Issuu

2021-2024

BUSINESS PLAN May 14, 2021

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 4 NORTH WEST COLLEGE – OVERVIEW .................................................................................. 6 A. 2021-2024 INSTITUTIONAL PLAN... ..................................................................................... 9 STRATEGIC PLANNING OVERVIEW ......................................................................................11 Theme 1: Employable Labour Force ......................................................................................13 Accessible and Responsive ...............................................................................................13 C1 - Employ graduates ......................................................................................................13 C2 - Connect students to employment ...............................................................................14 C3 - Build a labour force representative of our region ........................................................14 Theme 2- Student Success ...................................................................................................16 Accountable .......................................................................................................................16 C4 - Retention Rate ...........................................................................................................16 C5 – Graduation Rate ........................................................................................................16 C6 – Develop Leaders .......................................................................................................16 Theme 3- College of Choice ..................................................................................................18 Quality ...............................................................................................................................18 P1 - Attract students ..........................................................................................................19 P2 - Diversify program delivery ..........................................................................................19 P3 - Cultivate partnerships .................................................................................................19 Theme 4- High-Performance Organization ............................................................................22 Accountable and Sustainable .............................................................................................22 GS1 - Invest in people........................................................................................................22 GS2 - Enhance infrastructure .............................................................................................23 GS3 - Manage risk .............................................................................................................23 GS4 - Diversify portfolio .....................................................................................................23 B. STRATEGIC INITIATIVES ....................................................................................................25 MAJOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 1 – BECOMING SUSTAINABLE BY 2025/26 ...................25 Stakeholder Engagement (foundation/development) ..........................................................27 Contract Programming .......................................................................................................27 Internationalization .............................................................................................................28 Applied Research...............................................................................................................28 Alternative Revenue through other Funding Sources .........................................................29 Utilization of reserves .........................................................................................................29 MAJOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 2 - THE NEW BATTLEFORDS CAMPUS.........................29 MAJOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 3 – Strategic adaptation due to COVID-19 .......................33

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C. COLLABORATIVE PLANNING............................................................................................35 Systemic Collaboration ..........................................................................................................35 Healthy Campus Saskatchewan ........................................................................................37 Local Partnerships – School Divisions ...............................................................................37 Health Human Resource Committee ..................................................................................37 Data Sharing Agreement....................................................................................................37 Higher Education Enterprise Resource Planning Project....................................................38 Collaboration with Northlands College and Canada North..................................................38 MLTC contract in collaboration with Northlands College ....................................................38 Provincial Leadership ............................................................................................................38 D. PROGRAM PLAN.................................................................................................................40 Essential Skills (Adult Basic Education) .................................................................................41 English as an Additional Language........................................................................................46 Institute Credit .......................................................................................................................46 Non-subsidized Programs .....................................................................................................50 University ..............................................................................................................................51 Student and Employer Supports ............................................................................................52 E. HUMAN RESOURCES .........................................................................................................54 Strategic Focus .....................................................................................................................54 Labour Relations ................................................................................................................54 Education & Training ..........................................................................................................54 Employee Supports............................................................................................................54 Advancing Technology .......................................................................................................55 Employee Engagement ......................................................................................................55 Representative Workforce ..................................................................................................55 F. SUSTAINABILITY ................................................................................................................56 G. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY .........................................................................................57 H. INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT OCCUPANCY PLAN ................................................59 Land Transaction Plan and Occupancy Plan .........................................................................59 Major Capital Plan: ................................................................................................................60 Preventative Maintenance, and Renewal & Equipment Renewal Plan ...................................60 I. 2021/22 BUDGET ..................................................................................................................63 PART A. Projected Business Financial Statements and Key Assumptions ............................64 Key Assumptions ...............................................................................................................64 PART B. Financial Impacts of Identifiable Risks ....................................................................64 Third-party contracts ..........................................................................................................64

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Enrollment levels................................................................................................................64 Saskatchewan Innovation and Opportunity Scholarship .....................................................65 Pandemic Response ..........................................................................................................65 Other Factors .....................................................................................................................65 Surplus Utilization/Deficit Management Plan .........................................................................65 Reserve Utilization .............................................................................................................65 Operating Fund ..................................................................................................................65 Capital Fund ......................................................................................................................65 Scholarship Fund ...............................................................................................................65 Residence Fund Reserve ...................................................................................................65 Unrestricted Operating Reserve .........................................................................................66 Deficit Management ...........................................................................................................66 J. 2022/23 AND 2023/24 BUDGET ESTIMATES ......................................................................67 CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................................70 APPENDICES ...........................................................................................................................71 Appendix A – Financial Statement Template .........................................................................71

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Government of Saskatchewan’s 2021/22 budget provided post-secondary institutions (PSI) funding certainty over the next four years. The multi-year investment in our sector is unprecedented. It provides our institutions stable funding in an uncertain social and economic environment and strategically focuses on becoming financially sustainable. North West College’s (NWC) 2021-2024 Business Plan is based on innovation and providing students’ access to quality programs/services that will lead to learner success, long-term labour market attachment and career achievement in anticipation that we will remain under a State of Emergency in the near future. As institutional preparedness for the health and safety of our staff, students and community remains a primary focus, all program and course plans in at least 2021/22 will continue to operate in a controlled blended environment for staff and students. All program/service plans will adhere to our established Exposure Control Plan. This plan is continuously updated/amended to remain in alignment with the principles set out by the Government of Saskatchewan, the Ministry of Health through established Public Health Orders, the Ministry of Advanced Education, the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training, the Regional Colleges Act, the guidelines of the Association of Saskatchewan Regional College (ASRC), and our institutional partners. In addition to the above-mentioned principles, the College will ensure all College operations will be in alignment with Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan (2020-2030) 1 (SDG), the Ministry of Advanced Education 2021/22 Plan 2 as well as the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training 2021/22 Plan 3. Preparing our 2021-2024 plan was challenging given the uncertain times in which we continue to operate. As a result, NWC’s Board extended its 2018-2021 strategic plan for an additional year. The College will continue to focus on the following four themes: i) ii) iii) iv)

Building an Employable Labour Force. Fostering Student Success. Developing NWC into a College of Choice, and Cultivating a High-Performance Organization.

Recognizing that the impacts of the pandemic have not been equally evident across all areas of the province and country, NWC conducted a thorough labour market assessment at the local, provincial and national levels. Based on our findings, the major industries (pre and postpandemic) in our region include health care, retail trade, public administration, education, accommodation and food services, agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, tourism, finance and insurance, construction, and oil and gas. Other areas of consideration are artificial intelligence, remote automation, cybersecurity, environmental protection, and geographic information

Government of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan – The Next Decade of Growth 2020-2030, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/103260/formats/114516/download

Ministry of Advanced Education, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126400/download

Ministry of the Immigration and Career Training, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126409/download 3

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systems. Over the next three years of this plan, NWC will focus on providing subsidized and nonsubsidized programming in the areas mentioned above (including through micro-credentials). As a result of the influx of funding the College will receive in 2021/22 and 2022/23, NWC will focus on establishing an institutional infrastructure and culture that will embrace addressing emerging labour market trends in region and will transition to becoming self-sufficient and less reliant on provincial funding. NWC is committed to continual improvement in all areas of operations and remains focused on supporting initiatives that best serve the communities, economy and students within our region. The strategic priorities for 2021-2024 include: i) ii) iii)

Becoming sustainable by 2025/26 by expanding upon our current economic diversification strategies, implementing cost/expense containment and reduction strategies, and effectively utilizing College reserves. Continued planning, developing and securing support for a new Battlefords Campus, and Continued focused and strategic adaptation of all operations during the current State of Emergency and the impacts of COVID-19.

Various assumptions have been articulated in this plan, and based on those assumptions, NWC will be vigilantly focused on achieving financial sustainability by 2025/26. However, the success of achieving this goal will be dependant on a number of factors which are out of the control of the College. Given the above, the College is projecting full utilization of program funding in 2021/22 with approximately 41 more FLE’s than 2020/21 and an operating deficit of $76,648. Even in this time of economic uncertainty, NWC’s 2021-2024 plan development was to ensure we play a contributing role in helping Saskatchewan achieve its economic recovery goals and objectives through our continued commitment to our students, staff and communities we serve.

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NORTH WEST COLLEGE – OVERVIEW

NWC is one of eight publicly funded colleges in Saskatchewan. The Regional College system, as a collective, serves 26% of all students while utilizing less than 8% of the entire provincial budget. As individual institutions that serve the needs of their respective communities, and as a collective system through the collaborative efforts of the ASRC, colleges not only play a key and integral role for the economic success of the province, but also do so efficiently given the funding allocations. Spanning over 44,000 square kilometers, one-third of Saskatchewan’s First Nations communities are situated within NWC’s service catchment area. Our region serves approximately 98,000 residents of which 28% (self-declared) are of Indigenous (First Nation, Métis, and Inuit) descent compared to the provincial average of 16%. According to the 2016 Census of Canada 4, Indigenous youth aged 14 and under represent 33.7% of the total Indigenous population, while non-Indigenous children aged 14 and under account for 16.7% of the non-Indigenous population. NWC’s region has a younger and faster growing Indigenous population compared to the provincial average. Some of the demographic elements above have led to a lower than average education attainment rates of Saskatchewan’s Indigenous population within the region. Therefore, NWC remains focused on building upon and enhancing a robust adult learning infrastructure to support learners to transition from education and training into the workforce. NWC continues to be committed to serving the needs of northwest Saskatchewan through a distributed model of program delivery from our two main campuses situated in the Battlefords and Meadow Lake. In addition, the College delivers programs in approximately 25 rural communities including First Nation reserves. The current pandemic has affected the number of on-reserve delivery sites. The College anticipates it will continue to provide programs and services within the respective communities as much as possible given the continued uncertain environment in which it operates. Although ABE programs are primarily delivered in communities outside urban areas, approximately 30% of the Skills Training seats are delivered off campus. NWC is one of the largest regional colleges in Saskatchewan. Based on published 2019/20 institutional annual reports 5, the following further articulates the important role NWC plays in the region we serve: (Numbers are lower than previous years due to the impact of the pandemic): i) ii) iii) iv)

Approximately 2300 distinct students or 911 FLE students, and 24% of all full-time students in the college system (2019/20). The College is one of the province’s major providers of ABE, representing over 28% of regional college enrollments in 2019/20. NWC delivers brokered curriculum while providing personalized support critical to student success. In addition to Institute Credit programs, NWC will continue to invest in University programming to meet the demand of students and industry in the region.

Statistics Canada. 2017. North Battleford [Population centre], Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan [Province] (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001. Ottawa. Released November 29, 2017. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E North West College, 2019-20 Annual Report https://www.northwestcollege.ca/mrws/filedriver/NWC_2019-20_Annual_Report.pdf 5

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v) vi)

vii)

Whether it is ABE, Institute Credit or University programming, Indigenous students (i.e., self-identifying as First Nations, Métis or Inuit) represent 82% of full-time and 61% of the entire student population. NWC provides programming and services to more Indigenous students (1400 distinct selfdeclared students; 29% of all Indigenous students in colleges in Saskatchewan) than any other college in Saskatchewan, including Northlands College (1131; 24% of all Indigenous students in Saskatchewan). NWC continues to experience steady demand in English as an Additional Language (EAL) programming as a result of increased immigration to the NWC region.

With this diverse and often vulnerable population, Student Services provides the value-added and individualized guidance needed to remove barriers to student success and addresses labour market needs. A comprehensive intake process, regular meetings with Student Services staff, career counselling and job coach services ensure that students feel valued through their education experience and supported as they successfully enter into the labour market. The impacts of the pandemic have not been equally evident across all areas of the province and country. The northwest is primarily comprised of small to medium size enterprises which have been entrepreneurial and resilient during the pandemic. Based on a recent and thorough national, provincial and local labour market analysis, the major industries in NWC’s region include health care, retail trade, public administration, education, accommodation and food services, agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, tourism, finance and insurance, and construction (see Figure 1 below). Although the oil and gas industry is growing in Saskatchewan, it employs few people in the northwest region compared to other regions in the province. Further to the above, few resource-sector companies have corporate offices within the region despite conducting operations within the NWC catchment area. As a result, the College ensures to maintain regular contact and communication with these organizations throughout the province and Canada based on where their respective headquarters are located. The College continues to assess labour market needs within the region and invest in developing and securing partners across various sectors in alignment with these market needs.

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Figure 1. Map of North West College Region

• • • • •

95,000 residents in 2 cities, 48 towns and villages, 29 RMs and 26 First Nations 6 28% Indigenous descent6 Home of 1/3 of Saskatchewan’s First Nations Communities6 48% under age of 356 Major industries: Health Care, Retail Trade, Public administration, Educational services, Accommodation and food services, Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, Manufacturing, Arts, entertainment and recreation, Finance and insurance and Construction 7

2016 Census of Canada, Province of Saskatchewan Division 16, Division 16, Town of Battleford, Sweetgrass FN and Mosquito FN. Also referenced in analysis Community Profiles for First Nations Communities, INAC (August 30, 2017) 6

Highest Ranked Occupations, Emsi Q3 2020 Data Set, (May 2021) www.economicmodeling.com

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A. 2021-2024 INSTITUTIONAL PLAN

As the College continues to navigate through the uncertainty of the pandemic, the development of NWC’s 2021-2024 Business Plan has utilized the following assumptions: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii)

viii)

ix) x)

xi) xii) xiii) xiv) xv) xvi) xvii)

Because of the unique student body compared to other PSI in Saskatchewan and in order to ensure quality delivery and retention of students, all programs will continue delivery in a blended format at a minimum for the 2021/22 academic year. Annual tuition increases should be in-line with pre-Covid increases and as indicated within 2021/22 institutional budget letters. A 4% increase in tuition is anticipated as unofficially stated by partnering institutions based on the parameters as identified in the respective 2021/22 budget letters. For the foreseeable future the province remains in a “State of Emergency” and the pandemic will impact College operations for the full 2021/22 academic year. Social distancing restrictions as of May 14, 2020 will remain in place. The time required on campus will vary by program. Delivery format for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 is based on following assumptions: a. Social distancing restrictions will have to be lifted, and can return to larger class sizes; therefore, enrollments for these two years will be higher compared to 2021/22. b. Technology based solutions will still be in place, including but not limited to blended delivery. Enrollment for 2021/22 will be higher than 2020/21 due to: a. First Nations Reserves would not be in lock down as frequent as in 2020/21. b. Implementation of vaccinations will reduce the fear of COVID-19. c. Some programs will continue to be in a blended model while other programs will be in a full online format. During 2021/22, some Indigenous communities (sponsors) will not support students from their communities taking programs delivered in a blended or online delivery format, which will reduce the access to higher education in the region. Students in some Indigenous communities do not have access to internet service or cannot afford to pay for services to effectively participate in blended or online delivery formats. a. Will have a negative effect on enrollment for the year 2021/22. b. Will Increase the demand for on-campus access, services and technology. Due to classroom size and facility usage limitations, fewer seats may be available in 2021/22. As a result, 2021/22 enrolments will be similar to 2020/21, below the pre-Covid 5-year average. Local businesses may not prioritize workforce training and support for student work placements may decline in the 2021/22 academic year. For the years 2022-2024 the College anticipates most programs will slowly transition back to face-to-face delivery, access/enrollments will increase and Indigenous community (sponsors) will fund students at pre-COVID-19 rates again. In 2022-2024, some programs will have less reliance for blended learning and students will have more access to in-person college supports, services, and technology. The College will continue to require additional technology support for staff and students. Implementation of health and safety protocols are part of regular operations. Activities and priorities as established and identified for the 2021/22 academic year are based on an added year on the current 2018-21 strategic plan (to be discussed below).

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xviii)

xix)

Planned activities and priorities for the 2022-2024 academic years as identified in this document will be based on the current strategic plan but will be revised to reflect the outcomes of our new strategic plan to be implemented in Fall 2022 (to be discussed below). Ministry support to ensure PSI operate in a collaborative and non-competitive manner and will assist in preventing institutions from providing programs and services in the NWC region.

