June 2025

CAUBO National Office staff and Board wish all our members a healthy, happy, and restorative summer!

Recent Analytical Releases

We are pleased to share several new resources with our members, some of which are the result of months of work by our team and volunteers.

New Report: Student Housing in Canadian Higher Education: A Strategic Framework for Planning and Delivery

CAUBO’s new report, Student Housing in Canadian Higher Education: A Strategic Framework for Planning and Delivery is now available and provides timely insights and strategic guidance to help institutions navigate the evolving financial, demographic, and housing landscapes that are reshaping the sector. The report serves as a practical tool that CAUBO members can use to inform long-term student housing strategies, support capital investment decisions, and adapt to a financially constrained and complex development landscape. 

Canadian post-secondary institutions are facing increasingly complex challenges in planning for and delivering student housing that is financially sustainable and affordable for students, responds to student expectations and aligns with their missions.

Building on CAUBO’s 2012 report Building the Student Experience, this updated resource includes:

New Insight Paper: Academic Program Sustainability and the Role of Academic Portfolio Review

CAUBO’s new insight paper is now available. Today’s universities and colleges are navigating complex challenges—from shifting enrolment patterns and budgetary pressures to evolving expectations for academic relevance and impact. CAUBO’s new Insight Paper, Academic Program Sustainability and the Role of Academic Portfolio Review, explores a strategic path forward. It introduces Academic Portfolio Review (AP review) as a powerful, data-informed tool to help institutions make confident, mission-aligned decisions that ensure programs remain vibrant, relevant, and financially viable for the future.

Higher education institutions are facing growing pressures from enrolment declines, financial constraints, and rapid technological change. In response, university and college leaders are seeking ways to ensure long-term program sustainability while remaining aligned with their missions and evolving student needs.

Drawing on in-depth interviews from across the sector, the paper offers:

  • A clear rationale for why AP review is essential;
  • A flexible framework adaptable to different institutional contexts;
  • Financial insights critical to academic planning;
  • Practical guidance on implementation—from governance and data to metrics and costing; and
  • Lessons learned from institutions leading academic renewal.

The paper positions AP review not as a cost-cutting exercise, but a mission-driven strategy to strengthen teaching and learning. It underscores the importance of collaboration among academic leaders, finance professionals, and institutional researchers to support nuanced, evidence-informed decision-making.

Whether your institution is just starting this journey or refining existing practices, the paper offers a practical, peer-informed foundation.

New Data Insights: Non-Academic Salary Spending Patterns at Canadian Universities

The newest entry in the Data Insights series is now available. Non-Academic Salary Spending Patterns at Canadian Universities, focuses on institutional spending with an emphasis on non-academic salaries and wages. The analysis explores where compensation is incurred—whether in central administration or within faculties—and contextualizes how growing regulatory requirements, enhanced student services, and increased research support have shaped non-academic compensation. The report also examines how institutional size and the degree of administrative centralization influence spending patterns, while highlighting the structural constraints universities face in adapting to fiscal pressures.

CAUBO’s Data Insights series highlights key financial trends in the university sector. The Data Insights provide concise, yet fact-based analysis of some of the sector’s most pressing risks and challenges.

The first two entries in the series, initially released in 2021, address the changing patterns in spendable income and general operating expenditures. They have now been updated to reflect the most recent available data (2022-2023). The updated entries in the series are available at the links below:

  1. Changing Patterns in University Revenues
  2. Changing Patterns in General Operating Expenditures

New Announcement: Tax Services Agreement Between CAUBO and KPMG

CAUBO is pleased to announce a new agreement with KPMG to support members’ evolving tax needs. This agreement will enhance the resources available to members through timely insights, expert guidance, and expanded opportunities for engagement and learning.

As part of this agreement, a Tax Advisory Forum recently launched and the first Tax Newsletter will be released shortly to provide members with valuable information on tariffs.

KPMG will provide the following tax resources and services to CAUBO members:

  • Ongoing Support through CAUBO’s Tax Advisory Forum: In collaboration with KPMG, CAUBO is transitioning from the previous Tax Helpdesk model to a new listserv model, CAUBO’s Tax Advisory Forum, to enhance peer learning. This new listserv will continue to allow members to ask general tax-related questions and receive expert input from KPMG tax practitioners. However, the listserv will function as an open forum, where CAUBO members can view and participate in the discussions. This approach promotes broader information sharing and fosters a more collaborative knowledge exchange environment. The Tax Advisory Forum recently launched and members working in tax and finance roles can request to participate here.
  • Quarterly Tax Newsletter: To help ensure that members remain informed and well-prepared to address emerging tax issues, KPMG will provide a Tax Newsletter. The timing of these updates will be aligned with key developments and topics of interest to the post-secondary sector. They will focus on issues relevant to universities and colleges, including regulatory changes, CRA and RQ activity and global tax developments impacting Canadian institutions.
  • Webinars and Conference Sessions: CAUBO will also work with KPMG to deliver webinars, roundtables or other information sessions tailored to the tax needs of post-secondary institutions. These events will provide timely and relevant information to support institutional decision-making and compliance.

