Olds College is ready to begin its new academic year on July 1 with a balanced budget. Focused on operational efficiencies, Olds College remains committed to achieving its Strategic Plan: Growing 2025.
On June 25, the Olds College Board of Governors approved the balanced 2020/21 budget that includes $55,657,000 in expenses. In preparing the budget, Olds College officials were met with decreased funding due to a 7.1% reduction of $2,144,847 to the Olds College Campus Alberta Grant, and lost revenue challenges due to impacts from COVID-19.
“More than any other year, the 2020/21 budget is highly variable due to unknown revenue and expense impacts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” comments Stuart Cullum, President, Olds College. “The Olds College team worked hard to achieve a balanced budget by finding cost savings across the organization, but unfortunately that does include some impacts to staffing.”
Six positions will be permanently impacted due to the 2020/21 budget. In most cases, these reductions will be managed through attrition over the next six months. The College will be closely monitoring the impacts of COVID-19 as we begin our academic year in July and further reductions may be required.
In the current fiscal year, the College implemented a number of administration efficiencies in order to maintain our focus on core academic programming and applied research.
“I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the Olds College team and their continued commitment to creating an excellent learning environment for our students. As we prepare for the future of Olds College, we will continue to deliver future-focused training and applied research for Canada’s ag sector,” says President Cullum.