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STRATEGIC PLANNING OVERVIEW

On July 1, 2018, NWC launched a comprehensive, multi-year, strategic plan - In Business for Students – Strategic Plan 2018-2021 8. Actionable key performance indicators (KPI) were established using the balanced scorecard method with annual benchmarks of achievement and accountability. All aspects of NWC’S mandate were taken into account in the development of this strategic plan to ensure alignment with government priorities identified in the Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan (SGP) 9 and other guiding documents from the Ministries of Advanced Education and Immigration and Career Training. The NWC Board was prepared to commence planning for a new three-year strategic plan (20212024) during the final year of the 2018-2021 plan for implementation in the fall of 2021. Given the current State of Emergency in the Province of Saskatchewan, the Board decided to extend the current 2018-2021 for one additional year with revised KPIs for 2021/22, which took into consideration the direct and potential future impacts of the pandemic. In addition, the Board revised performance indicators (where necessary) for the 2020/21 academic year which also reflected the potential impacts of the pandemic. The Board has approved the additional 2021/22 strategic plan directions and priorities along with associated KPIs8. The Board will begin the process of establishing a new strategic plan during the 2021/22 academic year for implementation in the fall of 2022. The additional year added to the 2018-2021 Plan will continue to focus on four themes: i) ii) iii) iv)

Building an Employable Labour Force. Fostering Student Success. Developing NWC into a College of Choice. Cultivating a High-Performance Organization.

The matrices are focusing on the areas where the greatest achieved impact for the betterment of our students and the institution. In addition to above, two key priorities as per our amended Strategic Plan for the College remain: i) ii)

The construction of a community-based new campus in the Battlefords. The continued implementation of and focus on a robust economic diversification strategy to reduce dependency on provincial government operating funds and to address the programming needs of business and industry.

Like all well-developed strategic plans, our key performance indicators (KPI) work in alignment to support success. The construction of a new campus is not based simply “bricks and mortar”. The new campus will enable the College to be a catalyst for social improvements and economic growth in the Battlefords and our region by providing space for innovative program delivery, additional programming, and capitalization on untapped revenue streams. In addition, in collaboration and partnership with various community entities and organizations, the College will be able to provide additional services to our students and community members in one central location in the Battlefords. This will include, and not be limited to providing supports to our Indigenous students and through the establishment of safe learning environments supported by gathering places and 8North

West College, 2018-2022 Strategic Plan - Balanced Scorecard (2021) – See Appendix E

Government of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan – The Next Decade of Growth 2020-2030, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/103260/formats/114516/download

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local elders in residence. Our current facility limits the ability for the College to provide such services despite the fact NWC serves the most Indigenous students annually in the College system. As exemplified below, several of our indicators work to support these new initiatives and, in some cases, are dependent on their growth and success. The new campus in turn, will be a key contributing factor in the College achieving its goal of becoming less reliant on government funding as we navigate towards financial sustainability. At the time of this submission, and in addition to our adjusted strategic plan, the following have influenced NWC’s strategic priorities, goals and identified measures: i) ii) iii) iv) v)

North West College 2018-2022 Strategic Plan 10 – Balanced Scorecard. Performance framework included in our 2021-22 budget letter 11. Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan – The Decade of Growth 2020-2030 (SGP) 12. Advanced Education’s Plan for 2021-22 13. Immigration and Career Training, Plan for 2021-22 14.

NWC will align directly with the goals, strategies, and actions in each of our two Ministry’s 2021/22 plans, which in turn align to the Government goals: i) ii) iii)

A strong economy. Strong Communities, and. Strong Families.

In addition, NWC has identified/aligned to the following actions from SGP: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii)

Developing Saskatchewan’s labour force. Growing our population by keeping more young people in Saskatchewan and increasing immigration to the province. Growing Indigenous participation in the economy through the growth of Saskatchewan’s natural resource industries and labour market development. Delivering on the purpose of growth by ensuring growth builds a better quality of life for Saskatchewan’s families and communities. Supporting the transformation of Saskatchewan’s economy through technology and the growth of Saskatchewan’s technology sector. Growing Saskatchewan’s agricultural economy. Growing Saskatchewan's oil, gas, and natural resource economy.

North West College, 2018-2022 Strategic Plan - Balanced Scorecard (2021) – See Appendix E

Ministry of Advanced Education, 2021-22 Ministry of Advanced Education budget letters to the postsecondary institutions: North West College (2021) https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/87029/formats/101392/download 11

Government of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan – The Next Decade of Growth 20202030, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/103260/formats/114516/download 12

Ministry of Advanced Education, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126400/download 13

Ministry of the Immigration and Career Training, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126409/download 14

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viii) ix) x)

Adding value and increasing Saskatchewan-based processing of the province’s agricultural products. Promoting the quality and sustainability of Saskatchewan’s agricultural and natural resource exports. Engaging internationally to secure access and expand international markets for Saskatchewan’s products.

Theme 1: Employable Labour Force Accessible and Responsive

In direct alignment with the SGP, NWC will continue to vigilantly “engage with industry, Indigenous organizations, and economic development organizations to address economic and labour market issues 15” facing our region’s significant Indigenous population. The College has conducted a thorough labour market assessment at the local, provincial and national level to identify trends and areas of program and service priority in the short and long term. Our region is home to one-third of Saskatchewan’s First Nations communities, and the College plays an important role in growing Indigenous participation in the economy. Despite the challenges posed upon us during the pandemic, we continue to build upon and enhance our longstanding partnerships and relationships with our respective Tribal Councils and First Nation communities. Our staff and program/service delivery will continue to have an active presence in our First Nation and other surrounding communities. These valued and trusted relationships have been cultivated and nurtured for decades. The result of these relationships, NWC is able to collaborate with Indigenous partners to provide accessible programming in, or near, home communities where students can draw on their family and cultural supports to enroll and succeed. As with the entire sector, the College faced challenges, this past year to provide equal levels of access to our students and communities. However, we will continue to remain focused on providing current and relevant programing in all areas of our region in alignment with Provincial Health Orders. We continue along this path of partnership and collaboration, as our First Nations communities have also put in place health and safety measures that enable us to provide programs and services as deemed possible. The principles of accessibility and responsiveness and their relation to providing an employable labour force in our region extend beyond serving our Indigenous populations. They also equally apply to our domestic population throughout our region, and soon to be international students as the College obtained approval to proceed as a Designated Learning Institution for international education in 2020.

C1 - Employ graduates

Every year NWC’s Student Services team conducts post-graduate interviews with all recent graduates (60-90 days post-grad) to discuss their employment status. In 2019/2020, NWC had an 86% Employment and Further Education Rate. This is an increase from 2018/19 (83%), however, is below our target of 89% for 2019/20 (See table 1). As with the previous year, the

Government of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan – The Next Decade of Growth 20202030, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/103260/formats/114516/download

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situation of the COVID-19 has affected our ability to achieve our established target. This is an explainable variance, and we are encouraged with the upward trend in comparison to 2018/19.

C2 - Connect students to employment

Meaningful work place experiences are critical to supporting the transitions between education, training and employment. As indicated in Table 1 below, we experienced a slight increase in the number of programs that offered work placements (78% in 2019/20; 75% in 2018/19). As with the previous indicator, our ability to achieve our expected target of 80% was not met. However, it is still encouraging that employers were willing to continue to partnership with the College in this capacity as they also see the value in supporting practical work-experience in combination to academic learning especially during these times. Post COVID-19, we anticipate continuing challenges in our ability to offer work placements as employers may not have the capacity to take on students in the immediate future.

C3 - Build a labour force representative of our region

At the end of 2019/20, the College went through some organizational changes to promote expansion and growth of our program and services offerings throughout our region. The Business Development department was reformed and continued to work with existing partners and establishing new relationships when possible. The work of the department faced numerous challenges as we continued to work through the pandemic. Several agreements formed and had to be cancelled or postponed due to closures in some of our partnering communities. This not only impacted business development, but also all programming areas. The College managed to adapt, shift and offer a number of additional programs on our main campuses or in areas where closures were not in place. The Indigenous participation rate saw an impact, but with access to vaccines, the College is hopeful that enrollments will grow in the 2021/22 year. Given the above, in 2019/20, NWC experienced a significant decrease in Indigenous Institute Credit Enrollment compared to 2018/19. As with the previous mentioned measures, due to the pandemic, the College was forced to either cancel or postpone a number of its business development activities which impacted these figures. As indicated above, Indigenous community closures prevented the College to provide contracted services as originally planned. However, we are encouraged that at 58%, the College was close to achieving its target of 60% despite challenges we faced. These contracts vary annually based on First Nation community need assessments. Several contracts developed for the third and fourth quarters of 2019/20, were suspended due to COVID19, but they have now continued into the 2020/21 year. We will continue to offer these types of programs and services but will still need to adjust and pivot as required based on provincial restrictions and Public Health Orders. We anticipate First Nation contract training, and Indigenous participation and graduation is likely to continue to be affected in the short term in all program areas due to the modality of learning, the interest in learning in this manner, and the ability to obtain sponsorship funding/support to participate in alternative delivery.

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Table 1. In Business for Students –Strategic Plan 2018-2022 – Employable Labour Force Government of Saskatchewan: A Strong Economy 16 SGP Goal: Ensure Saskatchewan’s post-secondary institutions and training providers are highly responsive to the needs of the economy – including the requirements of employers and industries, the needs of students and the needs of workers who are already in jobs16. Ministry of Advanced Education Goal: Meet the post-secondary needs of the province 17. Ministry of Immigration & Career Training Goal: People have the skills, experience and pathways to realize their potential and build their careers 18. North West College Goals: C1. Employ graduates C2. Connect students to employment C3. Build a labour force representative of our region Objectives: C1. Post-graduate employment supports C2. Student connections to employment C3. Diversify student body Institution Key Actions: C1. Increase Institute Credit and ABE Level 3 &4 graduates who are employed or are pursuing further education, in 60-90 day follow up C2. Increase percentage of programs with workplace experiences including placements and practicums C3. (1) Increase proportion of Indigenous students in Institute Credit programs C3. (2) Increase the equity group graduation rate for Institute Credit programs Institution Performance Measures: C1. Graduation Success and Employment rate Result C2. Programs with work placement rate Result C3. (1) Indigenous Institute Credit enrollment rate Result C3. (2) Indigenous Institute Credit graduation rate Result

Baseline 87% (2015-17) 62% (2015-17) 58% (2015-17) 63% (2015-17)

2018/19 88%

2019/20 89%

2020/21 90%

2021/22 90%

83%* 70%

86% 80%

90%

80%

75% 59%

78% 60%

60%

68% 66%

58% 68%

70%

66%

58%

* Results are below the 80% statistical validity threshold.

Government of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan – The Next Decade of Growth 20202030, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/103260/formats/114516/download 16

Ministry of the Immigration and Career Training, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126409/download 17

Ministry of Advanced Education, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126400/download

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Theme 2- Student Success Accountable

In direct alignment with the SGP NWC plays an important role in the “foundational education, training and student development system to prepare our youth to succeed in the economy once they graduate” 19. NWC builds upon discipline-specific, practical training by investing in students’ personal growth and development. Leadership and professional development skills are critical in easing pathways between education, training and employment. Always remaining accountable to our mandate and mission, NWC recognizes that student and employment services are foundational in improving labour market retention rates. NWC understands the quality of our student’s educational experience directly contributes to our retention rates, graduation rates and the leadership skills development.

C4 - Retention Rate

Student retention remains a post-secondary staple of institutional health and adequate students’ supports. However, the effects of the pandemic on our 2019/20 (70%) student retention rates as compared to 2018/19 (77%). As reflected in Table 2 below, 2019/20 levels are slightly below our established targets, however, the logistical, technological, and other relevant aspects (i.e., lack of childcare, adjusting to alternative delivery methods) impacted proper access to education for a large number of our students. This in turn, has affected our student retention rates. We are encouraged that these levels are relatively on par with our baseline targets of 71% established in 2015-17. Despite the best efforts of NWC staff, a negative impact occurred on this indicator by COVID-19 in 2020/21.

C5 – Graduation Rate

In 2018/19, (Table 2), the College experienced a withdrawal rate much higher than the usual fiveyear average, and in turn impacted the graduation rate. Prior to the pandemic, the College was well on its way to progress with healthy retention and graduation rates; however, 2019/20 graduation results became similar to the previous year. NWC will continue to support students in overcoming academic barriers during these exceptional times, although community supports are critical to both retention and graduation and are difficult to cultivate to their fullest in a digital environment. As such, there is the potential to fall short of the benchmark in 2020/21 as well.

C6 – Develop Leaders

As outlined in Table 2 below, developing leadership skills among our students remains a strategic objective for NWC in the 2018-21 Plan (and additional 2021/22 year). We invited students to partake in local projects working towards a Community Builders Leadership Award. These projects designed to ensure students are able to learn and demonstrate several interpersonal skills including: i) ii) iii) iv)

Leadership and professional development. Career development. Community engagement. Campus mentorship.

Government of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan – The Next Decade of Growth 20202030, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/103260/formats/114516/download 19

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While several students are invited to partake in these activities, a rubric developed for those students wishing to pursue the formal award. This Community Builders Award can be added to a students’ professional portfolio for consideration by prospective employers. Prior to COVID-19 this program had two awards granted in 2018/19 with healthy growth projected for 2019/20. The award rubric had adjustment to reflect the realities of the significant reduction of volunteerism opportunities due to the pandemic. In 2021/22, the College has adjusted and amended the rubric to focus on student health and well-being. The College is collaborating with Healthy Campus Saskatchewan and implementing the peer-mentoring program as the focus of this strategic leadership initiative. Overall, the College is committed to adding value to all programs by building personal and employability skills. In 2021/22, the College is formalizing this long-standing practice as an opportunity to develop micro-credentials to demonstrate the competencies students develop with our College’s value-added investment. Regardless of the barriers, building leadership skills in our students remains a strategic priority.

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Table 2. In Business for Students – NWC Strategic Plan 2018-2022 – Student Success Government of Saskatchewan: A Strong Economy

SGP goal: Developing an Agile and Integrated Education and Training System20 Ministry of Advanced Education Goal: Meet the post-secondary needs of the province 21. Ministry of Immigration & Career Training Goal: People have the skills, experience and pathways to realize their potential and build their careers 22. North West College Goals: C4. Retain students C5. Graduate students C6. Develop leaders Objectives: C4. & C5. Student retention strategy C6. Community Builders Leadership Award program Institution Key Actions: C4. Increase the percentage of completers and graduates in Institute Credit and ABE Credit programs C5. Increase the overall graduation rate in Institute Credit and ABE Credit programs C6. Baseline year for program. Students must complete a balance of internal and external volunteerism and leadership activities in order to achieve this award Institution Performance Measures: C4. Student retention rate Result C5. Graduation rate Result C6. Students who achieve this award Result

Baseline

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

71% (2015-17)

73%

75%

77%

77%* 58%

70% 61%

90%

52% TBA

52% 3 Recipients

60% ABE 65% Institute Credit

2 Recipients

55% (2015-17) Establish Baseline (2018/19)

65% 10% increase over 2019-20

# of participants in peer mentoring program

Theme 3- College of Choice Quality

In direct alignment with the SGP, NWC’s third strategic theme focuses on the “expansion of partnerships between industry and education so that students can build the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to succeed in the world of work 23. NWC prides itself on its partnerships. As identified in Table 3 below, because of these relationships, NWC has grown its revenue through Government of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan – The Next Decade of Growth 20202030, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/103260/formats/114516/download 20

Ministry of Advanced Education, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126400/download 21

Ministry of the Immigration and Career Training, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126409/download 22

North West College, 2019-20 Annual Report https://www.northwestcollege.ca/mrws/filedriver/NWC_2019-20_Annual_Report.pdf 23

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contracts and scholarships by 25% since 2017. NWC is also measuring the number of students who are able to pursue their studies due to partnerships and the revenue generated by such relationships. As the remaining quality indicators in our process-driven theme demonstrate, such as our commitment to two annual Work Integrated Leaning (WIL) pilots, NWC is committed to becoming the institution of choice for our region. In addition to the above, and to ensure our students could access quality education and minimizing education attainment barriers, the college initiated the following during the pandemic: i)

Provided Chromebooks to all ABE students to support our mandatory requirement that all skills students must have an electronic device (i.e., Chromebook or laptop). ii) Created an Education Technologist Coordinator position to train and assist all staff and students on the usage and utilization or technology and software during these unprecedented times. iii) Introduced Google Classrooms as a common learning platform utilized by all classes and student services.

P1 - Attract students

Increasing enrollment and educational attainment of students in our region remains a strategic focus for NWC. We are encouraged that despite the pandemic, we are experiencing some level of stability (excluding contract training) on this regard (91% in 2019/20). The College is equally encouraged that our achievement in this area progressed steadily from 2018/19, while still falling slightly short on our target of 93%. Projecting enrollments for 2020/21 will continue to be relatively difficult given the uncertainty around the uptake of fall programming. We are hopeful upcoming Public Health Orders will enable us to provide the programs and services our students and funding agencies prefer starting this Fall 2021/22. While we continue to mitigate and manage our risks, we will also launch an aggressive advertising campaign. These risks will also take into consideration that the College anticipates accepting our first cohort of international students in the fall of 2022; however, this indicator may still be negatively impacted for the 2020/21 year.

