Dalhousie Budget
Up-to-date information about the university operating budget
Latest news
March 25, 2021
The Budget Advisory Committee’s final Operating Budget Plan for 2021-22 is now available
- Read the updated operating budget plan for 2021-22 [PDF]
- Tuition and fee recommendations 2021-22 [PDF] - updated March 4
A draft version of the Operating Budget Plan was issued to the Dal community on February 25. Following the release of the report, the BAC sought further feedback on its recommendations, including through a student survey that received more than 1,300 responses. We greatly appreciate everyone’s thoughts, views and insight as we work to develop a balanced budget that supports students, faculty and staff, and Dalhousie’s mission.
A summary of feedback received and changes to the budget plan — including a further increase to financial aid and student support — can be found at the start of the report and in Appendix E.
You can also find detailed response to our students covering some of the most common issues raised in their survey, including tuition fees and student financial aid, on Dal News.
The Operating Budget Plan will now move forward to approvals by the President and the Board of Governors. The Board is scheduled to vote on tuition and fee recommendations at its April meeting before voting on the overall budget plan in June.
Dal's operating budget at a glance
The operating budget funds the day-to-day operations of the university, accounting for the majority (70%) of the university’s financial activity. The operating budget plan for this past fiscal year (2019-20) balanced revenues and expenditures at $447.2 million.
The analysis below reflects recent Dalhousie budgets. For information specific to 2020-21, please review the operating budget plan [PDF]
Where the money comes from
- Just under half of the budget (49%) generally comes from the provincial operating grant, set by the government.
- 41.2% comes from tuition fees, set by the university’s Board of Governors.
- 9.8% comes from other sources, including operating interest and endowment revenue.
Source: BAC context paper for 2020-21 budget
Where the money goes
- Most of the operating budget (72.2%) is spent on total compensation for faculty and staff (salaries, benefits, pension).
- Dalhousie allocates resources in a similar way to its U15 comparators (Canada’s group of leading research‐intensive universities), spending 63.2% of its operating budget in academic areas (Faculties, including Graduate Studies and Continuing Education).