2024 Investment Survey Report

The CAUBO Investment Survey is Canada’s most comprehensive survey of investments held by Canadian post-secondary institutions’ endowment and pension funds and is intended to provide universities with information to assist them in better managing their investment portfolios. The 2024 Investment Survey results have been compiled into a report that is now available for members of participating institutions.

Access to the Investment Survey report is restricted to certain members at participating institutions. Members that have not participated in the survey, affiliate members and corporate members can purchase the report by using the order form available here.

Updated: Financial Health Indicators Dashboard and Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A)

CAUBO’s Financial Health Dashboard has been updated to cover a twelve-year period (2011/12 to 2022/23). The dashboard allows users to compare indicators nationally, provincially, by institutional size, or with selected institutions. The 2024-2025 Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) is also available to explain the methodology for the indicators, their value and limitation, provide analysis of the 2022-2023 indicators and contextual information on provincial differences that may influence the indicators.

Financial sustainability remains a key concern for university administrators across Canada. In times of financial constraint, data and benchmarking become essential tools for institutions.

CAUBO compiles a series of four sector-wide indicators of financial condition for members based on publicly available information contained in Universities’ financial statements. These financial ratios provide insights into the sector’s financial health, helping to identify strengths and potential vulnerabilities. At the institutional level, these ratios serve as a valuable baseline for setting priorities and guiding strategic decision-making.

The Financial Health Dashboard and MD&A are available to Senior Finance and VPFA members only.

Upcoming Analytical Resources

2023-2024 Financial Information of Universities and Colleges (FIUC)

The 2023-2024 FIUC data will be released later this summer. Key analytical resources will be updated using the latest data and released throughout 2025-2026.

The Financial Information of Universities and Colleges (FIUC) is jointly prepared annually by CAUBO and Statistics Canada. The FIUC is the only national source for comparable and consistent financial information for Canadian universities. The data collected through the FIUC is essential for many of CAUBO’s analytical resources, including the Financial Landscape Series and the Financial and FTE-based Dashboards.

New On-Demand Webinars

Institutional members can explore CAUBO’s extensive archive of on-demand webinars on our website. Recent additions to our webinar library include:

CAUBO 2025: Annual Conference Wrap-Up

The 2025 CAUBO Annual Conference took place in Edmonton from June 9–11 with close to 700 delegates in attendance.

Top notch plenary speakers addressed timely issues including How to Thrive in the Brave New World of Artificial Intelligence, Global Power Shifts: How Emerging Geopolitical Risks Will Reshape Canada’s Future, as well as Infodemic! Is Misinformation Killing Us?. A wide range of concurrent sessions were also offered.

Members who attended the conference and those who purchased an on-demand conference pass can view all recorded conference sessions until August 31, 2025. To access the available on-demand sessions, please open the PheedLoop Go! app on your mobile device, or on the desktop app, using the same credentials that were used to log into the conference app on-site, or provided by PheedLoop. If an on-demand session does not appear on the PheedLoop app, this means that the recording is not available.

We’re thankful to everyone who joined us in Edmonton and help make our conference such a success! We look forward to seeing many of you at CAUBO 2026 in St. John’s Newfoundland from June 15–17, 2026.

2025 Q&P and Recognition Award Winners Announced

At the 2025 annual conference in Edmonton, we honoured some of our amazing volunteers with the Recognition Awards and celebrated the innovative ideas and best practices demonstrated by the 2025 Quality and Productivity Award winners. You can learn more about this year’s winners by watching the videos created to celebrate the Q&P and Recognition Award winners.

CAUBO 2026 Call for Proposals—Opening Soon!

Share your expertise and experience with your peers and colleagues at CAUBO 2026, taking place from June 15-17, 2026, in St. John’s Newfoundland, by submitting a content proposal to be considered for the conference program. The Call for Proposals opens on August 21 and closes on October 23, 2025, so keep an eye out for the launch message and www.caubo.ca for details and to access the submission form.

2024/2025 CAUBO Highlights Infographic

Once again, this year, CAUBO presents its annual Highlights in the form of an interactive infographic, making it easy to see and explore all the resources, information, and networking opportunities that we made available to members in 2024-2025. Check out the highlights of our past year here: https://www.caubo.ca/latest-news/caubo-2024-2025-highlights/.

Member Discounts

CAUBO offers a number of member discounts for  all administrative staff and faculty currently employed by CAUBO member universities and colleges for personal and business use. Members can access preferential pricing and discounts across a range of travel-related services, including car rentals, hotels, Park N’ Ride and VIA Rail.

More information regarding the member discounts is available on the CAUBO website.