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Financial Challenges | Performance | 2012-2013 Budget | Funding Priorities
Underfunding
McGill is underfunded compared to peer institutions.
Pension Plan under pressure
Less money coming in—due to lower investment returns—and more money going out—due to low interest rates and increased life expectancies—means that future pension liabilities are increasing faster than the anticipated growth in the Plan’s assets. This puts McGill’s pension plan and operating budget under increasing pressure.
McGill’s pension plan deficit is expected to more than double over 3 years.*
Pension deficit as of December 2009
Estimated pension deficit as of December 2012
As a result of deficits, the special contributions needed to offset funding deficiencies in the pension plan are increasing at a rate that is not sustainable.
*Deficit on a "going concern" evalution basis only. The solvency deficit (i.e. the amount that would be needed to meet all obligations if the pension plan shut down immediately) is higher.
Buildings and infrastructure
The need to maintain and repair older buildings creates significant financial demands.
Amount of deferred maintenance accumulated over time due to lack of funding (2007)**
Minimum annual funding needed over 15 years, on top of current maintenance funding, to meet recommended maintenance standards
** This amount represents only the deferred maintenance on McGill buildings recognized by the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport.
Workforce Planning
The University has embarked on a strategic exercise to support units across McGill in identifying, planning and developing their future organizational and workforce needs.
This initiative is particularly important in light of Quebec legislation (Bill 100) that calls for across-the-board reductions in administrative spending, and specifies that for every two voluntary departures of administrative and support staff, only one replacement may be hired.
Academic rankings
Despite our chronic underfunding, McGill ranks as one of the top universities in the world. The University has placed:
among Canadian medical-doctoral universities in Maclean's annual rankings for the last seven years (2005-2011)
in the QS World University rankings in 2012, and 1st in Canada for the last nine years (2004-2012)
in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings
in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), as compiled by Shanghai Jiaotong University.
Notwithstanding the variety of criteria used by different organizations, our University places highly in these league tables.
| Maclean's Medical Doctoral 2011 | QS World University Rankings 2012 | |
|---|---|---|
| McGill | 1 | 18 |
| Toronto | 2 | 19 |
| British Columbia |
3 | 45 |
| Queen's | 4 | 175 |
| Alberta | 5 | 108 |
| McMaster | 6* | 152 |
| Dalhousie | 6* | 243 |
| Calgary | 8 | 214 |
| Western | 9 | 173 |
| Ottawa | 10 | 240 |
| Montréal | 12* | 114 |
| Laval | 12* | 324 |
| Waterloo | - | 191 |
* indicates a tie
Degrees that get you noticed
In a 2011 survey, employers ranked McGill's degrees as the 15th most-prestigious in the world, the highest ranking earned by a Canadian institution.
| QS Employer Rank 2011 | ||
|---|---|---|
| McGill | 15 | |
| Toronto | 15 | |
| Queen's | 51 | |
| British Columbia | 51 | |
| Western | 100 | |
| Waterloo | 100 | |
| York | 162 | |
| Alberta | 196 | |
| Simon Fraser | 295 | |
Top 100 Employers
McGill has been named one of Canada’s top 100 employers for the last 4 years. A few of the many reasons the University was selected include:
- McGill helps employees balance their work and personal life with alternative work arrangements.
- McGill supports employees who are new mothers with maternity and parental leave top-up payments.
- McGill invests in ongoing employee development through subsidies as well as in-house training programs.
Highly rated financial management
Recognition for Budget Process
The Government Finance Officers of North America recognized McGill with a recent distinguished budget presentation award.
Top 25th percentile for pension management
The McGill University Pension Plan sits in the top 25 percentile of a comparator group of Canadian pension plans (BNY Mellon asset servicing).
McGill's total budget is over $1 billion across four funds: operating, restricted (predominantly research), capital (or plant fund), and endowment.
McGill has proposed a deficit budget for FY2013, and is projecting that this will be the case for FY2014 as well. Once the budget is balanced, the University will have to generate sufficient surpluses to begin paying off an accumulated cash deficit of over $100M, and begin addressing total liabilities in the accumulated deficit.
Total Expenses & adjustments FY2013
Total revenue FY2013
Anticipated annual deficit for the FY2013 operating budget.
Total accumulated cash deficit (over time) as of May 31, 2010
Total accumulated deficit with adjustments according to GAAP
Just under half of McGill's operating budget comes from the Government of Quebec, and about 30% from tuition and fees.
Student Financial Support
In five years, student aid from McGill’s operating budget has increased more than five-fold. Much of the funding has come from contributing 30% of net new tuition increases into student aid.
Research funding
McGill is succeeding in improving its success rate for external funding competitions, particularly in areas of recognized strength.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure expenses constitute a significant portion of McGill’s annual operating budget.
Staff professional development
Over 40 different workshops are available to McGill employees, free of charge, in subject areas such as communications, career development, team building, conflict management, and project management. French language training is also available.
Training is offered a la carte and may also be customized for specific units. Sessions are also offered in the context of programs such as the Leadership Development Program with over 200 graduates to date.
In addition, the University supports staff development via tuition fee waivers for full-time staff pursuing credit courses in a degree, diploma or certificate program and for newly hired tenure stream staff pursuing French and English language instruction.