P2 - Diversify program delivery

NWC understands the importance of partnerships with employers and community organizations to incorporate Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities for students. With the onset of the pandemic and a movement to blended learning, work integrated learning has been extremely challenging. The focus of employability skill building remains a priority and in 2021/22, and it is hoped we can resume this quality innovative practice. The College will ensure regular engagement with employers, industry associations, training institutions, and chambers of commerce to identify and address emerging labour force trends and potential WIL opportunities for our students.

P3 - Cultivate partnerships

Partnerships are critical to our business in a myriad of ways. As measurement of these relationships, P3 – Cultivating partnerships includes the quantitative assessment of students served through partnership, scholarship revenue and third-party revenue. As identified above, our Economic Diversification Strategy has resulted in a 25% increase in revenue and scholarship

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growth since 2017. This has occurred despite the challenges of cancelling or postponing programs/services due to the pandemic. We anticipate the effects of the pandemic will continue into 2021/22, the future sponsorships and contracts for students may not be available or could be limited. The depth and breadth of our partnerships with Indigenous agencies creates significant risk for these indicators. The interdependency that exists between the College and its Indigenous partners will affect enrollments, contracts, students served through partnership and all areas of College business during and after COVID-19. NWC continues to mitigate its risks as it pertains to scholarship revenue through rotating multiyear donor contract renewals to ensure ongoing donor’s contracts should remain stable. We have been unable to host our traditional fundraising events, however, we have been able to provide alternative virtual events to ensure we stay focused on providing our students access to financial assistance. These initiatives are critical as they directly assist our students’ abilities to achieve/their post-secondary attainment aspirations. Although these types of events; will still be held in some capacity in 2021/22, we anticipate that scholarship revenue will be negatively impacted in 2020/21 as it was in 2019/20. Despite the above, generating alternative contribution for the College remains a key strategic priority and will be discussed below.

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Table 3. In Business for Students – NWC Strategic Plan 2018-2022 – College of Choice Government of Saskatchewan Goal: A Strong Economy; and Strong Communities 24 SGP Goal: Expanding partnerships between industry and education so that students can build the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to succeed in the world of work24 Ministry of Advanced Education Goals 25: Meet the post-secondary needs of the province. Saskatchewan’s postsecondary sector is accountable and sustainable. Ministry of the Immigration and Career Training Goals 26: People have the skills, experience and pathways to realize their potential and build their careers. Organizational Excellence. North West College Goals: P1. Attract students P2. Diversify program delivery P3. Cultivate partnerships Objectives: P1. Student recruitment strategy P2. Diversified program delivery P3. Stakeholder engagement Institution Key Actions: P1. Maximize enrollment in Institute Credit, University, ABE Credit, ABE Level 2 non-contractual, ESWP and EAL P2. Commitment to two new pilot projects annually that connect a range of academic outcomes to the development of work place skills P3.(1) Assess how many students directly benefit from cultivated partnerships. This includes sponsored students, students in contracted programs, school division students, federally funded EAL students and WCB students P3.(2) Increase revenue from industry and other third party contracts P3.(3) Increase in net profits generated from all non-government donations and fundraising events Institution Performance Baseline 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Measures: P1. Enrollment Rate 91% 92% 93% 94% 93% ABE (2015-17) 91% Post-secondary Result 89%* 91% P2. Work Integrated Learning No Baseline 2 new 2 new 2 new 2 new (WIL) Initiatives (2018/19) projects projects projects projects Result P3.(1) Students served through Partnerships Result Result P3.(2) Revenue from contracts Result P3.3 Scholarship Investment Result

Donor

44% (2016-18)

$1,242,312 (2012-17) $41,000 (2014-17)

Complete 46%

Complete 48%

50%

44%

38% $1,260,947

41% $1,279,861

$1,299,059

$1,250,000

$1,323,298 $50,000

$1,561,012 $55,000

$60,000

$65,203

$46,040

Government of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan – The Next Decade of Growth 20202030, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/103260/formats/114516/download 24

Ministry of Advanced Education, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126400/download 25

Ministry of the Immigration and Career Training, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126409/download 26

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Theme 4- High-Performance Organization Accountable and Sustainable

In direct alignment with the (SGP), NWC is committed to building strong communities by investing in infrastructure. As indicated in last year’s business plan, the two substantive changes to NWC’s strategic direction based on our 2018-21 Plan are concerned with sustainability and our continued growth as a high performance organization. The first was the pursuit of a stand-alone campus in the Battlefords and the second was the development of an economic diversification strategy to lessen our dependence on provincial funds. Based on our 2021/22 budget, our four years of budget certainty will provide the College with the opportunity to focus strategically on becoming financially stable by 2025/26. As will be identified below, our key areas of focus will be to ensure we move towards establishing an institutional infrastructure and culture that will transition to becoming more self-sufficient and less reliant on provincial government funding as our main source of revenue. The final NWC strategic theme emphasizes growth and sustainability in our continued focus of functioning as a high-performance organization. This theme and its underlying objectives directly align with the goals of government, our two main funding Ministries, the expectations of our recent budget letter, and the metrics as are being identified in our performance framework. As quoted by our President and CEO (as CoChair of ASRC) in the “Saskatchewan Delivers Multi-Year Funding Investment for PostSecondary Education” announcement on April 21, 2021: “The four-year multi-year plan is unprecedented and provides Saskatchewan post-secondary institutions stable funding in an uncertain social and economic environment. Through collaborative and cooperative relationships with our postsecondary partners, industry and other relevant stakeholders, the Association of Saskatchewan Regional Colleges looks forward to continuing playing a key contributing role in helping Saskatchewan achieve its economic recovery goals and objectives”

NWC looks forward to “continuing playing a key contributing role in helping Saskatchewan achieve its economic recovery goals and objectives”5, and especially within the region it serves in northwest Saskatchewan.

GS1 - Invest in people

While the College facilitates employer investment in their workforce, NWC is also committed to leading by example, supporting its own highly trained staff to improve retention and employee satisfaction. Over the years, the College has invested in training programs, service recognition policies, and a robust Employee and Family Assistance Program. The College looks at engagement by looking at two indicators: i) ii)

Having a significant response rate. Overall engagement rate measured by satisfied or very satisfied response.

Our Staff Engagement Survey is conducted annually each spring in order to garner the most responses before instructor’s contracts expire in May and June. The employee engagement survey was not administered during the 2019/20 year the College did administer the survey this year. The results were back on track despite the uncertainty that still exists around the pandemic.

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The College invested in an Education Technology Coordinator position in July 2020 to help train and support instructional staff and students. Additional days added to all Instructional contracts ensured they received adequate time for training and support. The College will maintain this practice for the upcoming year; however, the Education Technology Coordinator will have an added focus of assisting and supporting administration staff. This investment will promote innovation among our support staff as we continue to embrace and manage the changes across all administrative areas.

GS2 - Enhance infrastructure

The College has advocated for a new campus in the Battlefords for almost a decade. Our current facility significantly restricts and hampers our ability to meet the needs within our region as identified in our labour market assessment (especially trades and other related programming) due largely to the lack of access to adequate facilities or equipment. Further, we do not have the appropriate classroom and lab space to meet not only our current programming demands, but also the future labour market demands we anticipate as we transition away from the impacts of the pandemic. The College leases offsite spaces that are not conducive to quality post-secondary education and the College at times in unable to deliver programs and services to our communities despite the proven demands. As will be outlined in Section B, NWC will continue to work towards securing a new campus in the Battlefords. The College Board confirmed that this initiative will remain as a top priority at its January 25, 2021 Board meeting. We will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders in collaboration with Ross W. Marsh Consulting Group Inc., with submission of the updated Business Case for review in June 2021. The outbreak of COVID-19 did not have an impact on this work and remains on track. The need for more space is even greater given the current pandemic, wherein the College may still be required to offer fewer seats in programs due to the size and number of classrooms available at the Battlefords Campus. Further to the above, this building is essential for the College to achieve its goals of becoming sustainable and become less reliant on government funding by 2025/26. As will be identified below, the College will be embarking upon various alternative revenue contribution strategies, and the success of these initiatives will be dependant on whether we have a new facility. Our current facility and leasing options in the Battlefords has been impacting our ability to deliver on some of these initiatives, and in turn is impacting our ability to provide access, services and programs to our relevant stakeholders.

GS3 - Manage risk

Introducing and embedding a culture of Enterprise Risk Management has been a strategic priority for NWC since 2018 with the target of reaching evergreen status in 2021. COVID-19 moved forward our goal of awareness for ERM throughout the organization. Staff were accessing risk with every decision they made, sometimes without even realizing it. Work continues with the introduction of new policies, protocols, frameworks and guidelines, as well as updating and reviewing of all existing ones. The College will work closely with the Ministry of Advanced Ed as we continue our planning for fall and ensuring the safety of all students and staff as the pandemic continues.

GS4 - Diversify portfolio

As discussed in P3.2 Revenue from Contacts, and illustrated in Table 4, the diversification of the College’s economic portfolio exceeded expectations in 2019/20 as we exceeded our target by approximately $280,000 and increased our contract revenue totals by 18% from 2018/19. Due to the Pandemic, causing the cancellation or postponement of a number of contracts, this remains very encouraging. This will be discussed further in Section 2 below.

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Table 4. In Business for Students – NWC Strategic Plan 2018-2022 – High Performance Organization Government of Saskatchewan Goal 27: A Strong Economy SGP Action: Driving Innovation Through Post-Secondary Institutions, Research and Development27 Ministry of Advanced Education Goals 28: Meet the post-secondary needs of the province. Saskatchewan’s postsecondary sector is accountable and sustainable. Ministry of the Immigration and Career Training Goals 29: People have the skills, experience and pathways to realize their potential and build their careers. Organizational Excellence North West College Goals: GS1. Invest in people GS2. Enhance infrastructure GS3. Manage risk GS4. Diversify portfolio Objectives: GS1. Staff recruitment and retention GS2. Standalone campus in the Battlefords GS3. Enterprise Risk Management GS4. Economic diversification strategy Institution Key Actions: GS1. Increase the percentage of satisfied and very satisfied employees GS2. Create a culturally inclusive campus that acknowledges our majority Indigenous student population and addresses limited trades and classroom space GS3. Embedding ERM in College corporate culture GS4. Improve sustainability through new revenue and diversification of portfolio Institution Baseline 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Performance Measures: GS1. Employee 86% 87% 88% 89% 86% Engagement Rate (2015-18) Result 89.5%* No survey undertaken GS2. Foundation for Building on Update business Finalize Begin Obtain Funding build existing studies case partnerships construction for a Market and continuing to Analysis mitigate strain Result On Track On Track GS3. Maturing ERM ERM Framework Ongoing training to Individual, dept., Demonstrate Continuation and and training of ensure all staff and and college-wise and Growing and board, board have the re-enforcement documented Understanding management and training to identity initiatives commitment ERM supervisory staff and assess risk to ERM Result On Track On Track GS4. New revenue No Baseline Develop plan Implement Evaluate and Add International streams revise and research as an area of focus Result On Track On Track

Government of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan – The Next Decade of Growth 20202030, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/103260/formats/114516/download 27

Ministry of Advanced Education, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126400/download 28

Ministry of the Immigration and Career Training, Plan for 2021-22, https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/112414/formats/126409/download 29

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B. STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

NWC is committed to continual improvement in all areas of our operations. Through the 2018-21 Strategic Plan (and additional year), the College continues to focus its attention on initiatives that best serve the communities, economy and students of the northwest. As articulated in Section A, these include a focus on increasing our WIL initiatives, improving educational pathways, supporting Indigenization and mental health as well as continuing to mature our Enterprise Risk Management culture. Given we will be extending our current 2018-21 strategic plan an additional year with amended performance indicators, and that we will be creating a new strategic plan to be implemented starting Fall 2022, our focus will be on the following three initiatives: i) ii) iii)

Becoming sustainable by 2025/26. The new Battlefords campus. Strategic adaptation due to COVID-19.

Each will be discussed below.

MAJOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 1 – BECOMING SUSTAINABLE BY 2025/26

Regional Colleges combined provide programs and services to 26% of students using approximately 8% of the provincial post-secondary sector (PSS) budget, while universities who serve 47% of students (U of S: 29%; U of R: 18%) utilize 72% (U of S: 48%; U of R: 16%) of the provincial budget. Yet, as we have heard from Ministry officials at various times, the current system is not sustainable. Congratulations to the Province of Saskatchewan in its efforts to assist the PSS to work collaboratively towards identifying sustainability issues as opposed to be enforced upon them by government, as evidenced in other provinces. However, the issues of lack of funding and sustainability have been exasperated further given the uncertain economic environment due to the current pandemic. This year the Ministry of Advanced Ed implemented a multi-year funding model, which provides PSIs stable funding for the next 4 years, with the first year having a 5% increase on base operating funds over last years base. The College will invest in several key areas to expand operations and generate alternative revenue contributions, which help will assist us to achieve our long-term sustainability goals. However, despite the forthcoming four years of budget certainty, our funding allocations are inequitable at an institutional and institutional type level, especially considering NWC’s operating to programming funding ratio is the lowest across the sector. This current budget has only exasperated these inequities for NWC. Nevertheless, NWC is making the following assumptions as it pertains to our 2021/22 budget letter: i) ii) iii) iv)

Developed with the intent to assist institutions to address the short-term and long-term challenges they face pertaining to lack of funding, sustainability, and uncertainty. The MAE found it necessary to introduce a mechanism to address the inability of the PSS to be sustainable given current funding allocations and become less reliant on government funding. Provide a budget that articulates multi-year funding allotments to address the uncertainty PSIs traditionally face each year as they anticipate annual budget allotments. Provide a budget that will better enable PSIs to implement medium-term strategies once budgets return to 2020/21 levels in 2023/24 and 2024/25.

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v) vi) vii)

Budget certainty will assist PSIs as they continue to operate within an uncertain environment due to the pandemic. Established a framework which articulated expectations of all parties (including government), as well as how budgets would be tied to performance and accountability metrics. There is an expectation PSIs will establish strategies over these next four years to become sustainable through revenue generation and expense reduction activities.

However, there are some issues with some aspects of this budget as it pertains to NWC and colleges in general, which require identification. Some institutions/types face challenges to achieve sustainability, as some PSIs are positioned better to maintain and strengthen their competitive advantage with their increased funding compared to others: i)

ii)

iii)

iv)

For NWC and Regional Colleges, funding levels were not equitable in 2020/21, and these inequalities are further exasperated given the details provided in the 2021/22 PSI budget letters: a. In 2019/20, College budgets cuts were on average by 2%, while most other PSIs in Saskatchewan received increases. The 2021/22 budgets were based on these respective increases/decreases, and therefore, were not equitable or appropriate and benefitted some PSIs more than others benefit. b. Regional Colleges receive operating funds at the rate of approximately $2,180/student, while all our other PSIs average range from $5,229/student (First Nations Institutions) to $27,616 (University of Saskatchewan). Sask Poly (serving 18% of Saskatchewan students) will receive approximately $12 million over the next two years and will be better positioned to achieve sustainability expectations as compared to Regional Colleges who will receive on average approximately $280,000 each over the next two years. For NWC, we will receive $211,000 per year over the next two years. All PSIs are expecting to increase revenue; however, as per the Regional Colleges Act, Colleges are restricted to specific regions in which they can deliver programs and services, and similar regulations/limitations exist for other PSIs (i.e., Saskatchewan Polytechnic Regulations). Regional Colleges and NWC require the support from our respective Ministries to ensure other PSIs operate in a collaborative and non-competitive manner and PSIs operate as articulated in their respective Acts and Regulations. Without this support, PSIs entering into College catchment areas will adversely impact the ability of regional colleges (including NWC) to achieve their identified performance metrics, and hence could not only impact their ability to obtain the proposed funding allocations over the period of the 2021-2024 plan, but also may fail to achieve financial sustainability by 2025/26.

Despite the challenges identified above, NWC will focus vigilantly on achieving sustainability by 2025/26. The influx of funding to be utilized to further reinforce, build upon and strengthen our economic diversification strategies that have been our focus over recent years. As with other Colleges in the system, economic diversification remains a key strategic priority for the College. Although, NWC has one of the lowest operational costs in the PSS in Saskatchewan, in order to maintain and grow programs and services, there is a need to continue to focus on diversifying revenue streams and become less reliant on provincial funding. As in previous years, NWC’s economic diversification strategy is multifaceted, and includes foundation/development activities, contract programming, internationalization, applied research

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and other activities by securing alternative revenue sources. In addition to cost/expense containment/reduction and the effective utilization of College reserves, the success of each of these activities will be essential for NWC to achieve sustainability by 2025/26.

