As Ontario universities face myriad challenges and a growing financial gap, Carleton University is encouraging retirement.

A letter from the provost’s office dated November 20, it is stated that the university is implementing a Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program (VRIP) which will provide a “lump sum financial incentive” to employees who meet certain criteria, to help them “make the transition to retirement in 2025”.

The announcement comes after a letter dated November 8 determined that the university’s deficit for the 2024-25 fiscal year would be higher than the projected $26 million.

“It is for these reasons that Carleton has reached a point where significant action is required to address annual deficits in the short to medium term as we continue to plan towards long-term financial sustainability,” reads the statement. the letter of November 8. “Action on all our parts is necessary.”

According to the Provost’s Office, first-year international undergraduate student enrollment is down 55 percent, and international graduate student enrollment is down 35 percent this year. The provost attributes this to cap imposed by the federal government on international undergraduate student visas.

The cap on international students has compounded the problem of chronic underfunding from the provincial government.

In 2019, the Ford government reduced tuition fees by 10 percent before freezing them. In 2021, the freeze ended for domestic students from provinces other than Ontario, but the freeze for Ontario students remains in effect.

Compared to the rest of Canada, funding per university student in Ontario is only 57 per cent, according to an expert panel assembled by the provincial government to examine the funding gap for universities and colleges. The announcement of this freeze in 2017 was a continuation of the one that existed previously.

Although per-student funding remains low, enrollment rates are also declining. As of November 1, 2023, full-time enrollment for first-year undergraduate students was down 3.6 percent at Carleton. Some of the reasons experts cite for this decline in enrollment include the lingering impacts of the pandemic, finances, demographic changes and the employment gap.

With fewer students, post-secondary institutions simply cannot afford to run the same deficit.

Since Carleton’s November 8 letter publicizing the large deficit, the Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program (VRP) is the only initiative proposed to work toward financial stability.

According to the Nov. 20 announcement, VRIP is a “one-time, limited offering” and eligible applicants should consider participating while the program is available.

Full-time staff and faculty members who are 55 years of age or older and whose age and years of service total 75 or more are eligible for this program. Eligible candidates will receive an email from the Department of Human Resources.

Eligible employees will receive a lump sum payment equivalent to one month of their regular salary for each year of service completed, up to a maximum of 12 months, depending on the the program website. For example, a 70-year-old employee with six years of service has a qualifying score of 76. If their annual salary were $70,000, the lump sum payment would be equivalent to six months of their salary, or $35,000.

The Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA), a union representing full-time faculty and professional librarians at the university, released a brief statement on the program in its November newsletter.

“This new retirement program was undertaken without consultation with CUASA,” the statement said. “We are exploring what the program will mean for our members and the Carleton community as a whole. »

The deadline to apply is January 31, 2025.