commitment to truth, transparency, and kindness, and its condemnation of the recent example of Anti-Asian racism that had occurred on another campus. She also acknowledged the war in Ukraine and the plight of Ukrainians there, in the UTM community, and also of the many Russians who deplored the senseless attack on their own friends and relatives. The University of Toronto was looking for ways to help students in Ukraine.
  
  Addressing a question regarding how the University of Toronto could support those affected by the war in Ukraine, Professor Gillespie noted that U of T was exploring the possibility of using the Scholars at Risk fund to provide support to scholars abroad, including students. She added that the University was also looking at establishing funds for students studying at U of T and impacted by global crises of various kinds.
  
  Given the experience of UTM during the pandemic, a member asked about future plans and preparation for the online delivery of courses. Professor Rhonda McEwen, Vice-Principal Academic & Dean addressed the question. She explained that even before the pandemic, UTM had explored “online by design”, which was about designing courses with online modes and that this process made it somewhat easier to make decisions about specific courses during the pandemic. Professor McEwen noted however, that the University of Toronto was designated as an in-person institution for higher education and the process to modify delivery modes on a more permanent basis had to be undertaken slowly and carefully, but that UTM was exploring the possibilities. On this question, Professor Gillespie added that the Provost had announced the establishment of a Resilience Initiative, which would seek to address post-pandemic matters such as this.
  
  The Chair thanked Professor Gillespie for her report and then invited Ms Susan Senese, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, to provide an update from her office.
  
  In her update, the Chief Administrative Officer reported on the progress of the Science building, which was approximately one year away from substantial completion with active planning underway with researchers and staff who would be moving into the new building. Ms Senese also reported that construction on the Student Services Hub (SSH), which had recently been approved by governance and which would bring together student services under one area, would begin soon and would last approximately one year. The F2 building (formerly known as ACT) was being redesigned by architects in order to reflect the reduced size and scope of the building. UTM hoped to start the geothermal boring related to the project in late fall and start construction in early winter 2023 with an estimated completion date of May 2026. UTM was also embarking on some much needed upgrades and additions to its Central Utilities Plant (CUP). Ms Senese also reported that Spigel Hall would have a new commissary kitchen and a new student space. Finally, Ms Senese stated that a search had been initiated for a new Director of our Campus Safety department, an important position on campus that was recently vacated by a retirement.

3. Institutional Budget Report 2022-23 and Long Range Budget Guidelines 2022-23 to 2026-27
   
   The Chair invited Professor Scott Mabury, Vice-President Operations & Real Estate Partnerships and Mr. Jeff Lennon, Interim Assistant Vice-President Planning & Budget to discuss the institutional budget report.
   
   As part of his introductory remarks, Professor Mabury stated that despite the lasting effects of the pandemic, the University was in positive financial shape. The University community pivoted quickly to address evolving public health measures and ensuring the continuity of its academic and research programs to a very large extent. Professor Mabury noted that there were some challenges the University needed to address with respect to the recovery from the pandemic. These included the declining proportion of government funding, and the potential constraints on domestic tuition fees. He added that enrollment growth was slowing, which placed pressure on revenue growth going forward. However, demand for programs remained strong, with continued growth and applications from a strong pool of domestic and international students. He noted that during consultations with student groups in the development of the budget report, feedback included key priorities in the areas of student mental health, financial support, student advising and experiential learning.
   
   In their presentation, Professor Mabury and Mr. Lennon highlighted the following points:

