USask financial structure
The university has a wide breadth of activities. Revenues and expenses related to these activities are classified into fund types for budgeting, financial management, and reporting.
These fund types are further classified as unrestricted or restricted.
Unrestricted Funds
Are flexible funds that can be used for any purpose aligned with the university’s mission. USask has two unrestricted funds operating and ancillary.
Restricted Funds
Funds earmarked for specific purposes where no cross-use or redirection on use is permitted.
Revenue
USask's revenue sources
- Federal grants and contracts: Funding primarily supporting research activities, including capital and university overhead support.
- Provincial grants and contracts: Public funding for operations, capital, and research. Funding for operations includes targeted funding for specific programs linked to provincial priorities, such as health human resources.
- Student fees: Tuition and related fees.
- Sales services/products: Income from campus-based services
- Donations: Contributions from donors
- Investment income: Returns from university investments within the non-endowed investment pool or bank.
- Other revenues : Miscellaneous income streams.
Expenditures
USask's expenditures
- Salaries and benefits: Compensation for employees
- Supplies and contracts: Materials and third-party services
- Travel: Expenses related to university travel
- Utilities: Electricity, water, heating, etc.
- Maintenance and rental: Upkeep and rental of facilities
- Renovations: Campus improvement projects
- Amortization: Accounting for annual use of long-term assets
- Other expenses: miscellaneous expenses
Strategy
Financial stewardship is the cornerstone of institutional transformation—empowering organizations to fulfill their vision and long-term priorities. By strategically aligning goals and resources, the Strategic Finance Office drives excellence and serves as a catalyst for excellence and meaningful change.
Strategic alignment
Aligns with University Plan ambitions and goals
Planning is rooted in university priorities
Value creation
Catalyzes long-term success through strategic financial management
Resource optimization for maximum impact
Collaborative stewardship
Fosters collaboration across departments
Engaging stakeholders for sustainability
- Streamline planning and budgeting into one-step process
- Launch: Sept. 2025 | Close: Jan. 2026
- Strategic Investment Fund proposals
- Awards approved: April 2026
- Policy refinement: Investment, Risk, Capital
- Board approval: June 2026
- Annual Debt Report strategy
- Board/provincial support: June 2026
- Business case process enhancement
- Checklist: Oct. 2025 | Template: June 2026
- Internal loan process communication
- Release: Dec. 2025
- Financial town halls
- Minimum two per year
- Launch website for financial transparency
- Updated by Sept. 2025
- Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) re-launch
- toolkit + survey: July 2025
- Re-defining risk assessment teams
- committee defined: Oct. 2025
- Advance risk culture through communication and policy
- policy and communications tool launch: Oct.–Dec. 2025
Financing Strategy 2026
The University of Saskatchewan (USask) has reached an important milestone in planning for our future.
The Board of Governors recently approved a financing strategy that will enable up to $250 million in new financing.
The proposal has also completed the provincial approval process, reflecting confidence in the institution’s financial management and the strong relationship built with the Government of Saskatchewan.
The proposed investments focus on several mission-critical priorities, including:
- Modernizing university-wide systems that support students, faculty and staff;
- Renewing and expanding learning and teaching spaces to meet growing demand;
- Supporting strategic research and innovation opportunities; and
- Enabling new revenue-generating initiatives that can strengthen the university's long-term financial sustainability.
A significant portion of the proposed financing would support the Integrated Services Renewal (ISR) initiative. This project will modernize many of the core systems that support student services, finance, human resources and other university operations. The renewal of these systems is increasingly important as existing platforms age, and the risks associated with unsupported technology continue to grow.
The financing would also support expanded learning environments in the College of Engineering and the Edwards School of Business, and a major innovation opportunity centred on the expansion of nuclear medicine capabilities. Together, these projects will help position USask to support learner success, research growth, economic development and future opportunities for Saskatchewan and beyond.
Through this process, the university would self-finance capital projects by seeking up to $250 million in the form of a bond from third-party lenders. The projects would then not require capital funding from the Government of Saskatchewan or make to use unrestricted operating funds.
Throughout the development of this strategy, significant analysis was done to ensure that any financing approach remains affordable and aligned with the university's long-term financial sustainability.
The strategy includes 10-year financial projections, benchmarking against other leading Canadian research-intensive universities, and rigorous testing of multiple economic scenarios. The analysis concludes that USask has the financial capacity to responsibly undertake this financing while remaining within established debt-management frameworks.
Importantly, annual financing costs have been incorporated into the university's long-term financial outlook, and a dedicated fund is included in the strategy to support future repayment obligations.
This investment is more than simply buildings, systems or infrastructure. It is about creating conditions for future success.
The projects supported through this financing will strengthen the student experience, support teaching and research excellence, create opportunities for innovation and economic development, and help ensure that USask continues to be a leading institution for decades to come.
