Work is underway at four Ontario universities as well as at the province's ministry of colleges and universities to act upon 21 recommendations by Ontario's auditor general. The recommendations are designed to tighten up oversight, financial management and governance in the wake of Laurentian University declaring insolvency in early 2021.
In a 113-page report released in late November, auditor general Bonnie Lysyk and her team found that a provincially imposed 10-per cent reduction in 2019 and subsequent freeze of domestic student tuition fees has led to an overreliance on international student enrolment - a situation that could put the financial health of the province's 23 public universities at risk.
In addition to recommending that the province assess universities' financial sustainability under current funding and tuition levels and become more proactive when universities show signs of serious financial trouble, Ms. Lysyk said it also needs to articulate a strategic vision for Ontario's postsecondary system that clarifies differences between university and college programs and avoids undue competition for students.
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