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Simcoe Hall, 27 King’s College Circle, Council Chamber (second floor)
Report Number 213 Of The Planning & Budget Committee
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024
To the Academic Board,
University of Toronto,
Your Committee reports that it held a meeting on September 17, 2024 at 3:10 p.m. with the following members present:
PRESENT: Mark Lautens (Chair), Markus Dubber (Vice Chair), Trevor Young (Vice President and Provost), Scott Mabury (Vice President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships), Jeff Lennon (Assistant Vice President, Planning and Budget), Catherine Amara, Luca Calabretta, Albert Cheng, Ryan Cortez, Lisa Dolovich, Markus Dubber, Jessica Eylon, Robert Gazzale, Antoinette Handley, Rita Kandel, Sali Tagliamonte, Grace Westcott, Charmaine Williams, David Zingg
REGRETS: Janet Cloud, John Oesch, Suresh Sivanandam, Naomi Steenhof
NON-VOTING ASSESSORS: Christine Burke (Assistant Vice President, University Planning, Dave Lehto (Chief University Planning, Design & Construction), Scott Mabury (Vice President Operations & Real Estate Partnerships), Trevor Rodgers (Chief Financial Officer)
SECRETARIAT: Tracey Gameiro (Secretary), Timothy Harlick
IN ATTENDANCE: Dwane Benjamin (Vice-Provost, Strategic Enrolment Management), Lachmi Singh (Director, Academic Programs, Planning & Quality Assurance), Archana Sridhar (Assistant Provost)
Pursuant to section 38 of By-Law Number 2,
consideration of item 9 took place in camera.
OPEN SESSION
- Chair’s Remarks
Professor Mark Lautens introduced himself as Chair of the Committee and welcomed members and guests to the first meeting of the governance year. The Chair also introduced Vice-Chair, Professor Markus Dubber, and Committee Secretary Ms Tracey Gameiro.
The Chair referred members to the Planning and Budget Orientation video which had been provided to members in advance of the meeting. He noted that the orientation video had been designed to provide an overview of where the Planning and Budget Committee sat within governance at the University of Toronto, as well as key elements of its Terms of Reference and areas of responsibilities. He strongly encouraged members who had not yet had the chance to view the video to do so, and suggested to those who had, that they revisit it throughout the year.
The Chair then introduced the Senior Assessor, Professor Trevor Young, Vice-President and Provost, the Voting Assessors, Professor Scott Mabury, Vice-President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships, and Jeff Lennon, (Assistant Vice-President, Planning & Budget), as well as the Secretary, Ms. Tracey Gameiro. - Calendar of Business for 2024-2025
Members received the Calendar of Business for information. The Chair encouraged members to review the Calendar carefully so that they would have a better understanding of the items that would come forward for the Committee’s consideration. - Approvals Under Summer Executive Authority
The Chair reported that no decisions within the purview of the Planning and Budget Committee had been made under Summer Executive Authority in 2024. - Assessors’ Reports
Report of the Vice-President and Provost
Fall Enrolment
The Provost, Professor Dwayne Benjamin, Vice-Provost, Strategic Enrolment Management, and with Mr. Jeff Lenon, Assistant Vice-President, Planning & Budget provided the Committee with the following update.
While enrolment numbers would be finalized in November, counts were stabilizing for the Fall session. Ontario universities and colleges had seen a decline to international enrolments projections, likely due in part to the new restrictions on international student visas imposed by the federal government. However, the University of Toronto has seen relatively stable international intakes compared to last year, although, the growth planned for this Fall was unlikely to be achieved. This amounted to approximately 600 fewer than planned international student enrolments, with a significant decrease in intake from India related to the heightened geopolitical tensions between the countries last year. Domestic enrolment was forecast to exceed targets by approximately 1000 students across all campuses including strong growth at the University of Toronto driven largely by the new undergraduate spaces allocated for SAMIH.
The budget impact from the lower than projected international enrolment was manageable with an approximately $40-50M shortfall on a $3.5B budget. This shortfall was consistent with the lower end of enrolment-related risk signalled during the preparation of the approved operating budget.
