December 2025

Happy Holidays from CAUBO!

The entire CAUBO team extends our warmest wishes to you, our members, for a peaceful and joyful holiday season and a very happy new year.
We look forward to reconnecting with you in 2026!

Current Initiatives

We’re pleased to share a list of resources released and initiatives launched over the past several months, many of which reflect months of work by our team and dedicated volunteers.

Strengthening the Financial and Mission Resilience of Canadian Universities

Canadian universities are essential drivers of innovation, opportunity, and national progress — yet they face growing financial strain due to years of underfunding, rising costs, and shifting policies.

To help address these challenges, Universities Canada and CAUBO have launched a new joint initiative focused on strengthening the sector’s financial and mission sustainability.

This collaboration will bring together university leaders and policy experts from across the country to:

  • Build a shared understanding of the financial realities facing the sector
  • Identify actionable solutions and policy levers for long-term resilience
  • Support universities in continuing to deliver world-class education, research, and innovation

Read the full announcement in CAUBO’s Latest News section to learn more about this important partnership and how it will help shape the future of Canada’s higher education sector.

The Inaugural CAUBO Leader Program Cohort Is Underway

Earlier this fall, the inaugural CAUBO Leader Program got underway, bringing together a dynamic group of members committed to driving positive change within their institutions and the sector. 

CAUBO Leader, a purpose-built leadership development initiative tailored for mid- to senior-level administrators in key operational and administrative areas across Canadian universities. Now more than ever, strong, collaborative leadership is needed to navigate the complexity and change facing the higher education sector. Spanning eight months, the program brings together a dynamic, supportive cohort of peers. Through shared learning, reflection, and practice-based exploration, participants will deepen their leadership capabilities and grow as confident, adaptive leaders.

Stay tuned for details on future offerings of CAUBO Leader. To add your name to the waiting list, please click here and include your full name, title, institution, and contact information. You’ll receive an email with priority registration for the next course offering. For more information about CAUBO Leader, and other upcoming professional development opportunities, visit the Learning and Events web page.

Catch Up on Analytics & Reports

Visit the Analytics and Reports section in the Knowledge Centre to access the following recent resources:

  • New Dashboard Available to Complement Data Insights: Non-Academic Salary Spending Patterns at Canadian Universities
  • Updated: Financial Health Indicators Dashboard
  • Updated: FTE-based and Financial Dashboards
  • Student Housing in Canadian Higher Education: A Strategic Framework for Planning and Delivery
  • Academic Program Sustainability and the Role of Academic Portfolio Review

These resources, along with many more, are available to institutional members in the Knowledge Centre.

Updated: Financial Health Indicators Dashboard

The Financial Health Dashboard has been updated to include indicators from 2011–2012 through 2023–2024. The dashboard allows users to compare indicators nationally, provincially, by institutional size, or with selected institutions. Its flexible format supports tailored analysis of financial trends and conditions.

As financial pressures persist, university administrators across Canada increasingly rely on data and benchmarking to support sound decision-making and long-term sustainability.

CAUBO compiles a series of four sector-wide indicators of financial condition for members. These financial ratios highlight strengths and potential vulnerabilities and can serve as a valuable baseline for setting priorities and guiding institutional strategy.

A comprehensive Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) is also available to explain the indicators, their value and limitation.

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

Updated tools: FTE-based and Financial Dashboards

The Financial dashboards now include 2023-2024 data as reported through the Financial Information of Universities and Colleges (FIUC).  These dashboards provide members with the ability to view sector-wide trends in university finances since 2000-2001.

CAUBO’s Financial dashboards and the FTE-based dashboard series  have been updated with the most recently available data.

