Jobs at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops could be threatened as the university tries to deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s according to a letter sent out by TRU President Brett Fairbain, a copy of which was forwarded to NL News. Fairbairn says the effects of the pandemic are serious, but notes TRU has had time to plan out its approach to navigate the crisis.
He does however hint at the possibility of layoffs, unpaid leave, or the reassignment of work for some staff.
“Over the past week, TRU has approached CUPE, TRUFA and APA (the association that represents our administrative staff) to discuss options,” Fairbairn said, in the letter.
The university employs more than 2,000 people and has more than 20,000 students enrolled for both on-campus and online programs.
“In late March, we took the unprecedented step of asking our Board of Governors to approve a provisional university budget for the first six months of the new fiscal year. This request was directly related to COVID-19, the impacts of which were already beginning to be felt in our university operations,” Fairbairn added.
“As Vice-President for Administration and Finance Matt Milovick told the board at the time, the potential impacts of a global pandemic, including on our enrolment, made finalizing a budget extremely difficult. What was to be a projected surplus for our current fiscal year (of April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021) had been revised as a budget shortfall.”
As part of its response, the university is halting discretionary spending, while also temporarily rescinding most corporate credit cards, and putting all hiring on hold, with the exception of a few new or vacant critical positions to support its response to COVID-19.
Several significant capital projects have also been deferred for now.
“A COVID-19 fund was established on an emergency basis to purchase items to assist with the university’s response to the pandemic including the shift to alternate delivery and remote working,” Fairbairn said.
“These steps, while successful to date, will only take us so far, and now, seven weeks later, it is time to consider what other steps may need to be taken to address the reality of our time – both in terms of our budget, and the fact that some of our employees’ work has been directly impacted by the pandemic.”
Fairbairn stresses that no decisions have been made, but he says the university needs to be prepared for whatever is to come in the future.
“I am sharing this information with you as I want you to be aware should things change. We have strong concerns about our financial situation,” he added. “We also have a strong desire to continue to provide a high-quality learning and research experience while finding solutions that preserve jobs for employees in the long term.
“I want to stress that some of the most important pieces of the puzzle, such as enrolment, which will have an impact on future decisions, will remain unclear until fall. Domestic student applications are down for the fall, and international enrolment may be significantly affected.”
For the most part, he is expecting that classes at the university will be held online this fall, with the occasional in-class option wherever feasible.
“Not surprisingly, and like other universities, we face the possibilities that major revenue sources could be affected this year and next: international tuition revenue, domestic tuition revenue, and even earnings on our endowments and savings,” he added. “These factors will gradually become clearer in coming months.”
A report last fall estimated that the university added over $700 million to the regional Kamloops economy, while noting that one in every nine jobs in the Thompson, Nicola and Cariboo regions was supported by TRU and its graduates.