Stakeholder Engagement (foundation/development)

In 2021/22, NWC will continue to create, develop, and maintain relationships with business, industry, and employers in our region. Stakeholder engagement ensures the College can best fulfill its overall mandate of being responsive and meeting the needs of business and industry. Due to COVID-19, commitments made with partners in 2019/20 will need to be revisited, analyzed and determined if programming is viable. It is anticipated stakeholder engagement will look and feel differently in the short-term. i)

Our focus on a new campus in the Battlefords has led to significant stakeholder interest in possibly supporting a capital campaign for $3.5-$5million. The College will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to confirm previous levels of commitment on this regard, and officially launch a capital campaign in support of a new campus. The College will continue to invest in and work with Ross Marsh Consulting to assist in the development and implementation of this campaign. ii) NWC is in discussions to partner with the Battleford District Community Foundation Board who may assist in providing services/support in establishing an infrastructure to secure larger donations and endowments in perpetuity as another source to support students and college activity beyond scholarships and bursaries. iii) The above will assist in securing larger donations in addition to current fundraising activity, but at a significantly larger scale. iv) These activities will also include donations as it pertains to equipment or other resources as necessary to benefit our programs and students, and another mechanism to reduce reliance on government-funded resources.

Contract Programming

Developing partnerships with business, industry and community partners is key in contract training which NWC has made a priority in our Economic Diversification plan. Areas of focus in previous years included First Nations contract training in Adult Basic Education, Institute Credit and Industry Credit throughout the region. Our Indigenous partners requested programs such as ABE Level 2, Food Service Cook, Community Safety Officer, and Security Guard certification be provided to their clients and community where and when it best served their needs. The type of programming varied from one-day computer or safety ticket training to full 12 or 16-week Institute Credit programs. These programs support new workers entering the workforce and local professional development opportunities. In 2021/22 and beyond, we will continue to provide relevant training so employees can have the certification (including micro-credentials) they need to transition to and maintain employment. We will also endeavour to meet the needs of our communities through suitable programming opportunities for personal growth. However, the College will need to continue to take a conservative approach given the current State of Emergency, economic downturn and the pressures on First Nation partners. Due to the changing priorities of our partners, the mix and program types may need be alteration.

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However, the College has conducted various labour market assessments at the local, provincial and global levels. Our areas of future focus will include but will not be limited to the following over the next three years and beyond: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi)

Cross sector trends in the areas of artificial intelligence, remote automation, cybersecurity and environmental protection. Artificial intelligent, machine learning, block chain integration and data utilization. Bridge the gap between traditional and modern trades. Geographic information systems and remote sensing. Soft skills and other skills. Remote and virtual health assessment and care.

Internationalization

NWC obtained DLI status in 2020, and will commence recruiting international students to attend programs starting in fall 2022. The College anticipates 20 students at that time with modest growth each year beyond 2022. The College will be securing the services of Illume Student Advisory Services in May 2021 to expedite our ability to be fully prepared to accept and effectively serve international students in fall 2022 and beyond. The College’s approach to economic diversification is to meet the identified needs of our region in new and innovative ways. The educational needs of Indigenous communities as well as BIRC clients are not created-markets but critical necessities to the continued economic growth of the region. In short, our economic diversification strategy positively contributes to the continued economic growth of northwestern Saskatchewan. Tied to the above, NWC is focusing on internalization as a key economic diversification strategy that aligns directly with the SGP, especially with the provincial goal to achieve 1.4 million residents by 2030. Based on 2016 census data, 10% of North Battleford’s population are immigrants. This is comparable to the Saskatchewan average of 10.5% and greater than the urban centers of Prince Albert (7.2%) and Moose Jaw (7.8%). Immigration is alive and well in the NWC region, the College has been actively engaging with our local municipalities to gain a better understanding of immigration strategies and how our international education strategies can support our respective goals in this area. The NWC region will require international students to further supplement domestic and Indigenous populations that currently are unable to address the labour market shortages that occurred in our region prior to the pandemic expecting this to continue post-pandemic.

Applied Research

In direct alignment with industry partners and developing solutions to meet their needs, NWC will be embarking upon applied research initiatives starting in 2021/22. We will continue to source alternative funding in partnership with industry and First Nations communities to develop an innovation center that will support local technology development in agriculture, food security and health science. The innovation center will work on a fee-for-service model and provide technical, business and education support to foster innovation in northwest Saskatchewan. The innovation center will foster amalgamation of First Nations ways of knowing with modern methods for technology development.

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The innovation centre will support industry and communities to commercialize innovation through partnerships with not-for-profit organizations and federal and provincial innovation programs. Nevertheless, one of the main goals for the innovation center will be to create an alliance for technology innovation development with First Nations communities to support their sustainable economic growth in the region. To create a sustainable innovation center, NWC will offer STEM and business programs of study to foster future technology development growth in the region and address the associate labour gap.

Alternative Revenue through other Funding Sources

Our two Ministries provide NWC operating and programming funds as a base to build our business and operational plans. NWC will investigate and secure alternative funding sources beyond our respective Ministries. Initiatives in these areas will include, but will not be limited to the following: i)

ii)

NWC and Northlands College serve the most Indigenous students in the college system. In collaboration with Northlands College, we anticipate to jointly source out and submit proposals to access Federal funding that are available in support of our respective Indigenous populations. Programs to be delivered (including micro-credentials) beyond operating grants (credit and non-credit) as per our LMD assessment (and accessing other funding sources) would focus on addressing the following increase demand for education: a. Automation training and support. b. Data management and analysis. c. Remote sensing. d. Supply chain and inventory management. e. Cybersecurity. f. Exporting. g. Environmental protection and forestry. h. Building transitional programs for underemployed and newcomers.

Utilization of reserves

Over the next few years, the College will rely on utilizing its reserves to maintain services and expand infrastructure in order to become sustainable by 2025/26. Sustainability means the College will be less reliant on government funding and should have other revenue sources in place that are seen as predictable and reliable given our 5 year time span to develop, implement and expand. Given the above, NWC will be vigilantly focused on becoming sustainable through economic diversification strategies in the areas of generating alternative sources of contribution, as well as cost reduction strategies and utilizing reserves by 2025/26. However, the College’s ability to achieve this goal is heavily dependant (among other factors) on our ability to obtain a new campus in the Battlefords.

MAJOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 2 - THE NEW BATTLEFORDS CAMPUS

The College’s existing Battlefords campus is the region’s primary adult basic education and postsecondary education provider. The College’s current impact and growth is limited by its facility,

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and significantly restricts our ability to effectively respond to evolving labour market needs. This in turn has impacted student access, achievement, and post-secondary attainment within our region. Further, it poses significant challenges as it pertains to establishing and growing collaborative initiatives with various public or private sector partners. Also, our current facility limits our ability to effectively partner and collaborate with various critical wrap-around service providers, such as childcare, food services, and counselling for mental health and addictions. Over the past several years, NWC has invested in an assessment framework to determine the best solution to our spatial challenges. NWC is proposing the design and construction of a new, long-term community-based standalone campus in the Battlefords in response to current issues facing the College. To realize growth and to adapt to educational and societal changes, and to help achieve our goals to be sustainable by 2025/26, NWC requires a new campus in the Battlefords. This strategic priority will allow the College to play a significant role as a catalyst for social, economic and community change, while aligning with the Province’s goal to grow our communities with a purpose of “building a better quality of life for all Saskatchewan”. Our feasibility 2020 feasibility study has provided the following results: i) ii) iii) iv) v)

There is a high degree of support for the College’s vision to become a catalyst for societal and economic change in the community, and in turn support a need for a new campus. There is a high degree of willingness to participate in the campaign as donors. Over 85% of interviewees indicated they would make a gift or would consider making a gift to a campaign for NWC. Of those who would make a gift, there are possibly four would provide six-figure gifts and one that may provide a seven-figure gift. The total self-identified gifts suggest supporting a private sector campaign of $3.5 million to $5 million. There are four potential partners (1 Tribal Council, 1 First Nation Community, 1 private investor and 1 commercial organization) may offer land, cash, and in-kind contribution for this initiative.

Investment in an enhanced facility is anticipated to support NWC in achieving the following outcomes: i)

Number of credentials awarded - Investment would enable NWC to increase its enrollment, house students on-site (in partnership with a private investor), provide students with services that enable their success and offer a more diverse array of brokered programs. Our macro and micro level labour market assessments have confirmed NWC is in a good position to increase the number of credentials awarded (including microcredentials) to students at all levels, especially if we have the required facility space to do so. ii) Educational attainment in the Battlefords - Investment would enable NWC to provide its students with an enhanced quality of life and education, while simultaneously impacting the community through greater retention rates and higher economic output. NWC is Battlefords’ primary PSI. Investment in this area could not only inspire the next generation of students throughout the region, but also provide them with the training necessary to succeed in the workforce. It is well documented that higher education can be used as a preventative tool to address the long-term costs associated with many societal challenges, including incarceration,

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addictions, poverty, property crime, social security, and secure a better quality of life for all of our citizens. Based on the 2017 data, North Battleford again found itself at the top of the Crime Severity Index for communities over 10,000, according to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. In response, the Battlefords RCMP released the following statement: “Policing is only one part of the solution to a problem that is multi-layered and complex. In the Battlefords detachment area, much of the crime being committed has its roots in social issues such as addictions, poverty, family breakdown, and sub-standard housing” 30. The cost of substance use, including healthcare costs, lost productivity, criminal justice and other direct costs, estimated at $38.4 billion in Canada in 2014. In Saskatchewan, the average costs attributable to substance use, estimated to be $1,224 per person, regardless of age 31. Although it is difficult to fully capture all of the costs associated with these challenges, and equally difficult to quantify the potential social return on investment that this Project offers, researched correlations indicate the social and economic benefits of higher educational attainment. Based on research from Eric Howe and the Gabriel Dumont Institute 32, educating an additional 79 students with a similar demographic to the current NWC student body would result in an increase of over $21 million in individual monetary benefits in the form of lifetime earnings for these students. The broader social benefit is even greater. The total estimated social benefit, based on assumptions from the study, would be over $117 million annually in monetary, non-monetary and external social benefit – over two times the estimated capital cost of the project. i)

ii)

Educational attainment for Indigenous people in the Battlefords - A provincial study in 2014 found that Indigenous graduates were more than twice as likely as non-Indigenous graduates to have had major childcare and housing challenges during their program. The provision of facilities and services that can integrate the social, cultural, and familial lives into education is one of the most significant desired outcomes from this Project. This metric is an incredibly important one that directly ties to improving quality of life for all students and their families, and especially Indigenous students. Other data from our studies in our region indicate: a. Higher unemployment rate (8.4% vs 7.1%). b. Greater proportion of lone-parent families (25.4% vs 16.4%). c. The region has a high proportion of Aboriginal people (26.3% versus 16.3% across Saskatchewan).

Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Battlefords RCMP – 2017 Police-reported crime statistics (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics). Retrieved from: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2018/battlefords-rcmp2017-police-reported-crimestatistics-canadian-centre-justice-statistics 30

19University of Victoria Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms: 2007 –2014. Retrieved from: http://www.ccdus.ca/Resource%20Library/CSUCHCanadian-Substance-Use-Costs-Harms-Report-2018- en.pdf 31

Howe, Eric C.Mishchet aen kishkayhtamihk nawut ki wiichiihtonaan : Bridging the Indigenous education gap in Saskatchewan. Retrieved from: https://gdins.org/me/uploads/2013/11/GDI.HoweReport.2011.pdf 32

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d. Higher percentage of population with no certificate, diploma, or degree aged 25 to 64 (14.5% vs. 12.2%). e. As of 2016, the prevalence of low-income people among the population in the North Battleford CA was 17%. Among the population aged 0 to 5, it was even higher at 30%. An investment in the region’s primary post-secondary education provider would very closely align with the Government’s goal to grow with a purpose by “building a better quality of life for all Saskatchewan people.” Education is a key tool to achieve this goal. f. In 2016, 25% of the local population had no certificate, diploma, or degree (including high school education), and 27% had a high school diploma or equivalency certificate as their highest level of education 33. Higher education attainment is correlated to higher income, directly impacting socioeconomic status in the region. The rational and need for a new “community-based” Battlefords Campus has been affirmed through stakeholder engagement and the recent feasibility study. An updated business case has been submitted to the Capital branch of the Ministry of Advanced Education. This case explored several options utilizing industry sanctioned criteria and identified a new campus in a new location as the preferred option. Subject to funding approval, NWC is seeking additional pre-planning financial support in 2022/23. In addition to the above, the following planning activities have been performed as of June 26, 2020: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii)

Functional Assessment of Facilities (January 2011). Master Planning Analysis (August 2012). Economic Impact Assessment (December 2017). Business Case (April 2019 – involved engaging key stakeholders in the region and at the Ministry level). Feasibility Study (January 2020 – involved engaging potential partners and donors to support the viability of this initiative). Business Case Update (April 2020 – included the results of the feasibility study). Business Case Update (To be submitted by mid-June 2021).

NWC has not made any public commitments related to this Project as of May 14, 2021. However, the College’s interest in moving forward with the Project, including its anticipated functional program, have been communicated with key stakeholders. The College plans to move forward with the recommendations identified in the Ross W. Marsh Feasibility Study, which stress continued efforts to secure a major development partner and begin securing financial resources. At least four separate potential partners have expressed significant interest in a partnership for NWC campus development plan. NWC acknowledges supplemental work will be required to analyze the financial feasibility of partnership. Confirmation of a publicprivate-partnership approach would be undertaken in collaboration with the Government of Saskatchewan. The NWC Board confirmed the new campus in the Battlefords remains a top Statistics Canada. 2017. North Battleford [Population centre], Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan [Province] (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001. Ottawa. Released November 29, 2017. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dppd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E 33

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priority for the College at is January 25, 2021 Board meeting. The College will continue to advocate and develop a strategy to secure financial support for the design phase of the project. An updated Business Case will be submitted to government in mid June 2021 and will be further reiterated that a new campus in the Battlefords remains a top priority for the College and the College Board.

MAJOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 3 – Strategic adaptation due to COVID-19

The third strategic initiative in 2021/22 continues to be the College’s strategic adaptation to the current State of Emergency and effectively positioning us for long-term sustainability as we anticipate the effects of the pandemic to dissipate over time. Colleges, by their very nature are well suited to major shifts in business practice. Saskatchewan Regional colleges are relatively smaller in size compared to our Universities and Polytechnic, but we are responsive, adaptable, streamlined and efficient business and program delivery practices. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed and challenged the PSS to re-evaluate past practices, and implement innovative and strategic initiatives to better position our institutions for sustainable success in the future. For example, in 2019/20 several programs shifted to alternative delivery modalities, but full online learning proved challenging given the absence of an established Learning Management System (LMS) at NWC. For 2020/21, the College invested in Google Classroom as a platform to support blended learning. The College continues to explore a longterm LMS system solution. The College implemented the use of Chromebooks for all of our Adult Basic Education programs, and electronic devices became mandatory for all programs. NWC also invested in an Educational Technologist to support training for staff and students on the effective use of technology, make recommendations on technology hardware and support instructors in instructional design as they transitioned to blended learning. This initiative provided students and staff the ability to pivot when needed while continuing to learn and work remotely when required. Throughout the current State of Emergency, NWC has played a leadership role advocating for, and educating the sector about the digital divide and socio-economic barriers to success that a blended model presents to our students, as well as the necessity for increased mental health supports for our staff and students. The College will continue this work to ensure inclusive education for all learners. The pandemic has taught society in general, that we are stronger and more innovative than we think. Although working and learning from home was not something we envisioned 14 months ago, we did it, we have learned from it, and we will continue to do it and improve it as we go. We can help overcome a number of struggles and barriers; however, rural connectivity remains a challenge especially in the region we serve. NWC identified many potential external factors in spring of 2020 that would adversely impact and effect program delivery and student success during the pandemic. As most of these predictions came to fruition, the largest negative impact on student participation and success being directly linked to the fact many of our First Nations communities were on lock down for several months during the academic year. This also significantly impacted student and staff mental health and wellness. The College is hopeful the province’s vaccination roll out plans will support improved access to programming and student supports, reduce reliance on poor internet connection and other barriers to success. NWC will continue with electronic devices for all students and begin to offer online enrolment for students wanting to pursue their post secondary certificate online in the 2021/22 program year.