Discussion
In response to a member’s question about whether admission standards were ever lowered to meet enrolment targets, considering the budgetary implications, it was affirmed that standards were not lowered to increase the number of international students, and any changes must have a clear rationale.
The discussion highlighted the tension between budgetary and academic concerns, emphasizing the importance of considering the entire enrolment cycle to ensure student success. The discussion concluded with a reminder of the importance of upholding the university’s brand and maintain a high degree completion rate, with all Deans agreeing that admission standards should not be diluted.
Encampment
As of the beginning of September, the total financial impact of the encampment to the University had been $4.1 million. Approximately $3.8 million had been in direct expenditures such as additional security, legal costs, cleaning, and repairs. As well, the University had lost an estimated $300 thousand in foregone revenues from cancelled events and the closure of the parking garage during the busy time of convocation.
Over the summer, a user guide had been created to help students understand the University’s longstanding policies and guidelines on free expression and peaceful protest. The University had not introduced any new policies or guidelines on protest activities. This guide, available on the Vice-Provost Students’ website, consolidated information from existing policies, such as the Policy on the Disruption of Meetings and the Policy on the Temporary Use of Space. It emphasized that peaceful protests, a long-standing tradition on campus, remained unchanged. The guide aimed to clarify existing policy limits, legal requirements, and a recent court order from July to ensure protests continued peacefully and within safety, security, and equity guidelines.
Discussion
In response to a member’s question, the Provost clarified that the court injunction specified what was permitted and not permitted. The user guide referenced the language of the injunction so that it would be clearly understood.
Report of the Vice President – Operations and Real Estate Partnerships
Cybersecurity Incident
Professor Mabury provided an update on a cybersecurity incident at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (“OISE”), where data for 14,238 individuals may have been exposed. The University had notified the affected individuals as well as the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) and offered credit monitoring to those impacted. All affected systems were nearing or at end-of-life and did not require backup restoration or business continuity plans. It was also reported that the University chose not to engage with the threat actor or pay a ransom. The total remediation cost was approximately $240,000, covering internal staff hours, legal fees, credit monitoring, and forensic services.
In response to the incident, OISE had implemented several measures: enhanced network security with tools for network segmentation, improved endpoint protection by enrolling all endpoints in SentinelOne, and improved password hygiene by removing local admin access and enforcing password rotation every 90 days. They also migrated all systems to the University’s cloud environment, initiated secure data feeds instead of data dumps from ROSI, reduced the number of virtual machines from 180 to 5, and hired a dedicated cybersecurity staff member to bolster security efforts.
Capital Projects/Priorities
As contemplated by the Capital Planning and Capital Projects Policy (Oct 28, 2021), Professor Scott Mabury, Vice-President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships, together with Mr. Dave Lehto, Chief of University Planning, Design and Construction, presented a summary overview of the major capital projects underway and prioritized for the St. George campus.
Discussion
In response to a member’s question on cost overruns, with concerns raised about projects consistently being over budget and behind schedule. Professor Mabury commented that it was a non-competitive environment, especially in Toronto, with too many projects and not enough contractors or workers to respond. Contractors were therefore in a position to charge whatever the market would bear, and clients were willing to pay the inflated prices to complete projects.
Additionally, the design standards for university projects are significantly higher than those in the private sector, particularly in terms of energy efficiency and unique architectural designs. This complexity sometimes resulted in no bids being received when projects go to market. The primary issue was that Toronto’s construction market was overwhelmed with simpler projects, which contractors prefer due to higher profitability. - Report of the Previous Meeting: Report Number 212 – May 9, 2024
The Report of the Previous Meeting was approved. - Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting
There was no business arising from the report of the previous meeting. - Date of the Next Meeting: October 23, 2024, 3:10 – 5:10 p.m.
The Chair reminded members that the next Committee meeting was scheduled for October 23, 2024. - Other Business
No items of other business were raised.
THE COMMITTEE MOVED IN CAMERA
IN CAMERA AGENDA
- In Camera Report of the Administrative Assessors
Professor Mabury and Mr. Lehto continued the discussion of the major capital projects prioritized for the St. George campus and expected to come forward to governance this year.
THE COMMITTEE RETURNED TO OPEN SESSION
The meeting adjourned at 4:51 p.m.
September 18, 2024