The first Faculty Council meeting of the year centred around the University Budget Presentation
On Wednesday, October 11, the Faculty Council held its first meeting for the 2023-2024 academic year. The University Budget Presentation was the focal point of the meeting. The meeting kicked off with Dean Jutta Brunnée summarizing recent events impacting the law school.
Dean Brunnee began by acknowledging Stephen Waddams’ passing. She then reiterated the school’s statement on the escalating Israel-Palestine conflict and the importance of maintaining respectful dialogue. The Dean concluded with comments about the recent Grand Moot held on Thursday, October 5.
Students’ Law Society (SLS) president Justin Kim then spoke. Kim expressed pride in the success of the 2023 1L Orientation. The 1L Orientation activities included a baseball game and a visit to the Toronto Islands. He then advertised the regularly hosted SLS lunchtime trivia. Kim noted that in early October, the SLS hosted OCI Chats for 2Ls to ask questions in an informal setting with free pizza. Kim thanked the Career Development Office (CDO) for their hard work helping students prepare for OCIs, which took place earlier this year than in past years. Kim stated that on October 27, the SLS will be hosting a Halloween event with student and guest tickets available. They also plan to host a scary movie night in the following weeks. Upcoming SLS committee meetings will discuss tuition increase concerns, although Kim acknowledged that the Faculty has limited say on this issue.
The Graduate Law Student Association (GLSA) president was abroad and could not attend the meeting.
The Dean then introduced the University Budget Presentation. She clarified that the budget is not within the Faculty Council’s authority to decide, and that the Faculty and University’s budgets are deeply interconnected. In 2022, Dean Brunnée held a tuition roundtable to discuss matters such as the connection between provincial policy and the University budget, as well as other relevant factors such as the financial aid program. She plans to reconvene the round table again this year.
The first presenter was University expert Scott Maybury, Vice-President of Operations and Real Estate Partnerships and Vice-Provost of Academic Operations. Maybury began by stating how the budget has grown from one billion to 3.4 billion dollars since the current budget model was introduced in 2006. Maybury discussed the connection between the increase in budget, greater law school influence, and the ability to attract more impactful faculty members in recent years. Maybury attributes one billion of the budget increase to the University’s unique budget model. The University’s revenue sources are as follows: 68 percent from tuition and fees; 20 percent from provincial government; and 12 percent from other sources. Expenditure sources are as follows: 60 percent to faculty and staff; 12 percent to other expenses; 11 percent to student aid; 7 percent to occupancy costs; 7 percent to capital and equipment; and 3 percent to pension contingency.
Maybury shared that before 2006, the majority of the budget’s revenue came from the government. Today, international student tuition is the University’s greatest source of revenue. The fact that the University’s student aid expenditure is reflexive is very unique among post-secondary schools. The expenditure of student aid varies every year based on the unique needs of students in a given year. In 2019, the government mandated a 10 percent slash to tuition prices and a subsequent freeze that has been projected to reduce the school’s budget by 195 million over the next few years. The University’s revenue is projected to grow an average of 4 percent year-over-year for the next few years, assuming tuition stays capped at 3 percent increases. During this time, inflation will almost certainly outpace the budget.
The next presenter was Jeff Lennon, the University’s Assistant Vice President of Planning and Budget. Lennon shared concerns about the Faculty of Law’s challenge with a structural deficit. Lennon believes a solution for increasing the budget, given the tuition cap, may be to enroll more students. However, Lennon noted there are many risks and challenges with growing the student body to over 100,000. Compensation is projected to increase more than revenue this year, which will lead to tough conversations across faculties.
Lennon then shared some statistics from 2014-2022. The domestic fees have increased an average of 1.1 percent annually. Financial aid has increased an average of 6.3 percent annually and 63 percent in total. While total tuition has increased, the average net tuition has decreased.
The meeting concluded with a question-and-answer session. Kim asked when the government will confirm their numbers for this year. Maybury responded that confirmation will likely occur in the fall because the government has already delivered the numbers. Assistant Dean Sara Faherty asked about international student enrollment increases. The experts replied that international enrollment was up 8 percent with 9,100 international students enrolled at the University, and 100 international students enrolled at the Faculty of Law. The meeting was adjourned after the question-and-answer session.
The Faculty Council is the governing body of the law school and is responsible for making policy decisions relating to U of T Law, usually on recommendations from special and standing committees. The Faculty Council consists of all full-time faculty members and elected student representatives from the JD and graduate programs. If you are interested in viewing previous Faculty Council meeting agendas, minutes, reports, and schedules, check out the e.Legal Faculty Council page.