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Programs conducive to online learning will be offered this fall. This will increase the seat capacity in programs regardless of the public health measures and will continue exploring alternative options and programs in high demand in alignment with labour market needs post-pandemic. We anticipate business practices and learning will be forever impacted, and the College will continue to investigate, invest in and implement the tools and supports required for our staff, students and college community to succeed as we navigate through our “new world”.

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C. COLLABORATIVE PLANNING

NWC remains a leader in collaboration within our sector working closely with our post-secondary partners, community groups/associations, and industry to maximize resource. From provincial program planning to the sharing of professional costs and resources, NWC drives partnerships to ensure accountability for provincial funds. Below is an overview of collaborative initiatives that will be continued to be built upon, as well as initiatives that will be areas of focus going forward.

Systemic Collaboration: Since the reinstatement of the ASRC in 2019, the eight publicly funded regional colleges have been working closer and more collaboratively than ever. This level of collaboration continued during 2020/21 as all colleges dealt with the pandemic and its impact on college operations. Considerable effort was placed on being more connected as a regional college system to provincial initiatives and priorities. Continued and deeper collaborative initiatives are planned for 2021/2022 and beyond. i)

ii)

iii)

The ASRC will continue its efforts at re-defining the role, governance and operations of regional colleges. The Board Chairs & Co-Chairs of ASRC will continue their work on advocating with government representatives for the system, as well as further developing the vision for the future of the regional college system. Prior to ASRC being resurrected, only one college was in favor of merging/amalgamation. Currently, five of the seven colleges are now open to the concept of merger/amalgamation and discussions along those lines among those five colleges will continue. CEO Council is developing a Regional College System Collaborative Plan that will enumerate principles of collaboration and identify areas of collaboration that will improve operations, program delivery, revenue generation and cost containment. This is being done with the input of executives from all participating colleges. Regional colleges will explore, and implement where possible, joint programming/services to broaden program/service offerings, reduce costs and meet regional needs. This includes the continued efforts of our Senior Academic Officers (SAO), Senior Business Officers (SBO), Human Resource Officers (HRO) and International Executive Teams, who work with our representatives from each of our two Ministries on a number of issues that effect our respective colleges equally, and as a result, address issues/solutions at a sector-wide level. Examples of such sector-wide collaborative conversations and actions include, but are not limited to: a. Shared solutions regarding the pandemic (current and future strategies). This includes areas such as best practices related to staff and students, public health input and recommendations, and policy consultations (i.e., work from home and return to work). This will continue to be a key area for sector-wide collaboration beyond 2021/22. b. Shared solutions with respect to brokerage and ABE design. c. Shared solutions with respect to a collective HR strategy to support the LINC Home Study project related to EAL programming, which help achieve organizational goals in alignment with the collective bargaining agreement. d. Developing and Implementing strategies as it pertains to Healthy Campus Saskatchewan. e. Creation of an IT committee to investigate, develop and implement collaborative and synergistic strategies to effectively realize synergies and create efficiencies

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iv)

vi)

vii)

in the areas of phone systems (e.g. Sask Tel IBC systems solution), purchasing (i.e. common vendors and hardware pricing), software (e.g. Microsoft provincial licencing), infrastructure, sharing policy/procedure documentation, and cyber security. NWC’s SBO along with Carlton Trails SBO represent took the lead on coordinating this committee. f. NWC SBO and a member from ITO represent the sector on the provincial CNET committee. This committee investigates the connectivity and options throughout Saskatchewan exploring alternative options for expanding bandwidth and rural connectivity. g. Investigate, develop and implement collaborative and synergistic strategies with respect to joint procurement of office supplies, as well as request for proposals for equipment, vehicles and other relevant services. More recently, the Colleges collaborated to obtain the utilization of a Labour Market Assessment tool (e.g., EMSI) at a significantly reduced cost as a result of our colleges coming together collectively as a system. h. Developed a provincial Labour Relations strategy and work plan to govern short and long-term HR Committee actions beyond 2021/22. The focus of this plan is to ensure Regional Colleges are able to recruit, engage, retain and develop management staff and senior leaders required to support the achievement of the system and institutional goals. i. Reviewed and developed collaborative strategies and results in the areas of: employee benefits (i.e. adjustment of Blue Cross premiums), grid placement for position classification and re-classification, obtaining joint legal opinion and shared costs on operational Labour Relations matters that impacts all Colleges, and preparations for the expiration of the current CBA which expires in August 2022. The major focus for Information Technologies will be selecting a vendor for the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application and supporting its installation at NWC and Cumberland College, the two pilot sites. This will be done in close collaboration with the Ministry and supported with Ministry funding. All participating colleges at various levels have devoted significant time and effort, which has resulted in this initiative to progress at the level that it has. Regional Colleges have taken an active role in the work of the Strategic Alliance International Table. In addition, each task force within the alliance have at least two regional college representatives, who in turn ensure information is shared with all Colleges at the appropriate level. Continued collaboration and integration of international programming/services/discussions will occur beyond 2021/22. Regional Colleges have taken an active role in the work of the Saskatchewan Transfer Credit and Learner Pathway Council (STCLPC) and have multiple staff on the various subcommittees. Colleges will work together in conjunction with the other members to support students as they journey through post-secondary education. They will advocate for recognition of prior learning, encourage the creation of laddering opportunities between programs and transfer between institutions, and support academic partners by promoting learner pathways with their own students. Establishing a Business Development Officer table will be looked at in 2021/22. This would enable colleges to collaborate on the marketing and delivery of corporate training courses, explore joint alternative revenue generating opportunities, and work on developing a Regional College brand.

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Healthy Campus Saskatchewan

Healthy Campus Saskatchewan (HCSk) brings 19 PSIs together to provide students with the knowledge, tools and resources they need to achieve their personal and academic goals. It is a community of practice with a desire to collaborate to support the health and wellbeing of postsecondary students. NWC has embraced the development of HCSk and has participated on the steering committee since its inception. The sharing of information, resources, training and best practices among the institutions is a great benefit to regional colleges have less manpower and resources. The College was also able to participate in the Canadian Well Being Survey for the first time ever due to this collaboration. It made the survey affordable. In addition to system collaboration that added Saskatchewan specific questions, Regional Colleges collaborated on specific questions for our sector. It will be great to get these relevant results to help shape supports for students. NWC will be working with HCSk in the fall to adopt our version of the peermentoring program. Over the next three years, NWC will build on the work HCSk will be doing this summer on the national mental health standards for post-secondary students and launch our own Healthy Campus North West.

Local Partnerships – School Divisions

NWC has had a long-standing relationship with our local school divisions individually and collectively. The College has collaborated on career services, pathways, Try-a-trade, facility space, day cares and student program planning. This past year the College worked closely with a school division to develop and pilot a training solution for the difficulties in attracting prepared educational assistants. In 2021/22, the College will continue to improve this program and offer it to other divisions, investigate how we can better support dual credit and implement our strategy regarding the pathways work started pre-Covid. In addition to the above, the College has collaborated with our school divisions to provide better and more accessible information about College programs and pathways for their respective Counsellors. This initiative and area of collaboration will continue and will be further refined.

Health Human Resource Committee

The Health Human Resource Committee has been in place for several years without representation on it from the College system. Following a year of advocacy, the regional Colleges recently secured a seat on this committee and brought great value to the first meeting. The Colleges have significant value to add to the committee that reviews labour market information for the health sector and develops solutions to the gaps. CEO Council endorsed and supported NWC’s SAO to represent the College sector on this committee given her experience in the health and post-secondary education sectors. The Colleges will have a voice at this table and can bring better information back for planning and sector level discussions.

Data Sharing Agreement

The Ministry of Immigration and Career Training prepared a draft-renewed data sharing agreement based on expectations of the federal transfer funds that support College programming and other reporting needs. The Colleges formed a committee with representatives from Senior Academic Officers, Senior Business Officers registrars and Human Resource Officers. This committee was led by NWC. The feedback provided was robust, addressing risk management issues, logistical challenges and implementation issues. The revised agreement has not been circulated yet, but this group will continue to weigh in until ready for a recommendation to CEO Council.

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Higher Education Enterprise Resource Planning Project

The Colleges have been collaborating on a renewed student information system for quite a while now, so it is exciting to see the progression to the RPP. The Higher Education Enterprise Resource Planning Project was allocated $1.6M as a system towards this initiative in the 2021/22 budget. This project will look at the potential of replacing our current student information system but will also explore the potential of an all-encompassing system for student information, financial and human resources. NWC is excited to have been selected as one of the pilot institutions for this project. Impacts regarding the pilot project details remain uncertain at this time. Once a product and vendor are selected, we will be able to confirm the need for backfilling positions, managing and supporting the transition from our current system to the new. Once a product is selected and functionality better understood, the College will engage with the sector on collaborating on a learning management system that may be compatible to the new system.

Collaboration with Northlands College and Canada North

The college has been involved in developing a long-term collaboration with Northlands College and Canada North to address labour shortages in the environmental protection sector. These collaborative efforts intend to support training and innovation initiatives to address various challenges experienced in Northern Saskatchewan. This collaboration includes but not limited to: i)

Address the potential of training underemployed graduates in the area to adapt to market needs. ii) Share training and educational resources to address the high cost of environmental protection programs. iii) Adapting innovation to facilitate the needs of northern communities for sustainable resource management. iv) Fostering innovation in northern communities to support economic growth.

MLTC contract in collaboration with Northlands College

NWC is the main educational partner with Meadow Lake Tribal Council, which has reserve communities in both NWC and Northlands College regions. NWC is contracted as the lead delivery institution on many Tribal Council educational initiatives and collaborates with Northlands College when the delivery is located in their geography.

Provincial Leadership

Further to the above, NWC President and CEO (Chair of CEO Council and Co-Chair of ASRC) continues to be actively involved with taking a sector-wide approach that builds on the need and expectation of collaboration. i) ii)

Since the re-instatement of ASRC, the Chair of Board Chairs and the Chair of CEO Council have been spending approximately 15-20 hours/month and 20-30 hours/week respectively above and beyond their regular duties that do not include ASRC related work. As Co-Chair of ASRC and Chair of CEO Council, leadership in this area will continue to focus on: a. Working towards a single vision and voice for the college system at various sectorwide communication opportunities led by our respective Ministries. b. Regular communication with the Minister and Deputy Ministers of both of our Ministries to ensure college-wide issues/concerns/opportunities are effectively advocated on behalf of ASRC.

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iii)

iv)

c. Continued contact and strategic conversations occur with all CEOs in the college sector through regular CEO Council meetings, which include the attendance of AE and ICT officials. d. Increased the frequency and involvement with our respective SAO, SBO, HRO, and International subcommittees to ensure these committees will be operating with a more strategic focus (as evidenced above), and in line with the strategic direction as expected by ASRC and CEO Council. Advocated for and now a formal member of the Saskatchewan Strategic Alliance International Table. This will be an ongoing position and will continue to advocate on behalf of the college sector in Saskatchewan and ensure we work collaboratively and strategically will all other PSIs in Saskatchewan. Leadership in this area will continue to include, but not be limited to: a. Ensuring all information obtaining, discussed, and decided upon at this table are shared with all CEOs and the Chair of the Regional College task force committee. They in turn are expected to share this same information with their respective institutions and institutional personnel. b. Ensuring all task force groups are providing equal levels of communications to their respective colleagues and institutions for the purposes of collaboration, transparency and consistency. c. Ensuring all issues/challenges/opportunities effecting regional colleges are communicated, discussed and advocated for at this table. d. Contribute as an equal partner with all participating organizations and entities at this table. e. Ensured Regional Colleges were engaged in the development of the overarching provincial strategic plan regarding international students. As the plan is still being finalized, Regional Colleges will continue to have a voice in the development, implementation and execution of the plan. In collaboration with all participating colleges, created a communication strategy in the form of a Power point presentation which spoke to the importance of the regional college system to the province. The Co-Chairs have presented this artifact to the Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Assistant Deputy Ministers, and some Executive Directors of our two Ministries to ensure consistency in messaging regarding how the college sector is a key economic driver for the province. The President and CEO has shared this presentation with various MLAs, MPs, and industry associations within the NWC region with the focus of ensuring consistency of messaging about the importance and relevance of the college system in Saskatchewan. CEO Council established a working group to create a Regional College vision for brokerage. This was shared with both Ministries and discussions on re-opening the partnership agreement with Sask Poly are expected to continue to progress.

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D. PROGRAM PLAN

NWC’s multi-year program plan outlines initiatives to meet the diverse needs of the region and the provincial economy. This plan was challenging to develop given the province continues to be in a State of Emergency due to the impacts of the pandemic. There continues to be significant external influence on program design, delivery, student participation and success as well as revenues/expenses incurred. The College reviewed several sources data to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the economy in the short and medium term to identify labour market needs 34,35. We also consulted with business and industry, Indigenous organizations, students and communities throughout our region, as well as provincial sector organizations. Success indicators such as enrollment, retention, graduation and employment in previous program years also helped inform this program plan. NWC delivers quality programs investing in students and employers. The College will deliver the majority of our programs in a blended delivery format in 2021/22 as we continue to adjust and adapt based on the evolving impacts of the pandemic. Our plan focuses on accessibility (i.e., proposing programming in 21 communities), responsiveness (i.e., Meeting the needs of local, regional and provincial workforce), and accountability (i.e., through our evidence-based approaches towards program selection). Our program plan maximizes government and partner resources to meet our economic challenges and contribute to a strong rural Saskatchewan. The programs planned for 2021-24 demonstrate accountability by maximizing the resources provided by the Ministry of Immigration & Career Training, which align to the workforce needs of the region and the province. NWC continues to invest in innovative and diversified program delivery. As illustrated in this plan, students will have the opportunity to access a variety of quality programs at NWC that will lead to learner success, long-term attachment to the labour market and career achievement. With an Indigenous student population of 61% (82% full-time student compliment), NWC invests significant time and resources focusing on Indigenous students and their respective communities. The fact that many of these students live in their home reserve community adds risk to the program plan, student forecasts and student success. Transportation has always been a significant barrier as is access to reliable childcare; however, during the pandemic the lack of access to affordable stable internet became further accentuated the various challenges our student base face on a regular basis. To assist with public safety under the current State of Emergency, many of our First Nations communities continue to remain in lock down which impacts students’ ability to apply to programs and/or actively access/participate in programming. Salary and benefit costs are the primary fixed expense of program delivery. These are known for the first year of the multi-year business plan but with the CBA, expiring on August 31, 2022 there is significant risk in the remaining years of the plan. NWC has made reasonable assumptions based on historical factors; however, even the slightest of factors impacting cost variations regardless of our assumptions could have significant consequences to the program plan. In the pages to follow, there is an overview of programs and services to be delivered in 2021-24. Appendices B and C provide a detailed breakdown of programs forecasted to be delivered for all 34

North West College, Global and Canadian Market Trends (April 2021)

North West College, Regional LMI overview- Use of EMSI data to determine opportunities in the NWC region (April 2021) 35

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three years –2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 – for ABE/Essential Skills and Institute Credit programming. These strategies based on current labour market needs however staying true to our mandate of flexible and responsive programming and operating in a pandemic; the plan may shift to accommodate potential opportunities as they present. Appendix D details plans for English as an Additional Language for 2021/22. The mandatory chart is included below. Table 5 - Program Capacity, Projected Enrolments Program Capacity, Projected Enrolments (Full-Time and Part-Time) & FLEs

Program Categories

2020/21 Forecast

Institute Credit Industry Credit Industry Non-Credit

2021/22 Budget

2022/23 Estimate

2023/24 Estimate

Cap

FLEs

Cap

FLEs

Cap

FLEs

Cap

FLEs

320

278

246.4

319

255

321.6

356

290

337.8

376

300

385.8

665

13.58

997.5

1197

24.44

1377

28.11

109

4.22

163

6.33

196.2

7.5

225.6

8.735

ABE Credit

212

227

165.5

208

200

256.6

233

220

282.5

235

220

298.6

ABE Non-Credit

254

164

85.93

262

167

138.6

300

200

100

162.4

315

200

115

167.4

24.8

25.2

689

949

540.4

642

1301

768.7

745

1555

856.7

765

1791

931.6

University Total

786

789

889

926

Essential Skills (Adult Basic Education)

Essential Skills/Adult Basic Education (ABE) programming provides foundational skills development for adults to enter meaningful employment or careers successfully. Two primary sources of funding exist to support delivery of the comprehensive ABE program at NWC: i) ii)

Funding from the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training in the form of a conditional grant. Third party contributions from school divisions and First Nations communities.

