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A new communication outlining the development of the university’s , which was approved by the Board of Trustees on May 10, has been posted to the .

Drafted by the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Alan Harrison, working with the Provost’s Advisory Committee on the Budget, the document outlines how the new budget model determines the allocation of resources in the budget.

“The new budget model promotes transparency,” says Provost Harrison, “in which context I hope this document makes clear to all how the budget was developed.”

Although the 2013-14 budget is balanced, the university faces significant financial pressures that will make it ever more challenging to maintain a balanced budget in the future. Specifically, the Ontario government is reducing per-student operating grants, has capped tuition increases at three per cent per year for the next four years, and has not made any incremental funding available for deferred maintenance or new capital projects.

In addition, the current situation of the Queen’s Pension Plan means the university could face the need to make solvency payments of $35 million annually beginning in 2015.

“With revenue curtailed, a deferred maintenance liability rapidly approaching $250 million, and significant injections of cash into the pension plan on the horizon, the university is going to have to be very cautious financially,” says Provost Harrison. “The new budget model and the processes associated with it will help us maintain financial sustainability and protect the university’s core teaching and research missions.

With the 2013-14 budget now approved, the budget planning process for 2014-2015 and the subsequent two years is about to start. That process will include a number of efforts aimed at containing the university’s operating costs.

The Provost will make on the approved 2013-14 budget at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, June 18 in the Ellis Hall auditorium.