St. Clair College posted a $31 million budget surplus this year, once again exceeding financial projections at historic levels.
"It is the ideal combination of academic excellence of global repute which has spurred enrolment growth, coupled with conscientious cost-management in all of our operations, which has led to the past two years of surpluses," explained St. Clair President Patti France. "Viewed in that comprehensive manner, all of the College's employees have contributed to our solid fiscal position."
France continued, "The significant portion of those surpluses that have been placed into sustainability reserves will assist St. Clair in weathering any substantial economic downturn which may confront us in the future."
The surplus was expected to come in at about $11 million for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, but higher than anticipated enrolment resulted in an additional $12 million of tuition revenue, while expenses decreased by about $7.7 million.
"Part of it is just being good stewards of public funds," Chief Financial Officer Marc Jones said. "When certain budget allocations weren't needed, money wasn't spent. Ultimately, the money goes back into our reserves and we're able to spend the funds in other priorities at a future date."
The financial report was approved by the Board of Governors this week and $20 million of the surplus was earmarked for reserves, adding to the $20 million deposited last year, after the College posted a historic surplus of $40 million.
Jones said the provincial approval of an expanded Ace Acuman Toronto campus, which serves a large international student base, allowed the College to grow its enrolment.
"It's the second year in a row where we've had very significant surpluses," Jones said. "In terms of exceeding our budget projections, it's been at least four years now where we've exceeded our budget projections."