Nicole Adams has a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation and is the chief financial officer (CFO) at UFV.
The 2025/2026 Consolidated Budget Plan is out, amid concerns of student fee increases and potential lay-offs in light of the international student cap imposed by the Canadian government. The Cascade approached CFO Nicole Adams to ask about the challenges and future planning regarding the new budget.
This fiscal year, UFV is looking at around a $5 million increase on both the revenue and expense sides, with most of it related to the new student housing. However, with the ongoing complications from the government reducing international student enrollment, Adams explained that UFV also considered the current environment.
This year’s evaluation includes the changes imposed by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regarding the 10 per cent decrease from the limit set for 2024 — a situation that has created concern and difficulties throughout Canada — as well as the U.S. tariff threats.
“When we do our budgeting, we take those current situations into effect, then we plan accordingly. So, yes, there are concerns across Canada … There are several institutions that are, even this current fiscal year, struggling to meet a balanced position at the end of Mar. 31, 2025.”
Despite these struggles, UFV has maintained the previous year’s number of 900 new international students enrolled. Adams shared that program reviews and building contingencies into the budget to mitigate risk helped keep them afloat. She praised the collaborative work from the UFV community, which not only helped them through these challenges but also got them through the COVID-19 pandemic without a deficit.
“UFV has made very good strategic decisions in the past, and those decisions have helped us build a position of financial sustainability.”
On Mar. 10, 2025, the Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) handed out termination notices to around 70 faculty members due to the decline in international registration. When asked about the possibility of this happening at UFV, Adams reassured that there are no budgeted lay-offs of permanent employees in the current consolidated budget and that taking that measure would require many steps before considering it.
“It would not be something that would be taken lightly … A lot of consultation and discussions would have to, or would happen, before we would move forward with that, and we do have processes. I mean, obviously, we have a union and a collective bargaining agreement. So, there is language and processes in there that as a university we do have to follow … We have to take that into consideration as well whenever any of those decisions [are] even discussed.”
Regarding the tariffs, Adams said that their procurement team has been diligently staying up to date with how the tariffs may impact UFV. When someone needs to order items, the team explores Canadian options first. She emphasizes that buying Canadian isn’t always viable, but their proactive attitude shows collaboration and a collective effort to support each other, not only in the economic aspect.
“If there’s any way for us to decrease the effect or reduce, whether financial or other[wise] … then that’s what I think everybody is very much on board [of] trying to do as well.”
Adams also commented that every time a surplus is achieved, it goes to the debt and is reinvested to fund things that will improve the university. Many decisions are rooted in UFV’s Budget Planning Principles, and one of them is transparency, which is why anyone can access the budget documents via the UFV website.
However, when The Cascade approached UFV International to ask about tuition fees, they had no comments on the matter. Instead, they were redirected to the Director of Communications, Jeboah M. Godron, who did not get back to the paper.
While the budget does not explicitly state a specific percentage increase for tuition fees, Adams’ optimistic view and carefully balanced budget crafted by the financial team leave little room for adjustment. Moving forward, preparations for the 2026/27 years have already begun.
Adams has just marked 20 years of working at UFV and reminisced about what motivates her when facing the trials of the job.
“I’ve been here for a while. So, I guess that says a lot about how much I enjoy working here and the people … and there are always interesting things that are occurring, some more challenging than others, but I like a challenge, and I care about UFV, and so that is what motivates me.”