As the process moves forward, we remain committed to keeping our community informed and engaged. We will continue to share updates as plans progress and as projects move ahead.
- What was approved?
The Board of Governors approved a financing strategy that supports up to $250 million in new financing to advance critical capital and systems priorities. The proposal has also moved through the provincial approval process. Through this process, the university would self-finance capital projects by seeking up to $250 million in the form of a bond from third-party lenders and not require capital funding from the Government of Saskatchewan. - Why is USask pursuing financing?
USask faces significant capital and system renewal needs that cannot be funded through existing operating resources. Key drivers include limited unrestricted cash reserves, inflationary pressures, aging infrastructure and systems, and the need to invest in new revenue-generating opportunities.
USask has a demonstrated track record of using debt financing to support strategic capital investments. In 2019, the university issued an $85-million bond to fund major renewal and modernization projects across four key academic facilities: Murray Library, W.P. Thompson Building, Arts & Science Building, and Thorvaldson Building. Previous to that, USask leveraged borrowing to successfully deliver other significant infrastructure projects, including student residences and the Stadium Parkade, reflecting its experience in responsibly financing long-term capital priorities. - What will the financing be used for?
The financing would support:- Integrated Services Renewal (ISR)
- Engineering expansion projects (IDEAS)
- Edwards School of Business expansion
- Strategic revenue-generation investments, including expansion of nuclear medicine capabilities
- A sinking fund to support future repayment obligations
- What is the largest priority?
The largest investment is the Integrated Services Renewal (ISR) project, which would require approximately $120 million, representing about half of the planned financing. The project modernizes core systems supporting students, finance, human resources and university operations. - Why can't these projects be funded from the operating budget?
Operating grants, tuition, and fee revenues are not keeping pace with inflation and ongoing operating pressures. While operating resources support our day-to-day activities, they are not sufficient to fund the large-scale investments required to renew aging systems, modernize infrastructure, expand learning spaces and create new opportunities for growth.
The university's unrestricted cash reserves are insufficient to fund these major one-time capital investments while maintaining ongoing operations. - Does this bond indicate the university is in financial difficulty?
No. The strategy outlines that USask maintains a balanced-budget approach and has projected structurally balanced operations. The financing is intended to support long-term capital and strategic investments, not to address operating deficits. - Can USask afford this level of financing?
After rigorous analysis, we have determined that the financing is affordable. The strategy includes 10-year projections, peer benchmarking, debt-policy analysis, and multiple stress tests. Annual financing costs have been incorporated into long-term financial planning.
USask has a demonstrated track record of using debt financing to support strategic capital investments. In 2019, the university issued an $85-million bond to fund major renewal and modernization projects across four key academic facilities: Murray Library, W.P. Thompson Building, Arts & Science Building, and Thorvaldson Building. Previous to that, USask leveraged borrowing to successfully deliver other significant infrastructure projects, including student residences and the Stadium Parkade, reflecting its experience in responsibly financing long-term capital priorities. - How does USask compare with other research universities?
Our research indicates that even with an additional $250 million in financing, USask's external debt would remain well below the average debt levels of U15 research-intensive universities with third-party financing. - What happens if the financing doesn’t move ahead?
The university would face delays or pauses to critical projects, including ISR. Risks identified include increased pressure from aging systems, delayed infrastructure expansion, and the potential loss of strategic opportunities such as the expansion of nuclear medicine capabilities. - Will this effect tuition?
The financing strategy does not propose tuition increases to fund these projects. The report focuses on financing capital priorities through long-term debt financing supported by the university's overall financial capacity. - Will this result in budget reductions or layoffs?
The financing strategy is not a workforce reduction initiative. As is always the case, we responsibly plan for continued financial management, balanced-budgeting, and ongoing efforts to improve revenues and manage expenses. - What are the expected benefits for students and employees?
The investments are intended to:- Improve student-facing systems and services
- Modernize administrative and payroll systems
- Expand learning and teaching spaces
- Support research and innovation opportunities
- Create capacity for future growth
- Why is this being proposed now?
The timing is important because planning and implementation are already underway for several priorities. Delays could increase costs, extend project timelines, and increase operational risks. - Didn’t USask just raise $500 million from donors? Why can’t that be used?
The Be What the World Needs Campaign for USask spanned 10 years, from 2015 to 2025, and funds raised have already been put to work supporting thousands of people and projects. Funds raised during the campaign were donor-restricted to mission‑aligned projects during that period and cannot be redirected to the capital priorities the new financing will support. - What else can you tell me?
This financing is an investment in USask's future. It allows the university to address critical infrastructure and systems needs, support student success and research excellence, pursue strategic growth opportunities, and do so within a financially responsible framework that has been rigorously assessed for affordability and sustainability.
Planning and budget town halls
More information on USask’s Planning and budget town halls, including insights into the university’s approach to financial sustainability.