• the Long Range Budget Guidelines planned for a balanced budget in each of the five years; since 2006, the same budget model has been used;
• the total budgeted operating revenue for 2022-23 of $3.23 billion was an increase of $110 million over the previous year;
• continued shift in the balance of funding between tuition and provincial operating grants, with provincial support representing 20% of operating revenues;
• the expense structure was largely unchanged (58% for faculty and staff compensation, 10% for student aid, and 7% for capital and equipment);
• budgetary impacts of COVID-19 had been less severe than expected;
• increased spending on financial aid, learning technology, health and safety cleaning protocols, and student supports and services (partially offset by changes in travel and occupancy);
• deficit funding put in place to support recovery in ancillary services (e.g. food services and residences), which continued to be significantly impacted by reduced campus activity, in particular, food and parking services;
• divisional plans included an average 3.5% revenue growth overall, but significant variation across divisions;
• revenue growth expected to slow in future years showing the need for the budget model to shift to a more cost-sided equation on a go forward basis;
• total compensation for 2022-23 was projected at $1.98 billion, including the cost of salary and benefit increases;
• just over $1 billion was for compensation for faculty, librarian, sessional lecturers, teaching assistants and other academic staff;
• $95 million was set as a provision for risk on the pension plan;
• Bill 124, Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019, continued to limit compensation increases for a three year period at 1%.
• the province has not yet announced the domestic tuition framework for 2022-23 so divisions were asked to conservatively plan for an additional year of the freeze for Ontario resident domestic students;
• tuition fees for out of province domestic students in all undergraduate programs would be increased by 3% in 2022-23;
• long-range plan assumed return to a 3% tuition framework starting in 2023-24 going forward for all domestic students;
• provincial funding to decrease from 20% to 18% by the end of the five-year plan;
• international tuition revenues made up 43% of the total operating budget with a slightly higher proportion of international student enrolment planned in the outer years;
• the University of Toronto received the lowest amount of per-student government funding among Canadian peer institutions, for example the University of Alberta receiving 63% to the U of T’s 23% in 2019-20;
• Strategic Mandate Agreement 3 (2020 to 2025) was increasing the proportion of Provincial funding tied to metrics throughout the term of the agreement;
• fall 2021 saw total undergraduate enrollment, including both domestic and international students grow to just over 65,000, representing a slight variance of (205) students compared to the plan; intake in undergraduate programs was up by 11% compared to the previous year;
• indications of decreases in retention rates of upper year domestic students across a number of the direct entry programs; divisions were investigating the reasons behind the drop.
• the increase in international intake resulted in overall increase in enrollment of about 2.3% variance to plan. UTM had a particularly strong international intake this year, but the plan was to return back to the original plan targets for next year.
• the University was planning to maintain international student intake at about the level achieved in fall 2021, with the exception of UTM.
• changes to provincial OSAP criteria introduced in 2019-20 required a larger contribution from parents and students with a household income of more than $140,000 were no longer eligible for non-repayable support, resulting in a decrease in the number and proportion of students receiving OSAP support;
• $331 million to be set aside for financial aid in 2022-23 which was a key priority in the Defy Gravity Campaign;
• divisions had earmarked 6% of international tuition revenue for international scholarships for undergraduate students;
• budget priorities focused on students included mental health service redesign and expanded counselling options, increased experiential learning and research experiences, the Climate Positive Campus plan, investments in undergraduate financial aid and graduate funding packages, innovations in embedding EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) principles into curriculum and program designs, and increased investment in the Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre;
• the University Fund, allocated a total of $21.8 million to various priorities, including support for 30 additional Black and Indigenous faculty hires, student mental health services, funds to support the Defy Gravity Campaign, support for divisional priorities in light of the continued domestic fee freeze and for scientific discovery and the research enterprise;
• academic divisional plans included hiring of tenure and teaching stream faculty, enhancement of student services, increased experiential learning, work-integrated learning, and research opportunities, introduction of several new academic programs, EDI initiatives, and allocations for capital projects;
• 31 capital projects were planned over the next five years with a total spend of $4.6 billion, on all three campuses;
• there had been significant progress in the diversification goals of the University’s international strategic plan over the last two years;
• the pension plan had a $792 million plan surplus (on July 1, 2021) for the transfer to the new University Pension Plan [the “UPP”], although the University was responsible for any potential future deficits for 10 years so a pension plan contingency reserve would be built up over the planning period to mitigate against this risk;
• deferred maintenance funding remained a high priority with a long-term goal of increasing investment to 1.5% of the replacement value of facilities annually;
• on the St. George campus the deferred maintenance budget increased by 2.5 million, reaching 26.6 million in total investment from the campus operating budget. There was also an additional $4 million invested by UTM and UTSC, along with $10.4 million from the Province.
• no more than 5-10% of operating reserves would be approved for any portfolio.
  
