We all know these cuts are hurting the university.

We call on the administration to consider alternative paths to achieve fiscal sustainability such as increasing the budgeted income from the Pooled Investment Fund (PIF) so that we can preserve the academic mission of the university rather than the value of its investments.

As illustrated in the infographic above (see this version for better resolution), keeping contributions to university operations from PIF investment income frozen at $5.2 million has meant that this funding has declined in both real dollars (due to inflation) and as a percentage of the fund. While the university has claimed that they do not wish to budget for higher returns due to the ‘the volatility of returns’, this ignores that:

  1. the university manages its endowment to produce an even higher contribution to operations (4%) and undertakes processes to manage market volatility to do so;
  2. PIF investment income has been used to address deficits in the recent past (p. 56-7);
  3. this percentage return was viewed as appropriate in 2017 and they have yet to describe what has changed since then; and
  4. on its own FAQ, the university states that capital reserves can be used to manage down years in investment income:

“The capital reserve also serves as a buffer in years when investment losses are significant”

Queen’s University, Financial Services

For more information on alternatives to budget cuts, please see other posts and pages :

QCAA’s Shock Doctrine
Budget Posts