Dalhousie Budget Planning
Up-to-date information about university operating budget planning
Latest news
February 13, 2024
Dalhousie University has released the Draft Operating Budget Plan for 2024-25, which contains proposals for the 2024-25 operating budget as well as tuition and fee recommendations for the upcoming year.
Students, faculty and staff are invited to provide feedback on the plan via survey. Please check your dal.ca email for the survey link (sent February 13).
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 draft operating budget plan for this upcoming fiscal year (2024-25) balances revenues and expenditures at $552.7 million.
Where the money comes from
- Nearly 90% of the budget's operating revenue comes from two sources:
- Tuition fees, set by the university's Board of Governors: 46.4%
- Provincial operating grant, set by the provincial government: 42%
- The remaining 11.6% comes from other various smaller sources, most notably endowment revenue.
Source: Draft 2024-25 Operating Budget
Where the money goes
- The majority of the operating budget (nearly 60%) is allocated to Dalhousie's academic units, while an additional 15% goes to administration/support units. This allows Faculties and units to deliver on priorities in support of the university's mission and to carry out their day-to-day work.
Source: Draft 2024-25 Operating Budget
- The vast majority of Faculty and unit spending is on compensation for faculty and staff (salaries, benefits and pension payments). Faculty and staff compensation makes up 73.2% of overall university operating expenses.
- Dalhousie allocates resources similar to its U15 comparators (Canada’s group of leading research‐intensive universities). Dalhousie spends 60.5% of its operating budget in academic areas (Faculties, including Graduate Studies and Continuing Education), compared to the U15 average of 58.6%.