  In response to a member’s question about the perceived enrollment decline, Professor Mabury explained that the University of Toronto, was anticipating to be static in its enrolment growth following a long period of expansion. He added that there was still significant demand on the graduate student side from many academic divisions, but the Province was not providing any further funding for domestic graduate students.
  
  A member commented that the Canadian overhead research funding rate was less than what was provided to American universities and asked whether this disparity could be addressed. Professor Mabury explained that the current presentation did not include faculty research grants as those were considered separate, restricted funds from the operating budget. He added that indirect cost of research, depending on the source, could be part of the operating budget and as an advocacy position was a high priority in Canada, but that obtaining full overhead costs remained a real challenge.
  
  In response to a member’s question about what constituted the teaching stipend portion of the compensation aspect of the budget, Professor Mabury explained that this portion represented instructor contract teaching, which at the Faculty of Art & Science represented approximately 18% of instruction. He added that the University of Toronto was the only research intensive university in Canada to invest heavily in teaching stream faculty, instead of hiring a significant proportion of contract instructors.
   

4. Operating Plans and Fees: UTM Student Affairs and Services for 2022-2023
   1. QSS advice
      
      Mr. Overton explained that the formal mechanism through which student input was provided in relation to compulsory non-academic incidental fees was through consultations with the Quality Service to Student (QSS) Council, which was composed of administrative staff and a majority of student members. He explained that QSS held a formal vote on three items under the Protocol: Health Services, Athletics & Recreation, and then a bundle of the subcomponents of the Student Services fee. QSS held multiple open meetings on the significant components of the budgets of these services, led by the relevant department directors and managers.
      
      He noted that Ms Salma Fakhry, Chair of QSS, could not attend the Council meeting and that he was reporting on that group’s deliberations. He stated that QSS endorsed the Health Services fee, but did not endorse the Athletics and Recreation and the Student Services fees as it did not receive the majority of supporting votes cast by student members. The resulting unendorsed fees that were brought forward were within the amounts allowed by the Protocol. He explained that the single comment offered by QSS on all three fees was that students did appreciate the services and programs offered, but felt that the related costs presented a significant burden to students and suggested that the University find other sources of funding for these services.
       
   2. Operating Plans and Fees for 2022-23
      
      Mr. Overton summarized the three fee categories and showed the current fees, the proposed fees, and a reference point, which was the maximum the services could have sought based on the Protocol’s rules. He referred members to the detailed operating plans and rationales for the proposed fees in Health Services, Athletics & Recreation as well as the Student Services Fee category based on student feedback and consultation. He thanked the directors of the various Student Services areas and their teams for the work they do to support the student experience and student learning.
      
      Mr. Overton reported that the administration was seeking either no increase from the previous year, as was the case for Health Services and Athletics & Recreation, or as in the case of the Student Services fee bundle, an increase that was much lower than the maximum allowed.
      
      The Chair of the Campus Affairs Committee, Professor Gerlai, reported that at that Committee’s recent meeting, members received a similar presentation from Mr. Overton and supported the recommendations in the proposal.
      
      On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried YOUR COUNCIL APPROVED
      
      THAT SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
      
      THAT the 2022-23 operating plans and budgets for the UTM Health & Counselling Centre; the UTM Department of Recreation, Athletics & Wellness; and the UTM Student Services under the Student Services Fee, recommended by the Dean of Student Affairs, Mark Overton, and described in the attached proposals, be approved; and
      
      THAT the sessional Health Services Fee for a UTM-registered or UTM-affiliated full-time student be unchanged at $60.15 per session ($12.03 for a part-time student), and
      
      THAT the sessional Athletics & Recreation Fee for a UTM-registered or UTM-affiliated full-time student be unchanged at $205.88 per session ($41.18 for a part-time student), and
      
      THAT the sessional Student Services Fee for a UTM-registered or UTM-affiliated full-time student be increased to $214.67 per session ($42.93 for a part-time student), which represents a year-over-year increase of $4.31 per session ($0.86 for a part-time student) or 2%.
5. Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees - Student Society Fees: UTM Student Society Proposals for Fee Increases (UTMAGS & UTMSU)
   
   The Chair noted that student society fees were subject to the terms and conditions of the Policy on Ancillary Fees and the Policy for Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees. He invited Mr. Overton to speak to the matter. Mr. Overton advised members that the fee increases requested by student societies adhered to the appropriate processes. The Chair of the Campus Affairs Committee, reported that the Committee supported the recommendation presented in the item.
   
