Tuition

The ��Ƶ has redesigned its largest need-based financial aid program to offer support that’s more accessible, transparent and better aligned with the cost of living in the Greater Toronto Area.

��Ƶ Advanced Planning for Students (UTAPS) is a program that provides eligible students with grants to help bridge the financial gap between the cost of their total education needs and the amount covered by government student aid programs – particularly, the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

A recent review of UTAPS concluded that the program can provide a way for the university to better determine and assist in meeting the costs of attending university in the GTA – for all U of T campuses and programs. The resulting redesign, implemented this year, will also streamline the process for U of T students to be considered for need-based supports.

“Our goal was to get more money into students’ hands, particularly given how the price of everything is just so much more expensive,” says Director of Financial Aid and Awards Donna Wall. “It’s about trying to help students so that they’re not as worried about finances and can focus on their studies.”

There are also important changes to the application process – namely that all domestic students who want to be considered for UTAPS must complete an application through U of T’s Need Navigator tool. The information will be validated before grants are disbursed.

U of T provided $94.6 million in need-based supports to U of T students in 2021-2022, including $36.8 million in UTAPS grants. The grants supported more than 15,500 students – the vast majority of them undergraduates.

UTAPS was originally established to fulfil U of T’s guarantee that “no student offered admission to a program at the ��Ƶ should be unable to enter or complete the program due to lack of financial means,” as set out in Governing Council’s 1998 policy.

Wall says the UTAPS redesign upholds this commitment.

“This allows us to be more agile, thoughtful and responsive to the needs of our students.”

Previously, UTAPS grants were based on the OSAP need assessment, which could be influenced by external factors such as changes in government policy. Relying on OSAP assessments also posed challenges for UTAPS planning, Wall says, because they often underestimated the amount of money U of T students needed.

For example, the OSAP need assessment applies the same living allowances across Ontario, even though necessities such as housing, food and transportation are much more expensive in Toronto than other parts of the province, says Wall.

As part of the redesign, UTAPS has developed its own need assessment measure while increasing transparency about how resources are allocated.

The Need Navigator will also streamline the financial aid process by allowing students to be considered simultaneously for UTAPS and supports from faculties and academic divisions, which totalled $57.8 million in 2021-2022.

Wall says more updates to UTAPS can be expected in the years ahead, including tools to aid financial planning for students and their families.

U of T students who have benefited from the existing program were excited to hear the support will better account for rising costs in the GTA.

Maya Povhe, who is in her fourth year of studying business administration at U of T Scarborough, says one of the biggest benefits of UTAPS is how it’s tailored to each student’s individual needs, rather than providing a flat amount.

“It’s been a great aid to my financial planning,” she says. “It meant I didn’t need to worry about how I was going to pay for basic things like rent or food.”

Iqra Sadiq, a third-year student in the Rotman Commerce program, says programs like UTAPS allow students to make the most of the time they spend in university.

“I would definitely say it’s a really big help – not just financially, but also as a motivation to keep pursuing my studies," Sadiq says. “The price of education should never outweigh its value, and UTAPS gave me that boost to stay focused on school and not worry too much about the financials.”

Ontario budget links post-secondary sector funding to outcomes

noreen.rasbach — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 21:13:31 +0000

Ontario budget links post-secondary sector funding to outcomes

noreen.rasbach Thu, 04/11/2019 - 17:13

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(photo by Makeda Marc-Ali)

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The ��Ƶ plans to work with the Ontario government to measure the impact of its top-ranked scholarship and research, as well as innovation infrastructure, following a budget that links university operating grants to outcomes.

In its first budget, delivered today, Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government announced changes to the strategic mandate agreements with 45 publicly funded colleges and universities that more closely tie provincial funding to performance-oriented outcomes.

The new measures, to be implemented when the current agreements expire in 2020, would tie 25 per cent of funding to performance outcomes in their first year, and then increase over three years to 60 per cent in 2024-2025.

There are also plans to reduce the number of metrics – like graduation rates and ability to attract research funding – that the agreements rely on to measure outcomes for universities.

“As an innovation and research powerhouse and a global top ten public university, U of T is delivering results for Ontario and driving social and economic development,” said U of T President Meric Gertler.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the government to identify the appropriate way to capture these results.”

Ontario’s budget also included plans to create an expert panel tasked with developing an action plan on intellectual property and maximizing commercialization opportunities at colleges and universities. It would potentially include representatives from the post-secondary sector, industry and the finance and legal sectors, among others.

It also announced there would be consultations with colleges and universities about how to best achieve faculty renewal objectives.

Overall, the Ontario government pledged to balance the books by 2023-2024, which is beyond its mandate, and pegged the current deficit at $11.7 billion.