The FTE-based dashboards, also based on the FIUC, incorporate faculty and student FTE data from Statistics Canada’s University and Colleges Academic Staff System (UCASS) and Post-Secondary Student Information System (PSIS) surveys. They have been updated to reflect the 2022-2023 data. The 2023-2024 update will follow once data from UCASS and PSIS is available. These dashboards allow members to benchmark with their peers across the country on key indicators such as research income, provincial funding, and teaching and administrative costs. Users can choose to benchmark with institutions that are most comparable to their own, based on the number of student FTEs and faculty within major fields of study, and can further customize their analysis using filters for institutional size, with a similar mission or research intensity, and province.

Please note that a secondary password is required to access the dashboards. The password can be found in green text at the top of the FTE-based Dashboard webpage.

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

CAUBO’s report, Student Housing in Canadian Higher Education: A Strategic Framework for Planning and Delivery, 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:

A webinar series related to this report will be offered in 2026. For details on this, and other 2026 professional development opportunities, please see the Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities section of the CAUBO Connection.

Academic Program Sustainability and the Role of Academic Portfolio Review

CAUBO’s insight paper, Academic Program Sustainability and the Role of Academic Portfolio Review, introduces Academic Portfolio Review (AP review) as a strategic, data-informed planning tool that empowers institutions to make intentional decisions that keep academic programs vibrant, relevant, and financially sustainable—so that they can continue to invest in what matters most.

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 Dashboard Available to Complement Data Insights: Non-Academic Salary Spending Patterns at Canadian Universities

CAUBO’s Data Insights series highlights key financial trends in the university sector, offering concise, fact-based analysis of some of the sector’s most pressing risks and challenges. Last spring, the series was expanded with a new report: Non-Academic Salary Spending Patterns at Canadian Universities. This analysis focuses on institutional spending with an emphasis on non-academic salaries and wages. A new interactive dashboard is now available to accompany this Data Insight.

Then new report examines where compensation is incurred—whether in central administration or within faculties—and contextualizes how factors such as regulatory requirements, enhanced student services, and increased research support have shaped non-academic compensation. The report also explores the influence of institutional size and administrative structures on spending patterns, while highlighting the structural constraints universities face in responding to fiscal pressures.

The new interactive dashboard highlights three core datasets from the analysis, allowing institutions to view their position relative to peers and tailor comparisons to relevant institutional groupings.

Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities

  • Webinar – Academic Program Costing Series – Part 2: Market Context and Academic Portfolio Strategy January 22, 2026
  • Webinar – CAUBO Student Housing Series – Part 1 of 4: 1. Current State and Needs Assessment Wednesday January 28, 2026
  • Webinar – CAUBO Student Housing Series – Part 2 of 4: Procurement Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Higher Education Onboarding Workshop (Ottawa – Alt Hotel) February 10th -11th
Registration closes Friday, December 19, 2025
* Please note that a minimum number of participants is required for the event to take place

  • UCG Online Course February 18 – May 28, 2026

CAUBO offers topical webinars on trends and issues affecting higher education administrators. Visit the Webinars page for more information and a list of on-demand webinars available to administrative staff at a member institution.

CAUBO 2026 Annual Conference and Functional Seminars – Save the Dates!

From June 16-17, 2026, the CAUBO Annual Conference takes place in St. John’s, Newfoundland! The conference is CAUBO’s flagship professional development event. Sessions provide examples of best practices and offer insights into current topics and trends shaping the sector. There are also multiple opportunities during the conference to relax and connect with friends and colleagues while enjoying great food and entertainment. Plus, a variety of functional seminars on June 15 offer members a chance to focus on their specific areas of work and discuss relevant issues with others in their field.

Conference registration will open February 2026. More details coming soon!

Member Discounts

CAUBO members enjoy access to exclusive savings through a selection of national agreements for products and services. These programs provide volume pricing and value-added benefits designed to support both personal and professional needs and are available to all administrative staff and faculty employed at CAUBO member universities and colleges. Current member benefits include preferred rates on hotels, moving and relocation services, Park’N Fly, the Union Pearson Express, VIA Rail, and car rentals, recently adding AutoEurope to our list of car rental member discount offerings. The CAUBO Hotel Program has been updated, and the 2026-2027 rates are now available for members.