±«Óătv

 
 

Financial Services

±«Óătv Budget Planning

2022-23 Operating Budget

Funds

The university maintains six fund categories. The operating budget is the largest of these, accounting for 70% of Dal's financial activity. The others include resources reserved for their specific purposes.

Operating Fund

Day-to-day revenue and expenditures required to operate the university. Government grant, tuition revenue and other general revenue come in to the budget to cover operating expenditures.

Ancillary Fund

Ancillary units provide services to the university community but are not directly related to the core functions of teaching and research. The ancillary operations include Housing, the Bookstore, Food Services, the Rebecca Cohn Arts Centre and Dalplex.

Endowment Fund

University operations are supplemented by the university's 1,357 endowment funds. Endowments support student bursaries and scholarships, research, library materials and services, and academic chairs and salaries. The funds must be spent according to the terms of the individual endowments as established by the donors.

Capital Fund

Accounts for funds received and expended on property, plant and equipment.

Research Fund

Research expenditures are supported by revenues that are restricted for the purposes designated by the funders and sponsors and cannot be used to support operations.

Special Purpose Funds

Special purpose expenditures are supported by revenues that are restricted for the purposes designated by the funders and sponsors and cannot be used to support operations.

For more information on each fund, please consult Dal's Annual Financial Reports.

Up-to-date information about university operating budget planning

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Latest news

April 10, 2024

At its meeting on March 26, the ±«Óătv Board of Governors approved the ±«Óătv Operating Budget for 2024-25.

Review:


Dal's operating budget at a glance

The operating budget funds the day-to-day operations of the university, accounting for the majority (70%) of the university’s financial activity. The draft operating budget plan for this upcoming fiscal year (2024-25) balances revenues and expenditures at $552.7 million.

Where the money comes from

  • Nearly 90% of the budget's operating revenue comes from two sources:
    • Tuition fees, set by the university's Board of Governors: 46.4%
    • Provincial operating grant, set by the provincial government: 42%
  • The remaining 11.6%Ìęcomes from other various smaller sources, most notably endowment revenue.

Source: 2024-25 Operating Budget

Where the money goes

  • The majority of the operating budget (nearly 60%) is allocated to ±«Óătv's academic units, while an additional 15% goes to administration/support units. This allows Faculties and units to deliver on priorities in support of the university's mission and to carry out their day-to-day work.

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Source: 2024-25 Operating Budget
  • The vast majority of Faculty and unit spending is on compensation for faculty and staff (salaries, benefits and pension payments). Faculty and staff compensation makes up 73.2% of overall university operating expenses.
  • ±«Óătv allocates resources similar to its U15 comparators (Canada’s group of leading research‐intensive universities). ±«Óătv spends 60.5% of its operating budget in academic areas (Faculties, including Graduate Studies and Continuing Education), compared to the U15 average of 58.6%.

More about the operating budget

Student financial assistance

Across all university funds (operating, research, endowment, etc.) ±«Óătv currently spends nearly $92 million each year on student assistance, including scholarships, bursaries, student employment, research and external funds. 

From the operating budget specifically, ±«Óătv spends 8.9% of total operating expenditures on scholarships and bursaries — compared to an average of 6.4% at other U15 universities.

Tuition fees

±«Óătv’s success depends on our ability to provide excellent programs and to be competitive nationally and internationally. We strive to keep tuition rates competitive with other Canadian universities while reflecting the high quality of the programs we offer.

Annual tuition increases are necessary to maintain the high quality of our academic programming. Addressing rising costs and investing in university priorities requires resources. With costs increasing and limited government funding, that leaves tuition — which funds nearly half of the operating budget — as the only significant means available to balance the operating budget.

How do ±«Óătv’s tuition fees compare to other universities?

It varies by program — and where a student is from. Nova Scotia students receive an additional bursary from the Province that lowers their tuition, and Dal's international tuition fees compare very different nationally than domestic tuition. [PDF] has detailed comparisons of tuition costs between Dal and its peer universities.

How Dal's spending compares

One way of comparing Dal's allocation of resources to other universities is to look at allocations between three areas that each support the university's academic mission:

  • Direct academic areas (e.g., Faculties, including Graduate Studies and Open Learning and Career
    Development)
  • Service and support areas (e.g., Library Services, Centre for Teaching & Learning, ITS, IT Infrastructure, Student Assistance)
  • Administration (e.g., Registrar’s Office, Human Resources, Student Accounts, President’s Office)

Compared with other U15 research universities in Canada, ±«Óătv allocates slightly more resources to academic areas and support while allocating less to administration. Other Nova Scotia universities are slightly lower in academic areas, and higher in service and support and administration. Each institution operates differently, which accounts for some variability by institutions.

Dal's budget planning process

±«Óătv's operating budget planning process is coordinated through the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) â€” a group chaired by the Provost with membership from senior leadership, faculty, staff and students.

Through a transparent and consultative process, the BAC is tasked with considering ±«Óătv’s varied and diverse priorities and interests and making high-level recommendations for allocations of funding across the university. From there, it is up to leadership in each Faculty or service and support unit to determine how best to allocate resources to deliver on their plans and ensure Dal’s strategic goals are achieved. Learn more about integrated planning at ±«Óătv.  

The BAC engages with faculty, staff, students and university leadership throughout its planning process. See the full timetable. It produces a draft operating budget plan in the winter term, followed by a final plan in March

The Board of Governors will be voting to approve the budget and tuition and fees in March.

Dal's operating budget planning process is based on four principles:

  • The operating budget is aligned with ±«Óătv’s mission and strategic priorities;
  • Recommendations are transparent;
  • The operating budget must be financially sustainable; and
  • The operating budget must be balanced.