   On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried YOUR COUNCIL APPROVED
   
   THAT SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
   
   THAT, beginning in the Fall 2022 session, the University of Toronto Mississauga Association of Graduate Students (UTMAGS) fee be increased as follows: (a) an increase of $7.01 per Fall and Winter sessions (full-time and part-time) in the Mississauga Transit U-Pass portion of the fee, and (b) an increase of $4.27 per Fall session and $4.28 per Winter session (full-time and part-time) in the Mississauga Transit Summer U-Pass portion of the fee.¹
   
   If approved, the total Fall/Winter UTMAGS fee will be $236.89 per session, charged to all UTM- affiliated graduate students.
   
   It was also Resolved,
   
   THAT subject to confirmation by the Executive Committee,
   
   THAT, beginning in the Summer 2022 session, the University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union (UTMSU; legally, the Erindale College Student Union) fee be modified as follows: (a) an increase of $9.16 per Summer session (full-time and part-time) in the Mississauga Transit U-Pass portion of the fee;
   
   THAT, beginning in the Fall 2022 session, the UTMSU fee be modified as follows: (a) an increase of $1.85 per session ($0.06 part-time) in the society portion of the fee, (b) an increase of up to $10.21 per Fall and Winter sessions (full-time only) in the Health Plan portion of the fee, (c) an increase of up to $8.53 per Fall and Winter sessions (full-time only) in the Dental Plan portion of the fee, (d) an increase of $6.89 per Fall and Winter sessions (full-time and part-time) in the Mississauga Transit U-Pass portion of the fee, (e) an increase of $0.06 per session (full-time and part-time) in the Academic Societies portion of the fee, (f) an increase of $0.41 per session (full-time only) in the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) portion of the fee, (g) an increase of $0.06 per session (full-time only) in the Downtown Legal Services portion of the fee, (h) an increase of $0.03 per session (full-time and part-time) in the Food Bank portion of the fee, (i) an increase of $0.03 per session (full-time and part- time) in the On-Campus First Aid Emergency Response portion of the fee, and (j) an increase of $0.10 per Fall and Winter sessions ($0.06 part-time) and $0.04 per Summer session (full-time only) in the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) Levy portion of the fee; and
   
   THAT, beginning in the Fall 2022 session, the UTMSU fee charged to Mississauga Academy of Medicine (MAM) students in the Fall and Winter sessions be increased as follows: (a) an increase of $4.11 per Fall and Winter sessions in the Mississauga Transit Summer U-Pass portion of the fee.
   
   If approved, the total Fall/Winter UTMSU fee will be up to $425.58 per session ($157.94 part-time), charged to all UTM undergraduate students. The total Fall/Winter UTMSU fee for MAM students will be up to $519.45 per session.

¹ Further to UTMAGS’ request, Mississauga Transit U-Pass fees will not be charged to Master of Forensic Accounting (MFAcc) and Master of Management and Professional Accounting (MMPA) students.

CONSENT AGENDA 

On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried YOUR COUNCIL APPROVED

THAT the consent agenda be adopted and that Item 8 - Report of the Previous Meeting, be approved.

6. Report on UTM Capital Projects – as at January 31, 2022
    
7. Reports for Information
   1. Report 52 of the Agenda Committee (February 28, 2022)
   2. Report 51 of the Campus Affairs Committee (February 9, 2022)
   3. Report 44 of the Academic Affairs Committee (February 10, 2022)
       
8. Report of the Previous Meeting: Report 51 – January 25, 2022 Report number 51, dated January 25, 2022 was approved.
    
9. Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting
    
10. Date of Next Meeting – Monday, April 25, 2022 at 1:10 p.m.
    
    The Chair reminded members that the next meeting of the UTM Campus Council was scheduled for Monday, April 25, 2022 at 1:10 p.m.
     
11. Question Period
    
    There were no questions for the administration.
     
12. Other Business
    
    There was no other business.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:52 p.m.

March 11, 2022