Third party contributions allow the College to expand the number of ABE programs and seats. These additional resources support the College in addressing waitlists however difficult to predict as the pandemic continues. For 2021/22, the anticipated third-party resources poses a risk, if the forecast is not achieved, then programs will need to be cancelled as all of the ABE grant monies have been allocated to the program plan. This would be unfortunate as the need for ABE programming in our region far exceeds the available resources to support foundational and essential skills development. The multi-year program plan for ABE was challenging to develop given the impact of the pandemic in 2020/21 was significant to these programs and the College’s strategy of where programs are delivered. The College generally offers Level 2 and employability programs on-reserve with the ability to move to a proximate community for Level 3 and 4. In 2020/21, so many of our First Nations communities were on lock down resulting in three planned programs being cancelled and overall lower student success compounded by smaller number of students seats available. These factors significantly impact the transition of students to other ABE programs, post-secondary programs and employment. The College remains committed to working very closely and collaboratively with First Nations communities to develop and deliver culturally respectful programs, especially on-reserve. Enhancing education and employment outcomes for Indigenous

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communities in the region continues to be a priority for NWC; however, the unpredictability of the pandemic causes significant risk to the program plan. The College has always had a strong workforce exposure strategy for our students; however, the pandemic will continue to influence how we support our students in understanding the world of work and the opportunities available to them. The College is hopeful the café kiosk business incubator program, that students in Level 3 have operated for several years will be able to open again in 2021/22 pending the pandemic parameters. The College also anticipates more businesses will be willing to take students for work placements later this fall and winter. The College continues to have a commitment to work integrated learning and has designed four essential skills for the workplace program to address skilled labour market shortages identified by our communities. All programs with a significant reliance on the business community are at risk during the pandemic. As a provincial leader in Indigenous education, the College continually reflects and improves the quality and relevancy of our ABE programs to enhance education and employment outcomes. In 2021/22, the College will continue delivering ABE programming in a blended fashion but will make changes from last year to improve student connectivity, strengthen relationships and engagement and student success. Instructors will have a better foundation of the technology and instructional design to support learners in a blended model. Student lack of access to stable affordable internet is a risk factor that impacts participation in programs and success. NWC is committed to working with each individual student to create a program plan to maximize their potential and meet their career goals in a timely fashion. This requires multiple program types being available unfortunately this is not easy for our vast high needs rural region. In 2021/22, the campus programs are piloting a renewed delivery of Level 2 and 3 programming. Level 2 programs will be 160 days and run from September to May to allow students to enter at multiple points hone their skills and move on when ready. These Level 2 programs will continue to focus on skill development in academics, life skills and employability but the strategy for each student, customized based on their strengths, skill gaps and goals. Similarly, the Level 3 programs will be set up with multiple planned intake dates and each student will begin their journey at their skill level and take only those courses required to meet their goals. This may result in less students graduating with a full Level 3 but will move the student more quickly towards their career goals. On the two campuses, the Level 4 program will continue to be delivered in trimesters to support the timely transition of students. The course offerings at each location have been aligned to maximize the courses available between the two locations. This may afford a student the opportunity to take a course remotely from the other campus to complete their program plan more quickly. This pilot requires continuous assessment of student competencies and confidence as well as clear goal setting and understanding what is needed to achieve said goals. This pilot requires some adjustment to College processes for intake, program planning and exit strategies. The ultimate objective is for each student to create the quickest skill/competency developing path to his or her career goal. Rural communities such as Duck Lake, Debden and Cut Knife will continue to have Level 3 and 4 programming with proximate reserve communities hosting 80-day Level 2 programs. Given the impact of the pandemic on potential student numbers, Debden students will have a lead instructor onsite for math and science but will receive their humanities courses virtually from the instructor at Cut Knife. This pilot will be well monitored for student success and supports will be added if needed. Rural programs will be delivered blended but pending the facility may have more days in class than remote learning. All on-reserve Level 2 programs will be primarily delivered face-to-

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face. Regardless of delivery mode, daily lessons and resources will be loaded to google classroom to ensure access in case a student cannot attend. All students will benefit from the digital skill building. In the Turtleford/Thunderchild area, the College will be piloting a new program that combines Level 4 with a focus on health programming. Thunderchild will host a Level 2/3 program to accommodate the breadth of learners. In Turtleford, the College will deliver a hybrid program of Level 4, dual credit, health care essential skills and the CiCan Supportive Care Assistant program. This program will include science and math credits towards Level 4, a Sask Polytechnic Continuing Care Assistant (CCA) module that counts for dual credit providing the students an elective and adding value to the CiCan program, the full CiCan program including the four-month work term and essential skill development including safety tickets needed to enter the health care field. With the government investment in CCA positions, the aging workforce and the pandemic staffing challenges this program will provide support to rural health facilities. In 2021/22, NWC is aligning all essential skills for the workplace (ESWP) funded programs to address skills gaps in the labour market as identified by local employers. Each of the four programs have been specifically designed to develop relevant skills, knowledge and abilities for the respective industry. The CiCan Supportive Care Assistant program will be delivered in the form of an ESWP program focusing on Indigenous peoples and newcomers. Funding from IRCC will be used to support this program in addition to the ESWP grant. This pilot program will include the entire CiCan program inclusive of the four-month work term, two Sask Polytechnic Continuing Care Assistant (CCA) modules to add value to the program and ultimately employability of the students, essential skill development and language support for the newcomers. This program will be delivered in the Battlefords given our target population and the staffing needs of the local facilities. The other three ESWP programs are designed for positions that require technical skills but are often hard to recruit for given lower pay, fewer hours or the nature of the work so ultimately the employers under hire and invest continuously in on-the-job training. The intent of these programs is to provide solid base skills to better equip the students to hit the ground running upon hire and add value to those they serve. The programs are all designed to provide some credit classes from Sask Polytechnic, relevant safety/industry credit, a formal work placement and the outcomes for each of the nine essential skills are relevant to the specific job. There is some risk with this strategy given some resistance from Sask Polytechnic in brokering individual modules. The College worked with the Living Sky School Division last year to create an educational assistant (EA) prep program. The program will use actual forms, documents, guidelines and materials from the school division as well as their Superintendent of Student Services and Human Resource Manager are spending time with our students talking about the roles, expectations and how to apply for jobs at the division. The College will expand to include Light of Christ School Division and Treaty 6 Education in the winter 2022 delivery of this program as well as deliver the program with NWSD and Meadow Lake Tribal Council in Meadow Lake should resources allow. The Program Head at Sask Polytechnic was very interested in this pilot and we worked collaboratively to select the three classes for credit to match the outcomes all partners want to achieve. The College has delivered an early childhood (ECE) level 1 prep with ESWP funds over the past few years but will be adding value to it based on feedback from employers. The renewed version will follow the same principles as above but also add some additional skills to meet the gaps identified by employers. The third program, which is new, will focus on workers who support

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physically and cognitively impaired individuals in community and home settings – disability worker prep. Our community-based partners indicated their pay grids often do not attract people with certificates and diplomas so agree this program concept would be a great fit. For all three of these programs the students will be well prepared to enter the workforce. Overall, the program plan for 2021/22 will have a slight increase in training seats and days over the previous year but has many new approaches, initiatives and innovations. Execution of this plan is reliant on the realization of third party resources and less pandemic impacts on our communities. Table 6 outlines our 2021/22 program plan for ABE, which utilizes the entire ABE conditional grant, ESWP allocation and anticipated levels of third party funding. The plan demonstrates commitment to our principles, and we will be offering programming in 15 locations. The year 2 and 3 proposed plans are also based on these principles however post pandemic training seats will increase. The plans reflect some anticipated movement in locations based on success and maximizing resources. Each of the three-year plans can be viewed in Appendix C.

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Table 6 - 2021/22 Program Plan for ABE Program Type and Location ESSENTIAL SKILLS (ABE) Level 4/ Adult 12

Cut Knife

Business Plan 2021/22 Seats COVID-19 12

Program Length

Projected Training Days

170

2,040

Debden

170

1,360

Duck Lake

170

2,040

Turtleford FN health pilot

900

Meadow Lake

170

4,080

North Battleford

170

7,140

North Battleford – Night

480

TOTAL Level 4

122

Cut Knife

170

2,040

Debden

170

1,190

Duck Lake

170

2,040

Makwa Sahgaiehcan FN

170

1,360

Meadow Lake

170

2,040

North Battleford

170

4,590

Thunderchild FN

170

1,360

TOTAL Level 3

Ahtahkakoop FN

960

Beardy's Okemasis FN ERP

960

Beardy's Okemasis FN

960

Big River FN

800

Little Pine FN - ERP - winter

640

Makwa Sahgaiehcan FN

480

Meadow Lake - pathways

160

1920

Muskeg Lake CN

960

North Battleford - pathways

160

2240

Sturgeon Lake FN

960

Sweetgrass FN

960

Thunderchild FN

480

TOTAL Level 2

128

ESWP - DSW prep - North Battleford

900

ESWP ECE - Meadow Lake

720

ESWP - EA Prep - North Battleford

960

ESWP - CCA prep - North Battleford

720

TOTAL ESWP

3,300

TOTAL College 2021/22

384

48,280

TOTAL College 2020/21

368

47,980

Level 3/ Adult 10

Level 2

Literacy & Essential Skills for the Workplace

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18,040

14,620

12,320

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English as an Additional Language

NWC is working in partnership with federal and provincial governments to provide an appropriate level of language training for all new Canadians. Our region is becoming a destination of choice for many of the province’s newcomers; NWC is attempting to serve the increasing needs of immigrants in an effective and efficient manner. The College finalized a five-year agreement with the Federal Government (IRCC) in March 2020, which included some new strategies to meet the needs of newcomers and businesses. Economies of scale and cost-effective language training for newcomers can be achieved when the federal and provincial resources are combined for program delivery. The College will deliver many of the LINC classes through a blended model but also will continue with the spring 2021 remote pilot program to support provincial waitlists. Conversation circles will be delivered in a face-to-face format. The IRCC funding is in place to support the ESWP program discussed in the section above. IRCC will also solely fund the workshops series to support employers in hiring and supporting newcomers. It is our intent to deliver a total of 11 EAL programs anticipating 100 program participants in the communities of The Battlefords, Meadow Lake, Rosthern and Spiritwood. The plan provides language training from Literacy to Level 7 and conversation circles. The College will prioritize Portfolio-Based Language Assessment (PBLA) classes when possible. The College uses multiple strategies to meet the needs of small groups of students in rural communities. Please find the proposed EAL programming in Appendix D. The College will continue to maximize resources to remain accessible and responsive to this growing learner group.

Institute Credit

Skills Training Allocation (STA) for 2021/22 has been communicated as status quo funding. Institute credit certificates and diplomas are funded through STA, tuition fees, and third party funding. The College’s three-year plan has been prepared with the information available at the time of writing which unfortunately still have many unknowns adding risk to the plan. Significant analysis of the labour market data was undertaken; however, impacts of the pandemic and subsequent recovery are poorly forecasted. The brokerage institution sets tuition rates, and these have not yet been made public, therefore, the College has assumed an increase in line with previous years. A tuition freeze, as was the case last year, would result in the plan not being affordable and ultimately cancellation of some programs. NWC will be delivering institute credit programs in a blended fashion again this year however, the College has assumed more favorable pandemic public health orders and student ability to participate. If this is not the case, program seats will be negatively impacted which ultimately reduces tuition, which again may result in program cancellations. The three-year program plan can be found in Appendix B, which includes rational for each program’s selection. The 2021/22 program plan provides a mix of trades training, human/community service, business, and health sector programming identified and supported by industry demand and validated through consultation with community stakeholders. Training is planned for locations off the main campuses only where student demand provides a sufficient critical mass and employment opportunities exist. The wide array of programs is responsive to regional and provincial labour market demand. Health Care is the largest industry in the NWC region. There is significant health infrastructure in region including the Saskatchewan Hospital and Indigenous health agencies. The College does

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significant training in this area but could do more to support the industry. In addition, there is a need to expand the Battlefords Campus health care lab given the current volume and type of programming. Mental health issues are on the rise and more pronounced. The 2021/22 year marks the last of a three-year commitment by Sask Polytechnic to broker the Psychiatric Nursing program to the College. The College has attempted to engage in discussions and provided evidence from Saskatchewan Hospital officials and data analysis that in fact increased seats are needed. The year 2 and 3 plan include 24 seats rather than 16. Two wings of the hospital still have not opened due to staffing as well as vacancies and an aging workforce. The College would be prepared to intake 24 this fall if the resourcing for this program were available. The Government announced a commitment to 300 new Continuing Care Assistant (CCA) jobs. NWC has great experience in delivering this program in multiple ways to meet the needs of those who are working in the field but not fully certified and those entering the field. Last year the pandemic forced the College to cancel the part time program given many current workers participate in this program to complete their certification and could not mix different facilities. In 2021/22, the College is expanding CCA programming to meet the demand including the facility expansion in Meadow Lake. This industry requires significant skill upkeep as well as adaptation to new technologies. The College will deliver three full time programs, two part time programs, expand by offering fully remote seats and deliver two of the Ci Can projects. Practical Nursing in North Battleford requested an increase in seats this year but denied due to the pandemic. The College will resume the Meadow Lake program in fall 2022/23. The key to supporting a sustainable health care industry is learn where you earn. NWC significantly invests in trades and technologies training. The College offers a breadth of journeyman trade programs from transportation and construction trades to service and hospitality trades. This is necessary given the diverse economy of the northwest where there is no real dominant industry but a concentration of many small to medium sized enterprises – manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, tourism, retail and oil. Many companies in the northwest work in the northern mining industry, in the Alberta oil fields as well as within the region. Recently there has been some expansion of trades companies in the Battlefords region. In 2021/22, the College will be delivering the new Health Care Cook program rather than professional cooking to support the SHA and the demand in rural Saskatchewan. The College will not only support a new cohort of students but also support those currently working in the industry to meet the SHA required certification. This is an exciting new initiative and NWC is proud to be part of it. NWC ensures access to business programming and human/community services training as well. The business certificate program provides an excellent foundation for many employment opportunities as well as significant transfer credit to university. Last year due to financial constraints, the College chose to consolidate the office administration program in Meadow Lake rather than offer this program at both campuses. In 2021/22, the College will be offering fully remote seats in both of the business programs to bridge access and expand seats. It is important that programs, such as Early Childhood Education, be delivered close to home as the return on investment takes years given low wages after certification. This is also why the College delivers the Lakeland certificate program given Sask Polytechnic only has the diploma program. This industry also experiences very high turnover creating a perpetual demand. In the Battlefords area, multiple employers on-and off-reserves require the Youth Care training as a base certification. Demand for our graduates is high and many use this program as a pathway to a degree in Social Work.

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Students participating in skills training programs develop skills relevant to today’s workplace. NWC adds value to ensure all students have an opportunity to participate in a practical work experience and develop essential skills, even when the curriculum does not include these outcomes. WIL projects are a strategic priority for NWC. The College has also identified the need to increase Indigenous participation in Institute Credit programming to produce a more representative labour force within our region and province. These strategies, along with postgraduation support to connect students with employers, assists in ensuring our graduates are employed. Table 7 reflects the comprehensive array of institute credit skills training programs planned for delivery in 2021/22 to address labour market needs and maximize the resources available. The College plan expends all of the skills training allocation provided in the budget letter. This table reflects an increase in student days to the previous year’s business plan primarily due to different assumptions in year two of the pandemic. The 2022/23 and 2023/24 proposed plans were developed assuming status quo STA funding. The student days are relatively equal over the next three years, but the mix and type of programming will change to ensure the diverse labour market needs are met but not inundated. The College removes and adds new programs each year to best serve the labour market and post Covid seats will increase. The programs and projected days in future years will be positively impacted by the College’s international strategy expected to roll out in 2022/23. All three-year program strategies are presented in Appendix B with further labour market rationale for each program. The College continues to adjust program plans as the environment shifts. In addition to the programs listed in Table 7, the College works continually with First Nations and industry partners as they prepare applications for funding opportunities for post-secondary training. These potential initiatives are not reflected in the budget or program plans, but if successful, will increase the overall institute credit training days and opportunities offered by NWC. To grow Saskatchewan, NWC will continue to engage with business, industry, and Indigenous partners to understand and develop solutions to meet the labour demands.