"We have developed a reasonable path to balance," Finance Minister Vic Fedeli said. "Our path to balance in five years is a thoughtful and a measured approach to take ... Our entire premise is to protect what matters most."

The Ontario government also said it will invest $3.8 billion for mental health, addictions and housing supports over 10 years.

President Gertler, who recently announced a four-point action plan to address issues around student mental health, lauded the province for moving forward on a health issue that impacts people across the province, including post-secondary students.

“The success and well-being of our students is the university’s highest priority,” he said. “Investments from the government to address the acute increase in the need for mental health services is a positive step.

“We look forward to hearing more about how this funding will be distributed and are hopeful that students in the university sector will benefit.”

The changes in the budget aimed at Ontario’s colleges and universities come on the heels of other cost-saving measures announced earlier this year.

In January, Merrilee Fullerton, the province’s minister of training, colleges and universities, announced plans to cut tuition by 10 per cent for domestic undergraduate students and then freeze tuition at those levels in 2020-2021. Fullerton also revealed changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program, or OSAP, that will result in fewer students receiving non-repayable grants through the program – effectively undoing changes made by the previous government that were aimed at ensuring low-income students could attend college or university for free.

At the same time, the Ontario government introduced a plan that would allow students to opt out of paying some non-tuition fees.

In its most recent budget, U of T said it will take in $88 million less than it previously forecast in the upcoming academic year as a result of the tuition changes. The university relies on tuition and other fees to make up about 63 per cent of its total funding. Another 24 per cent comes from provincial operating grants, while about 13 per cent comes from income related to investments or U of T’s endowment, as well as other sources.

U of T to ensure student access despite changes to OSAP, tuition framework

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 19:13:35 +0000

U of T to ensure student access despite changes to OSAP, tuition framework

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 01/17/2019 - 14:13

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(photo by Laura Pedersen)

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Undergraduate Students

The ��Ƶ is committed to maintaining its standing among the world’s top academic and research institutions – and ensuring access for all qualified students – despite the Ontario government’s cuts to post-secondary education funding.

President Meric Gertler said U of T is studying the government’s plan, announced today, to roll back recent changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program, or OSAP, alongside a cut in the tuition fees paid by students across the province.

More than half of U of T’s 47,000 domestic undergraduates are currently eligible for OSAP, while a little over 60 per cent of the university’s funding comes from tuition and other student fees.

“We need to review our budgets to assess the full impact of these changes,” President Gertler said. “But we remain committed to fulfilling our academic mission, and to supporting excellence in research and innovation.

“We will do all we can to limit the impact of these changes on the U of T community.”

Citing a recent auditor general’s report, Merrilee Fullerton, the province’s minister of training, colleges and universities, said during a news conference that Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government will undo OSAP changes made by the previous Liberal government. Those changes, first introduced for the 2017-2018 academic year, increased the number of non-repayable grants provided through the program – as opposed to student loans – in a bid to allow low-income students to be able to attend college or university for free.

At the same time, Fullerton officially announced plans, beginning in the 2019-2020 academic year, to cut tuition paid by domestic students by 10 per cent across the province, and then freeze tuition at that level in 2020-2021.

Tuition paid by international students is unregulated, and will therefore be unaffected.

Fullerton also said the Ontario government will introduce a plan that would allow, with some exceptions, students to pick and choose between the non-tuition fees they pay.

In response to a reporter’s question, Fullerton said there would be no cuts to the core operating grants provided to the province’s colleges and universities.

While the latest changes to OSAP could make life more challenging for low-income students, President Gertler said U of T is committed to ensuring access to a post-secondary education is based on merit – not a student’s ability to pay.

“We know how hard many of our students and their families work to get a university education,” he said.

“We feel it’s important to remain firm in our long-standing access guarantee – that financial circumstances should not stand in the way of a qualified student entering or completing their degree.”

U of T, routinely ranked as the country’s top university, has more students from lower-income families than any other university in the province, with at least one quarter of all first-year students coming from families who earn $50,000 or less per year.

To ensure equality of access, U of T spent more than $200 million this year on its own financial aid programs – more than any other university in Ontario, and about double what the province requires.

As for the proposed tuition cuts, the minister indicated there is currently no plan to offset lower tuition revenue for universities with increases to operating grants or other provincial funding mechanisms. That will leave schools with a significant hole in their budgets at a time when many are looking to post-secondary institutions to drive Ontario’s success in the knowledge economy.

“As governments look for cost savings,” said President Gertler, “we will impress upon them not to lose sight of the important work our faculty and students do in improving the lives of Ontarians and others around the world.”

U of T shares its 2017-2018 budget plans

lanthierj — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 20:51:31 +0000

U of T shares its 2017-2018 budget plans

lanthierj Fri, 03/03/2017 - 15:51

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(photo by Johnny Guatto)

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Improving the undergraduate experience, encouraging more students to study abroad, increasing diversity, and outreach to Indigenous communities – those are some of the key priorities outlined in U of T’s spending plans for the coming academic year.

