University says it will turn to staff reduction only as a last resort in 2021, hopes to regain revenue as travel restrictions ease
Over 60 longtime UFV employees have applied to a buyout program offered by UFV last fall to prevent layoffs and help offset the deficit projected due to COVID-19.
On behalf of the university, Dave Pinton, director of communications for UFV, said over email, “62 people have now applied for the incentive program and offers will be made in the weeks ahead to those applicants who qualified and who were approved.”
In December, Pinton told the Chilliwack Progress that the university expected between 30 and 40 applicants.
The buyout program, which UFV calls a retirement incentive program, was voluntary and available to employees between the ages of 55 and 75 with over 10 years at UFV under their belt. Accepted applicants will receive up to two weeks’ salary per year they’ve worked at UFV. The deadline to apply was Dec. 15.
Pinton wrote, “All possible options to reduce expenditures and raise revenues will be explored with determination and diligence before any reductions in the UFV workforce are considered during the 2021 fiscal year.”
Pinton said that loosening travel restrictions will help the university regain international students in 2021. International students accounted for 14.4 per cent of the student body in the 2018/19 fiscal year and are a significant source of income for the university, as they pay higher fees than domestic students. Furthermore, increases to those fees are not limited by the provincial government’s Tuition Limit Policy. Domestic enrollment is also increasing, Pinton wrote.