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Table 7 - 2021/22 Institute Credit Skills Training Programs

Health

Human Services

Business

2021/22

Institute Credit Program

Location

Projected Enrollment

Target Training Days

Business

North Battleford

2,340

Office Administration

Meadow Lake

2,510

4,850

Sub Total Early Learning and Childcare

North Battleford

1,540

Youth Care Worker

North Battleford

1,790

3,330

Sub Total Continuing Care Assistant

North Battleford

1,857

Continuing Care Assistant

Meadow Lake

1,857

Continuing Care Assistant

Shellbrook

1,327

Continuing Care Assistant PT

Lloydminster

660

Continuing Care Assistant PT

North Battleford

1225

Practical Nursing - Sem 2/3

North Battleford

1,886

Psychiatric Nursing - Year 3

North Battleford

1,188

Psychiatric Nursing - Year 1

North Battleford

1,706

Psychiatric Nursing - Year 2

North Battleford

2,231

133

121

13,937

Sub Total

Trades and Technologies

Seat Capacity

Carpentry

Meadow Lake

747

Electrician

Meadow Lake

755

Forest to Fork

Meadow Lake

839

Hairstylist

Meadow Lake

2,000

Hairstylist

North Battleford

2,000

Heavy Equipment Truck & Transport

Meadow Lake

1428

Plumbing and Pipefitting

North Battleford

877

Health Care Cook

Meadow Lake

2,018

Welding

North Battleford

1,700

Welding

Meadow Lake

1,700

Sub Total

118

14,064

College Total 2021/22

319

269

36,181

Business Plan 2020/21

320

246

31,474

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Non-subsidized Programs

NWC is committed to delivering industry training that is responsive to regional needs. With the significant decline in the regional and provincial economy, NWC has seen a corresponding decrease in industry training but there are signs of recovery post pandemic. The College continues to invest in online, just in time training to manage costs and ensure industry can obtain accredited workers when they are required. To ensure accessibility, NWC continues to offer faceto-face course offerings of a variety of industry safety programs routinely each month. In consultation with industry partners, NWC has been augmenting our industry credit offerings with additional, recognized safety tickets. The College delivers industry credit programs by certified trainers to ensure quality and meet industry standards. The robust menu of quality, industry credit training ensures accessibility, both geographically and timely, for employees to maintain or obtain certification required by employers. There are significant opportunities in the northwest for the College’s business development team. NWC hosts one-third of Saskatchewan’s First Nations communities within our boundaries. This provides great opportunity to train and support these communities to build capacity for sustainability and resiliency. First Nations communities own and operate business enterprises, operate health, social support centers and schools as well as manage their own community. This is in addition to the employment many seek off reserve. There are many opportunities for the College to support First Nation communities so they can create, produce and manage wealth to result in healthier individuals, families and communities. NWC business community is primarily small to medium enterprises across several industries – agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, oil and gas, tourism and sales/service. The opportunity to support these small enterprises to be robust is endless. The number of businesses that have been resilient during the pandemic is amazing. There is a great entrepreneurial spirit in this area but many of these entrepreneurs need training to support managing in a complex business world and staying competitive. Cost effective training (credentialed, non-credit or micro-credentialed) in areas such as human resource management, supervision/managerial skills, maximizing use of social media, digital/automation transformation, accounting and finance, supply chain management, insurance, and marketing. Incubator space to support connectivity, creativity and mentorship is another opportunity the College has to support current and budding entrepreneurs. Resilient, growing businesses supports rural sustainability. To support the larger businesses in those key industries, the focus should be on growth including extending to value added support opportunities and keeping up with the innovations and technology in manufacturing, oil and gas, energy and agriculture. Programming that focuses on sustainability and growth – food security, water/wastewater, value added processing/production to support export markets, automation/digitization, cybersecurity, project management, carbon emissions strategies, environmental sustainability, supply chain management and overall business processes that support expansion, innovation and diversification. Given the economic backbone of agriculture in the province there is limited training available and is an industry not well understood by youth. This Government’s new economic plan has placed a strong reliance on the agriculture industry to grow the overall economy. NWC is well situated to support training focused on globalization and export, automation, diversification, agri-food, water and food security, irrigation, meat processing, farm business management, environmental sustainability practices and agribusiness. These programs would support addressing many of the 30 goals for 2030 identified by the government.

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NWC’s Strategic Plan has significant revenue targets for contractual training and a priority of diversifying revenue. The College is committed to engaging business, industry and Indigenous partners to respond to their training needs and contribute to economic growth. In 2021/22, the College is taking a conservative approach given the uncertainty of the pandemic. During the next three years, NWC will reengage current partners while building new relationships and strive for significant revenue generating. The College will access various funding opportunities federally and provincially to expand program offering. The College is committed to organizing training to maximize an employers’ ability to access the Canada-Saskatchewan Job Grant to assist with the fulfillment of their training needs. Efforts in this area will reduce our reliance on government funding.

University

The College’s fourth cohort of Bachelor of Education in Meadow Lake began in fall of 2018/19. Unlike the previous three cohorts, this program is under a contractual arrangement with the University of Saskatchewan. The program anticipates having 20 returning students for Year 4. These students are in the school setting in the fall for their final practical experience and then in the winter semester finishing their final classes that are expected to be delivered face-to face. In December 2018, the College signed an MOU with the University of Saskatchewan to partner on the delivery of the first year of the Edwards School of Business on the Battlefords Campus. Enrolment in 2020/21 was impacted by the university’s online delivery. It is anticipated that this year local enrolments will come to fruition. Building on the success of past degree programs, NWC is exploring with both universities opportunities for delivering cohort degree program in the region beginning fall of 2022. Of primary interest is the Bachelor of Social Work and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Currently, the Collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program students can take Year 3 and Year 4 of this program in the Battlefords. It seems odd Year 1 and Year 2 are not available especially given the College already delivers six to seven of these 20 courses through our University Arts and Science program. NWC could be a quick win solution to the shortage of registered nurses the Ministry of Health and Saskatchewan Health Authority identify. The College is also in dialogue with the University of Regina regarding the Bachelor of Social Work given the demand for this profession in rural Saskatchewan. The College is recommending to the U of R a collaborative approach with other Colleges to attract rural and northern people to the profession. The College has also investigated several university certificates to bring to the northwest. The cohort model has demonstrated that drawing university students from the local population contributes to longterm retention of professionals within the region. The detailed program plan for face-to-face university programming at each of our main campuses is listed in Table 8 below. The College has support from the University of Saskatchewan to deliver programming face-to-face in the fall given our track record on pandemic public safety measures. The course offerings are less than pre-COVID years, as it will take time to build our presence back. The Battlefords Campus offers several classes to provide individuals with opportunities to complete their first year of a university program in or near their home community. Individual courses are selected to complement those offered via alternate delivery methods – satellite, online, or multimodal – to optimize offerings available to students locally. University programming delivered at NWC improves access to cost-effective, quality education for rural residents. The subsequent years of the three-year plan show growth in university back to pre-COVID registrations and the start of a new cohort degree program as well as reflect impact of international student uptake.

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Table 8 - University Programming University 2021/22

Program

Projected Enrollment

Classes

FCE

Registrations

FLE

Battlefords Campus – General Studies

108

10.8

Meadow Lake Campus – Bachelor of Education Year 4

180

College Total 2021/22

9.5

288

28.8

Business Plan 2020/21

10.5

294

29.4

Student and Employer Supports

NWC helps to support a strong economy by investing in students and supporting their success, not only in programs of study, but also in long-term labour market attachment. NWC has an innovative workforce engagement strategy to ensure students build skills that employers are seeking, obtain practical workplace experience, make sound career choices and connect to employment. Our Student Services teams play a vital role in attracting, retaining, and graduating students and connecting them to the labour force. The College is revitalizing the workforce engagement strategy in light of the impacts of the pandemic. In addition to experiential learning in the classroom, all students will still have an opportunity to obtain real work experience contingent on local employer’s COVID comfort. As even more added value, the College commits to support the development of workplace essential skills in all programs including use of technology and digitization. As well, the College will ensure all students have a formalized career plan and the opportunity to develop their resume/e-portfolio, practice interviewing skills, learn job search skills, write strong cover letters and have connectivity to hiring employers. The College will invest in graduates beyond the end date of their program and support early leavers from programs with transition to the workplace. Many of the NWC students have minimal experience in the work world and our goal is not only to build technical skills but also to prepare our students with soft skills and confidence. NWC invests in students and in reducing barriers to their success. The pandemic accentuated many of the issues our students face and reduced the opportunity to build strong supporting relationships. The College has always taken a holistic approach to student support however in 2021/22; NWC will be focusing our efforts on Healthy Campus North West College. The College will begin to implement the National Standard of Canada Mental Health and Well-being for postsecondary students. The College will collaborate with Healthy Campus Saskatchewan and develop a framework that works for the students of NWC. This focus is building on the success of the College’s BE WELL initiative. This comprehensive investment will result in redefining the supports and how offered, ensuring training of personnel, revising policies and practices and working even more closely with community agencies to support our students. NWC is committed to being student-centric, inclusive, harm reducing, community building and health promoting. The College strategic plan leadership initiative will focus on a peer-mentoring program with the help and support of Healthy Campus Saskatchewan. The College will expand the partnership of this program to include the U of R nursing students on community practicum at NWC. The focus will be healthy mind, body and life. The peer-mentoring program will build student capacity, promote healthy safer lifestyles and have a positive impact beyond the College community. These

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two initiatives will create strategies of promotion, prevention and intervention and ultimately create an inclusive environment that promotes and supports the health and well-being of all students. The College accessed a federal grant in 2019/20 to support students with Truth and Reconciliation. This initiative was extended for 2020/21 but due to the pandemic, there was no ability to deliver it so graciously the funding has been extended to March 2022. This initiative supports 20 youth students to become certified in the KAIROA blanket exercise along with other teachings, so they are prepared to offer this service in their communities. It is a great program to build understanding and capacity. The College is proud of our multicultural region and provide many opportunities to explore and celebrate diversity. Going global, considering the worldview and being inclusive in all that we do becomes even more important as we begin our journey of international education. The College holistic multifaceted supports extended in to a blended fashion during the pandemic and the College shall continue with the best practices in the coming years. The College provides many academic supports. All students can access supports for math, essay writing, study skills, reading for content and test taking strategies. The College also has educational technologies support for students. The College will develop supports to academic issues that arise as well. The College also has specific supports for students with disabilities. A trained professional develops a support program with the student based on their disability and engages all staff who work with that student to understand the strategies and interventions required. The student takes ownership of the learning strategies to support them as a student but also as they move into the labor force. Through Student Services teams, NWC invests in our students so they can be successful in their programs of studies, their life, and in their future careers. NWC contributes significantly to our region by providing an accessible, well-prepared workforce responsive to the needs of local, regional and provincial employers. As the College expands the number of programs delivered and attracts international students, the student services team will need increase in numbers to support the planned growth. The student services team is vital to student attraction, retention, graduation and attachment to the labor force.

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E. HUMAN RESOURCES

NWC provides services and maintains relationships through collaborative partnerships with our employees, SGEU, our local union representatives and service providers. Together, the partners share in the creation of a vibrant workplace that is dedicated to the education of others while supporting employee personal and professional growth. With the recent settlement of the new Collective Bargaining agreement, the College is confident this will aid in the recruitment and retention of staff. The College Executive have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and following the direction and recommendations of the Chief Medical Officer of Saskatchewan and complying with provincial Public Health orders. The College continues to be committed to the health and safety of our staff, students and communities. However, we are proceeding with fall semester program planning taking into consideration the uncertain environment we will continue to operate within. With the continuation of a blended delivery model, the College recognizes the need for additional technological support. Last year the College invested in a new Coordinator of educational technology and instructional design position to support staff and students through the transition of alternate delivery. The College will also provide training and additional supports to ensure staff are equipped with the skills required to work and ensure success during this time. The College underwent a restructure process last year, put in place to meet the long-term sustainability goals of the College. To meet the goals and in alignment with our strategic plan the College restructured its Business Development and Corporate Service departments. This combined unit will focus on meeting the goals and initiatives set out by the College while ensuring alignment with meeting the goals of the Province. With the 5% lift this year in our operating budget, this will help the College to build the infrastructure and strategy needed to grow in the area of Business Development. Recruitment for many of the College’s short-term or contract programs remains a challenge. This instability and uncertainty are seen as a risk for most employees. The College will look to expand its recruitment strategy’s to help mitigate these risks.

Strategic Focus Labour Relations i) ii)

iii)

Continue to promote a respectful and professional relationship with the Union SGEU. Continue Union-Management meetings to proactively address employee matters and maintain good communications with the Union. Continue to promote a safe work place and promote diversity.

Education & Training

Staff education and training has been a priority at NWC. The pandemic has pushed forward the use of technology in our classrooms and administrative offices. The introduction of the Ed Tech Coordinator position will help to improve skills, learning and continue to promote innovation within the College operations.

Employee Supports

NWC has an employee assistance program in place. The College recognizes the need to assist employees with various challenges and provide supports in the workplace. Mental Health awareness and resilience will continue to be a focus for the College.

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Advancing Technology

NWC is excited to be a pilot for the new Higher Education Enterprise Resource Planning project. The College has been looking at investing in a Human Resources Management System for a number of years. This project has provided all Colleges the opportunity to continue working in collaboration with each other, DTI, and SIIT on this project.

Employee Engagement

The College will continue to strengthen employee engagement using the results of the annual satisfaction survey and implement continuous improvement strategies pending available resources.

Representative Workforce

The college continues to develop recruitment strategies in our efforts to build a workforce that is representative of the communities in the region.

Table 9- Full Time Equivalency Function

InScope/OOS

Actual

Forecast

Budget

Estimate

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

2022/23

Program Delivery

In-scope

58.56

57.78

57.20

58.20

Program Delivery

Out-ofscope

6.09

4.02

5.02

Student Support

In-scope

12.22

8.11

8.91

9.19

Operations

In-scope

13.61

13.66

15.15

Operations

Out-ofscope

10.30

9.84

10.00

100.78

93.42

95.27

97.55

Total

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Comments/Change Rationale Forecasting similar tuition revenues. Similar FTE projected for 21/22 with modest growth in 22/23 with the introduction of International education. Projecting status quo for 21/22 with an increase in 22/23 as business development expands. Forecasting less student work placements for the fall, due to the ongoing pandemic and state of the economy Moved the Residence operator position from an OOS position .8 FTE to a Inscope position full time. Projecting full compliment of staff for 21/22 and 22/23. Moved the Residence operator position from an OOS position .8 FTE to a Inscope position full time.

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F. SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability initiatives will support NWC‘s strategic directions toward a High-Performance Organization by effectively managing resources and risk in this time of uncertainty. To ensure the quality of programs and services, the College will maintain continuous improvement strategies in all its operations, review, and revise program offerings to continue to meet the needs of students, employers, and the labour market. In addition, the College will be managing discretionary spending, vacancies and costs while increasing applications for third party resources. This year Ministry of Advanced Education introduced a new multi-year funding model. This new model provides the College with certainty regarding the operating funding that will be received from the Ministry of Advanced Education over the next 4 years. With a 5% increase to the baseoperating grant in 2021/22, the College has the ability to invest in developing a strategy for international education and build an infrastructure to expand business and foundation development. Determination and finalization of the investment strategies for the funds will be recommended and approved through the College’s Board of Governors. This infrastructure is critical to the long-term success and sustainability of NWC. While current and ongoing sustainability measures include whenever possible vacancy management strategies to reduce salary and benefit costs, the College has restructured and modified external development and corporate services activities to better align with the goals and strategies of the College going forward. This unit will focus on building partnerships and growing our foundation/development activities for investment in programs, services and capital, to position ourselves to be less reliant on government funding. Even with these continued sustainability measures, Saskatchewan’s regional colleges remain the most cost effective institutions governed by the Ministry of Advanced Education, Saskatchewan Colleges are provided with less than 8% of the total provincial post-secondary education budget, while approximately 26% of the province’s post-secondary students. Through this multi-year business plan, one will notice significant increases to projections in revenues garnered outside the Ministry funding; however even with these increased revenues, the College will be challenged to be self-sustaining by year three of this plan.