The proposed operating budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year is in its final stages, with a Governing Council vote set for early April. The $2.47-billion spending plan is the result of several months of consultations and reflects the decisions of many academic divisions and departments, as well as university-wide services and needs.

“Budget planning at the ��Ƶ is a highly collaborative process aimed at supporting local aspirations as well as important university-wide priorities, while considering the many external and internal factors that influence the resources we have available,” said U of T Provost and Vice-President Cheryl Regehr, who meets with leaders of each academic division every fall to discuss multi-year spending plans.

Regehr described this year’s budget as a hold-steady plan, reflecting the fact that negotiations continue with the province on new Strategic Mandate Agreements with all Ontario universities. The province also has extended the existing tuition framework for two more years.

Tuition and grant revenue for next year, expected to be $2.165 billion, and total operating revenue of $2.47 billion are both within 1 per cent of the previous year’s projection for 2017-18.

President Meric Gertler held similar meetings with vice-presidents to discuss central university-wide costs such as enrolment services, research services, and alumni relations.

Scott Mabury, U of T’s vice-president of operations, stressed that the university has worked to reduce the percentage of the budget used for university-wide costs and non-discretionary expenses. “We are working to allocate additional revenue into the academy and into the classroom,” he said.

Efforts to reduce the space costs of individual departments and divisions and money-saving green initiatives, for example, have freed up funds for teaching and for the indirect costs of research, he said.

Next year, university-wide costs, which include services provided by the vice-presidential portfolios and the library, will account for 22.3 per cent of revenue, down from 25.4 per cent in 2013.

The majority of the university’s revenue – 61 per cent – comes from student fees, with operating grants making up 27 per cent and 12 per cent coming from other sources. On the spending side, 62 per cent goes to compensation, with 8 per cent to student aid, 7 per cent each to capital equipment and occupancy costs and 16 per cent to other expenses.

For the first time next year, the total amount of financial aid available to U of T students will hit $200-million, up from just $7.7-million in 1992. “This is a milestone we should celebrate,” Regehr said.

Under Ontario’s tuition framework, tuition for students in Arts and Science and selected other undergraduate programs may increase by 3 per cent and tuition for professional and graduate students may increase by 5 per cent. The average tuition increase for all domestic students may not exceed 3 per cent. To meet this cap, tuition for doctoral students will fall by $70 next year.

Undergraduate enrolment is expected to inch up over the next five years across the university, with a slight decline at the St. George campus.

Attracting high-calibre international students is also a priority. Tuition fees for international students are set at a level that takes into consideration both the fee levels at peer Canadian and US universities and also the full cost to the University of providing a program. The average tuition increase for international students for the coming year is 5.9 per cent. In 2015-16 the university provided $10.3-million in merit and need-based grants to 2,075 undergraduate and graduate international students in addition to graduate fellowships.

U of T’s budget is built from the bottom up for the most part, but a central account called the University Fund is used to provide financial support to new initiatives and institutional priorities in academic divisions.

A total of $18-million is available for distribution from the fund next year and it will be used to support work in three priority areas: undergraduate and international experience, diversity and actions responding to U of T’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Steering Committee, and cities initiatives. In addition, the fund will support academic divisions facing budget challenges, contribute to a province-wide high-performance computing network and provide matching funds for capital projects.

Details of that spending include:

$1.3-million to increase the number of wellness counsellors and to help staff the Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre on all three campuses.
$1.5-million to enhance study abroad and exchange opportunities and international student recruitment.
$1-million to initiatives that enhance undergraduate research and career development, including experiential learning.
$2.5-million for faculty and staff positions to respond to the actions recommended by the Final Report of the Steering Committee for the U of T Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
$1.5-million to be used as matching funds for the conversion of existing space to space welcoming to members of our Indigenous community
$750,000 to build on an initiative started last year to increase diversity among faculty on all three campuses.
$1.5-million for initiatives in the area of cities research, including exploring opportunities for a new School of Cities.

Other budget priorities over the next few years include continuing improvements to the student information system, funding to sustain the services and collections of the library system, a multi-year project to upgrade classrooms on the St. George campus, and continuation of the Boundless fundraising campaign.

The operating budget is one of four funds included in the university’s financial statements, although it accounts for three-quarters of all spending. The three others are the restricted fund, the capital fund and the ancillary operations fund.

Governing Council is expected to vote on the proposed budget on April 4.

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U of T redesigns its need-based financial aid program to better account for Toronto’s high cost of living

Ontario budget links post-secondary sector funding to outcomes

U of T to ensure student access despite changes to OSAP, tuition framework

U of T shares its 2017-2018 budget plans