Active budget management supports UBC’s financial resilience  

UBC continues to take a thoughtful, long-term approach to budgeting, focusing on prudently managing resources for maximum impact. In the fall, the university began its annual, institution-wide budget planning for 2026-27, engaging leaders across faculties and administrative units on both campuses to review needs, pressures and impacts. This difficult work is ongoing and will lead to the budget proposal for UBC’s board of governors in March.

The goal is to protect the university’s academic core of teaching, learning and research while navigating a challenging financial environment marked by rising costs, uncertain tuition and changing national and global conditions—challenges shared by universities across Canada.

Guided by UBC’s Strategic Directions 2025-30, this process aligns resources with institutional priorities and reinforces UBC’s academic mission, ensuring the university remains resilient and responsive to emerging needs.

“In response to the financial pressure felt throughout the sector, we are actively assessing our commitments, reallocating resources strategically and ensuring that every dollar is directed toward advancing our academic mission,” said Gage Averill, provost and vice-president academic. “We are making great efforts to ensure our approach will protect our short-term financial health as well as our long-term sustainability and allow us to continue investing in UBC’s future.”

The university is taking deliberate steps to manage costs and diversify revenues in order to address financial pressures. A long-term financial plan featuring a five-year budget outlook has been implemented to help UBC manage uncertainty and adapt to economic shifts. While the university has benefited from healthy ongoing support from the provincial government, sector-wide challenges continue to affect UBC’s financial reality, and the university must do its part to help manage resources in an uncertain context.

“After the second quarter we are on track with this year’s budget (2025-26),” said Frank Laezza, vice-president finance and operations. “This is encouraging news for UBC, and a testament to our community’s hard work and effective planning. As we prepare for 2026-27, our long-term financial plan will help us navigate evolving conditions.”

While UBC remains in a strong financial position overall, rising costs and constrained revenues are affecting different parts of the university in different ways. In response, faculties and administrative units are using cost-saving measures and realigning resources in a variety of ways, including managing staffing levels, reducing travel, restructuring where needed, introducing a voluntary retirement program and employing zero-based budgeting in certain areas (an approach that starts from scratch each year).

Units are also accelerating automation and technology upgrades and postponing non-essential projects to cut costs. At the same time, UBC is creating new revenue opportunities through professional education, micro-credentials and partnerships to strengthen the financial picture.

“We are experiencing challenging times—we need to be clear about that. But UBC’s resilience is rooted in the creativity and adaptability of our community,” said Lesley Cormack, deputy vice-chancellor and principal of UBC Okanagan. “Through careful planning and collective effort, we are managing today’s pressures and ensuring that our students, faculty and staff continue to excel, with teaching, learning and research at the forefront.”

UBC’s strategy reflects a commitment to purpose, disciplined financial management and long-term stability. Together, these actions create a sustainable foundation and enhance UBC’s competitiveness within B.C., Canada and across the global post-secondary sector.