University of Windsor approves $7.4-million budget deficit for 2026/27

The University of Windsor is seen in this file photo. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

The University of Windsor is projecting another deficit this year, but the school’s president says a new multi-year financial strategy is now in place.

On Tuesday, the university’s board of governors approved the 2026/27 operating budget of $320-million which includes $313-million in operating revenue - resulting in a projected deficit of $7.4-million. Of the $320-million operating budget, 76 per cent of that is salaries and benefits.

A new multi-year financial strategy was approved alongside the budget and is designed to return the university to a surplus within three years. The university projects a $5.8-million deficit in 2027/28 before moving to a projected surplus of $1.3-million in 2028/29.

As part of the multi-year strategy, the university’s four-pillar plan focuses on enrolment growth, government and research grants, fundraising advancement, and monetization efforts.

The financial pressures come as international graduate enrolment continues to decline. Total full-time enrolment is expected to drop to just over 14,000 students this fall, down from nearly 14,900 last year.

J.J. McMurtry, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Windsor, says the university’s recovery strategy will focus heavily on attracting more domestic students.

“The growth plan that the University of Windsor is focusing on is largely on domestic students coming to our programs, expansion in popular programs, which is what the government announced, areas like STEM, health, education, where we have room to grow and also for the university to reach out beyond the Windsor-Essex region.”

St. Clair College has paused 21 programs this fall due to a decline in international enrolment.

He says they have no intention of pausing or cutting programs.

“We are not at this moment planning to do those types of cuts, but of course it depends on how many students come to us for the September semester and in what programs. And I think it’s reasonable management to be always looking at how we provide our programs in the most efficient way to serve our students and our region.”

Last year, the university cut 27 positions as they moved toward centralizing some services, including IT/AV technical support, communications, and more.

McMurtry says their focus is on boosting enrolment and another round of job cuts is not currently planned.

“The consequence of not hitting those targets over the next number of years is that we will have to look for efficiencies, but we really don’t want to go for another round of the cuts that we saw before. We’d rather work with a more strategic plan, looking forward to see what efficiencies we can find in the institution.”

The budget also includes the maximum allowed two per cent increase to Ontario domestic tuition beginning this fall.

The university achieved a balanced budget for the 2024/25 school year but did approve a $4.6-million deficit in the 2025/26 year.