'This is uncharted territory': TRU facing a $9-million deficit for 2020-21 fiscal year

Photo: Brendan Kergin

The TRU campus in Kamloops.

For the first time in its history, Thompson Rivers University will be in the red.

Matt Milovick, vice-president of administration and finance at TRU, tells Castanet the school is facing a $9-million deficit for the 2020-21 fiscal year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"We've always had balanced budgets. The last number of years, especially with the surge in international students, we’ve been in a healthy surplus position to be able to do a lot of work on campus, with physical improvements, IT improvements, etc., so it is a bit of a step backwards," he says. "This is uncharted territory for us right now."

Milovick says compared to fall 2019 numbers, international student enrolment is down about 30 per cent and domestic student enrolment is seeing a decline between three and six per cent. The drop in international tuition is equivalent to about $20 million, he adds.

TRU is anticipating another decline in enrolment in the winter if international students continue to have issues getting their visas and study permits. Students from India, for example, weren't able to get their documentation because the government closed the offices that issued them, Milovick says. 

"So there were months of no service, ability to get visas."

Indian students represent the largest cohort in the international student population at TRU, followed by Chinese students.

In addition, from what Milovick has heard, some international students haven't been able to make it to campus because their quarantine plan was rejected by border officials.

"These are preventative measures to stop the spread (of COVID-19), but it creates some real challenges for us," he says.

Milovick notes staff will have a better idea of enrolment in the fall.

To make up for some of the shortfall, he tells Castanet the school is moving ahead with layoffs of support staff, as announced in June. 

"Layoffs are in that 80 neighbourhood," Milovick says. "We’re doing quite a bit on the cost reduction side now so we’re that we’re in a position that when the pandemic is over, we don’t have a structural deficit that we’re carrying forward in the future."

For comparison, in 2018, TRU had revenues of $207 million and $119 million in labour costs. This year, the revenue is about the same, but labour costs are at $149 million.

"As our international population grew, we added staff and obviously that will be the first place to look for reductions, and that’s tough. It’s people’s lives, it’s people’s careers, and these are really, really tough decisions to make," Milovick says. 

It's an "unfortunate situation" right across the board, he adds.

"I don’t know that any university is planning a surplus this year. I would be surprised if that were the case."

Editor's note: TRU's fiscal year runs April 1 to March 31.