David G. Ross

In the year 2025, if you have lots of resources and are well funded, then perhaps you don’t need to read this. However, for many, where we get our resources is changing. For some, that change might be happening quickly. For others, it’s a slow, erosive process where inflation is overlooked or tuitions are frozen.

The major reasons I’ve seen are public policy changes at many levels of government, shifts in regional prosperity, and population changes that usually require increased enrolment support. Many of you are involved with other factors as well.

For further context, I am at an institution whose “North Star” is the success of our students first and our work in applied research second. Another high priority is support for industry in the region, and beyond, as it relates to talent development, innovation, economic prosperity, and productivity.

So, what can we do to lead our institutions past these resource challenges? This often means a change in mindset or institutional culture. When I arrived at SAIT, some of this had already started. In particular, we weren’t first looking only to various levels of government for financial solutions. Instead, other revenue was part of the solution to support both capital and operating budgets.

Some of the early wins involved cost recovery plus training. This meant developing often bespoke programs for partners to upskill their staff and give them a competitive advantage. What we were not focused on was the often-challenging continuing education models that perhaps serve a wider audience but don’t fully pay their way.

Over time, we have developed this space across a variety of program areas. We have also expanded it to offshore activity and transnational education opportunities in close to 50 countries. The latter has also provided hundreds of faculty and thousands of students with professional development and experience opportunities that we would not have otherwise been able to offer.

Another pivotal step was an important change for our commercial and facility services. This, again, was a step approach to build a system that would first start to pay for itself, then allow for reasonable surpluses to support capital expansion, including improved residences, parking, food service, bookstores, sport facilities, and student engagement areas. Again, a net surplus target was established while maintaining affordability for students. This program has helped pay off related loans and support other efforts such as our security and maintenance programs.

For my institution, this discussion has to include fundraising and what it has meant over the past 20 years. Prior to my arrival at SAIT, the groundwork had been laid for investment into what is necessary to sustain a successful fundraising program. This meant a properly resourced, skilled team with clear direction from the institution. This latter point is very important.

Many post-secondary organizations attempt to fundraise with limited expertise and understanding. We are currently in the middle of our Real Futures Campaign with a $150 million target.

A very deliberate international student enrolment strategy has allowed for the expansion of student services, programming availability/seats for domestic students, and cultural interaction with learners from over 100 countries on campus. This is a full cost recovery program that continues to be a centerpiece as we build global networks and partnerships with the objective to attract talent, resources, and ideas to our institution.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the need for board support. In our case the entrepreneurial culture that surrounds much of this work requires a full understanding of the risk reward analysis for this type of activity. It has also meant attracting board members who understand this work.

None of this happens overnight. All of the examples I’ve mentioned have grown incrementally as we gained confidence and expertise in each area.