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G. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

NWC relies on adequate investments in technology to ensure the College remains sustainable, which is an increasing challenge. The College’s Information Technology (IT) plan focuses on supporting sustainability, maintaining infrastructure and managing data security and risk to contribute to the strategic directions of High-Performance Organization and College of Choice. Over the course of the next few years, NWC will continue to leverage technology to maintain services during this time of uncertainty. NWC maintains best practices in infrastructure maintenance and replacement stewardship in order to anticipate large costs, mitigate financial risks and ensure service maintenance. The College introduced the use of chrome books for the 2020/2021 year for our rural based classrooms and a majority of our students. Chrome books provides learners state of the art technology at a relatively less expensive cost than your typical laptop computer. Chrome books allow the College to implement student email accounts and provide the opportunity to better develop and manage alumni relations. Users and administrators manage software and data the same as a laptop, however, encourages the use of google docs and other new innovative ways to manage your workload. NWC is in the process of establishing the “new” standard classroom. With the movement to Chromebooks to ensure all students have the ability to learn from home and staff having the ability to work from home, the College needed to consider the impacts of COVID-19 in the future. What does the future of learning look like? As we continue to move through this pandemic and explore what our future looks like, the classroom is forever changed. The college will continue to see learning in a blended format for the upcoming year, and potentially an alternative method in the years following. Modernizing the classroom to accommodate the blended learning model continues to be a priority for the College. Standardizing equipment has moved from having stationary computers in each classroom, to all students having a Chromebook or laptop device. The College continues to explore interactive televisions versus smart boards. The new interactive televisions allow the instructor to take a more innovative approach to teaching and free additional resources that may otherwise be tied up. Interactive televisions continue to be piloted in a couple of our classes in the Meadow Lake Campus. As smart boards reach their end of life, the College will determine the best replacement equipment and replacements will take place over the next three years. Cyber security is on the radar for NWC. Awareness, training, insurance and established policies will all play a role in mitigating the risk for the College. During the 2021/22 fiscal year, the College will invest in measures, further reducing the risk of cyber attacks. The College is exploring an all-encompassing inventory system to fulfill the needs of the College. Currently the College has multiple inventory systems in place to manage the needs of all areas. Our IT inventory system is at its end of life, so as we explore options to replace the current system, the College is looking to reduce the number of software systems in place. The other two current systems will be due for replacement within the next couple of years. The goal is to have a system that can handle facilities infrastructure, information technology, bookstore, and inventories for all faucets of the College. The system would also have the ability to combine the IT and facilities request systems, so that the college is investing in a one-stop shop to meet the required needs. Work continues to evolve on this project.

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Last year the College implemented an Education Technology Coordinator role. The focus of this role last year, was classroom based. Training instructional staff and students on the use of google classrooms and Chromebooks were the focus. While the work in these areas will continue to expand, this next year our Ed Tech Coordinator will have a strategy to enhance and broaden technology knowledge focusing on our Administrative areas. Carlton Trail was allocated 1.6 million dollars towards the Higher Education Enterprise Resource Planning Project. his project will look at the potential of replacing our current student information system but will also explore the potential of an all-encompassing system for student information, financial and human resources. NWC is excited to have been selected as one of the pilot projects for this project. Impacts regarding the pilot project details remain uncertain at this time. Once a product and vendor are selected, we will be able to confirm the need for backfilling positions, managing, and supporting the transition from our current system to the new. Information Technology at the College strives to maximize resources in order to meet the needs of our students. The above-mentioned projects and maintenance are founded on the principles of sustainability while continuing NWC’s tradition of forward-thinking innovation.

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H. INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT OCCUPANCY PLAN Land Transaction Plan and Occupancy Plan

The College identified a new campus facility in the Battlefords as its number one priority in 2019. Given the significant space constraints on the Battlefords Campus, the College developed a business case for a new facility. Given this initiative is the Board’s number one priority; work continues to evolve around stakeholder engagement, investment in updating the case, and feasibility study. The College is working on its third submission of a business case to the Ministry. The College will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Advanced Education and the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training on this initiative. We will continue to work with local stakeholders to secure necessary land to house the proposed facility. The NWC Facilities and Capital Plan will focus on the provision of a safe and functional learning and working environment while enhancing infrastructure to ensure sustainability. All initiatives will undergo a review process in order to manage tight fiscal resources. These efforts are critical to the strategic direction of becoming a High Performance Organization and the College of Choice for students and staff. For the 2021/2022 fiscal year, the College will look at renewing the majority of its one-year leases. The following chart identifies those leases: Table 10 – 2021/22 One-year Leased Space Facility/Land Description

Address

Owned/ Leased

Centennial Hall

121 Main St, Debden

Lease

Cut Knife

Lease

Cut Knife Insurance Agencies Duck Lake Mistikwa Centre

556 Front St, Duck Lake, SK 2022 102 St, North Battleford, SK

Lease Lease

Hairdressing Lab

Meadow Lake

Lease

Shellbrook

43 Main Street, Shellbrook

Lease

Rosthern High School

2004 4 St, Rosthern, SK

Lease

North Battleford

Lease

Turtleford

Lease

NB Comprehensive High School Turtleford Lions Club TOTALS

Lessor Name Village of Debden Cut Knife Insurance Agencies Stobart School Living Sky School Division Carpenter High School Randall Johnson Prairie Spirit School Division Living Sky School Division Turtleford Lions Club

Size

Lease Expiry Date

Annual Cost including GST

Occupancy Plan *

145 m2

31-May-21

$12,600.00

renew

112 m2

30-Jun-21

$12,000.00

renew

182 m2

30-Jun-21

$24,000.00

renew

812 m2

31-Aug-21

$56,875.00

renew

195 m2

22-Jun-21

$11,962.50

renew

109 m2

May 31, 2021

$3,800.00

renew

142 m2

30-Jun-21

$2,205.00

renew

148 m2

31-May-21

$24,000.00

renew

May 31, 2021

$9,200.00

renew

* For example: renew, dispose, replace, renovate, expand, etc.

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$156,642.50

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Major Capital Plan:

Once again, the major initiative for NWC is the standalone campus; however with aging buildings comes the need for repairs and maintenance. The College has identified additional major capital projects that will be required over the next ten years. While all projects are considered priority for the College, the below identifies priorities over the next 3 years outside of the standalone campus are as follows: i) ii)

Roof replacement at our Meadow Lake Campus is at its end of life. The College received $46K in planning dollars for this project and is ready to proceed when necessary. The complete project will cost approximately $560K. Beginning in years three to seven years the College has identified additional projects, such as the boiler systems at both of our main campus locations.

Preventative Maintenance, and Renewal & Equipment Renewal Plan

The table below lists the College’s preventative Maintenance and Renewal plan for over the next three years.

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Table 11 – Base Preventative Maintenance and Renewal 2021/22 Campus Location

Leased/ Owned

Project Detail

Institution Priority

Estimated Cost

Ministry Fund $

Institution Fund $

Previous PMR Funding

Owned

Aprons and sidewalk repairs/replacement

$75,000

Residence

Owned

Shifting Porches

$80,000

Battlefords Campus

Owned

Lecture Seating

Theatre

$59,000

Residence

Owned

Matrix Furnace Replacement Cycle

$35,000

Battlefords Campus

Owned

ESX Host Servers Servers will be at end of life in July 2021

$75,000

Meadow Lake Campus Battlefords Campus Battlefords Campus Battlefords Campus Residence

Owned

Lighting upgrade to all shop space and Exterior Classroom flooring replacement Electrical Deficiencies

$46,000

$48,000

$46,000

$52,000

$10,000

Battlefords Campus Battlefords Campus Battlefords Campus

Owned

Steam humidification boiler Natural playground with walk and learn Upgrade Bathrooms

$125,000

Owned

Upgrade Ventilation

$146,000

Owned

Sound masking system

$42,000

Owned Owned Owned Owned

Total

$839,000

Approved in 2021/2022 budget letter Approved in 2021/2022 budget letter Approved in 2021/2022 budget letter

Year 1

Residence

Year 3

$35,000

$80,000

$59,000

$35,000

Approved in 2021/2022 budget letter

Year 2

$75,000

$46,000

$839,000

Table 12- Strategic Preventative Maintenance and Renewal 2021/22 Campus Location Battlefords

Leased/ Owned Owned

Battlefords

Owned

Total

Project Detail Consulting and Planning fees Standalone Campus

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Institution Priority 1

Estimated Cost $250,000

$58,800,000 $59,050,000

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Institution Fund $ $250,000

$250,000

Ministry Fund $ Year 2

Year 1

Year 3

$8,000,000

$25,400,000

$8,000,000

$25,400,000

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Table 13 – Base Preventative Maintenance and Renewal 2022/23 Campus Location

Leased/ Owned

Project Detail

Meadow Lake Campus Meadow Lake

Owned

Meadow Lake & Battlefords Campus Meadow Lake & Battlefords Campus Residence

Owned

Parking Lot Boulevard Lecture Theatre Seating S2 Door System

Owned

Vehicle replacement

Owned

Residence

Owned

Matrix Furnace Replacement Cycle Fence Replacement

Owned

Institutio n Priority

Estimated Cost

Institutio n Fund $

Ministry Fund $ Previous PMR Funding

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

$12,000 $54,000 $60,000 $20,000 $35,000 $42,000

Total

$173,000

Table 14 - Base Preventative Maintenance and Renewal 2023/24 Campus Location

Leased/ Owned

Project Detail

Meadow Lake & Battlefords Campus Battlefords Campus

Owned

Vehicle replacement

Owned

Residence

Owned

Residence

Owned

Frequency Drives/Heppa Filtration Matrix Furnace replacement cycle Camera/ Security

Residence

Owned

Bobcat

Total

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Institution Priority

Estimated Cost

Institution Fund $

Ministry Fund $ Previous PMR Funding

Year 1

Year 2

$20,000 $125,000 $35,000 $38,000 $50,000 $268,000

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Year 3

I. 2021/22 BUDGET

NWC is projecting an operating deficit of approximately $75K for 2021/22. The overall deficit showing is $206K, which reflects planned usage of reserve that will be established at the end of 2020/21 for the purpose of delivering programs in the 2021/22 fiscal year. While the College has received stable funding through the multi-year funding for the operating fund, there is still a bit of uncertainty regarding the 2021/22 fiscal year resulting in reduced seat capacity and staffing compliment, reduced travel budgets, and a conservative approach on business development revenues. The College sees increased costs relating to investment in technology and facilities as the College works to reduce barriers and provide safe, cleaning working and learning environment. Our assumption is that all frontline health care works will be fully vaccinated, and therefore the College is no longer forecasting cohort requirements for clinicals. The health and safety of our staff and students is of the utmost importance as we enter into a blended delivery model again next year. The College will continue to implement mitigation strategies throughout the year to reduce the deficit. These strategies include vacancy management and further reductions to operations budgets where possible. Table 15 - COVID Related Summary COVID Related Summary

2019/20 March to June Actual

2020/21 July to June Forecast

Pressures Ancillary Revenue Capital Costs Operating Salaries & Benefits Tuition Total

$7,000

$206,000

$143,693

$106,814 $222,076 $232,390 $767,280

Savings Ancillary Revenue Capital Costs Operating Salaries & Benefits Tuition Total

$127,302

$150,693

$127,302

2021/22 July to June Budget

$106,814

$219,272 $101,871

$39,677

$321,143

$39,677

While the College’s Board of Directors and executive management team will work towards developing and finalizing a strategy for the Multi-Year funding support, the College will continue to build partnerships through our continued work within our Region. The College is committed to investing in an infrastructure for business development to expand revenues by way of programs, services, monetary donations, and equipment donations. This investment likely will have minimal impact on the revenues generated during the 21/22 year, but should begin further contributions to subsequent years. Investment in IT infrastructure and support is another key aspect over the next three years. The College continues work-ensuring risks are mitigated as we move toward more and more online activities. Investments in this area will include adequate training for staff to ensure safe online

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activities, investment in infrastructure and protocols to ensure the data of the College is safe and secure.

PART A. Projected Business Financial Statements and Key Assumptions

NWC develops a financial plan that supports our strategic objectives and priorities for the present and future years. The financial plan is based on needs, strategic direction, and stewardship to ensure that NWC remains accountable to our students and to the communities we serve. The financial plan is based on estimates of revenues and expenses made based on available information. Some estimates can be made with a fair amount of certainty. However, external factors such as enrollment levels, negotiations with third parties, and the economy have caused a degree of uncertainty. Overall, we are confident that our financial projections maximize the provided funding. This plan supports the achievement of strategic goals of the College and the Government of Saskatchewan.

Key Assumptions

Financial projections for NWC are based on the latest information available from internal College sources, and direction from the Ministries of Advanced Education and the Ministry of Immigration & Career Training. In addition to the assumptions articulated in section A, the following are specific budget assumptions: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii)

2021/22 Ministry Advanced Education Operating funding is known as per funding letter. 2021/22 Ministry of Immigration & Career Training program funding is known per the budget letter. Under 22 funding for ABE programming has been forecasted using 2020/21 rates. Tuition rates are reflected at a 4% increase above the 20/21 tuition rates. Agency payments have been budgeted at a 2% increase. Inflation although immaterial has been forecasted at 1%. Projecting lower enrolments as a resulted of continued social distancing and blended learning.

PART B. Financial Impacts of Identifiable Risks Third-party contracts

Due to COVID-19, there is a great deal of uncertainty as to whether our partners will be able to invest in training. We are anticipating less under 22s because of reduced seats. There is significant uncertainty as to sponsor support for student tuitions based on blended delivery and competing priorities for their resources. We are taking a conservative approach regarding expectations of contract revenue. The program and financial plans are based on NWC achieving realistic but revised targets. Our plans are founded on third party contract revenue from business, industry, and First Nations. These contracts are vital to the overall operations of the College. While the College is working to increase third party funding, there continues to be risk due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. Adjustments to operations and programs would be required should we not realize these targets.

Enrollment levels

Student tuition accounts for approximately $1.6M of the 2021/22 financial plan slightly a 4% increase in tuition rates. In a blended delivery model under COVID-19, it is uncertain how many

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students will be attracted to post-secondary education. While we are confident in the approach used to estimate enrollment levels, there is no guarantee it will be realized. Should enrollments not reach expected levels, we may need to adjust the program plan during the year to minimize the impact.

Saskatchewan Innovation and Opportunity Scholarship

NWC received $57,900 for the SIOS program in 2021/22. The College is concerned that the expectation of matching resources may be not be realized given the economic impact of COVID19 on local businesses and partners as well as the College’s inability to hold fundraising events at this time.

Pandemic Response

For the 2020/21 year, an investment was made in new equipment and supplies to ensure cleaning and sanitizing on facilities to meet increased standards and current safety protocols. The new equipment and supplies do create efficiencies but due to the numerous program delivery sites, and the increased requirements due to COVID-19, there will be a need to invest in more personnel again this year.

Other Factors

In November 2021, the College will once again put forward proposals to access resources provided by the Preventive Maintenance and Renewal Fund, geared toward facility and infrastructure areas requiring attention. Without access to these funds, our capital reserve will be quickly depleted.

Surplus Utilization/Deficit Management Plan Reserve Utilization

NWC has funds established for specific activities. They have been restricted, either internally or externally, through a formal review when surpluses are finalized through the audit process. These are established reserves for the College.

Operating Fund

Components of this reserve are funds allocated to our administrative systems (HR and Accounting) and our Professional Development Fund for in-scope employees at the College.

Capital Fund

This reserve is set up to meet capital needs of the College. Priority areas identified include investments in facilities, furnishings, vehicles, information technology and equipment.

Scholarship Fund

This reserve consists of funds accumulated through donations, and the SIOS Program. The Scholarship Fund Reserve is an externally restricted reserve. Changes in the Fund balance are dependent upon the success of fundraising campaigns and the subsequent awarding of scholarships.

Residence Fund Reserve

This fund exists to address future maintenance and improvement needs of Meadow Lake’s student housing. Surplus from residence operations contribute to this reserve on an annual basis.

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Unrestricted Operating Reserve

In order to ensure the College retains the flexibility to respond to unforeseen issues, we will strive to maintain an unrestricted operating reserve within 3% of the operating budget. Other strategic priorities have been identified, which include the need for a new facility for program delivery, system upgrades, and information technology initiatives. In order to address all the priorities, the College may have to reallocate reserves and engage other parties to find effective funding solutions.

Deficit Management

NWC significantly reduced operating expenses over the past three years and continued in 2021/22. Managing the deficit in 2021/22 is planned through further efficiencies, vacancy management when possible and use of reserves. NWC has a robust financial monitoring process that includes regular reviews with a governance Finance Committee, enabling appropriate and timely responses to pressures on our finances. This is not a sustainable long-term solution. Due to the continued uncertainties surrounding COVID-19, NWC will continue to monitor the progress of programs, services and our financial situation; making necessary changes where needed to mitigate impacts on staff and students.

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J. 2022/23 AND 2023/24 BUDGET ESTIMATES

Through the multi-year funding program provided, the College has built the 2022/23 and 2023/24 budgets based on the following assumptions: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii) viii) ix) x)

Operating funding will remain at the same level as 2021/22 for 2022/23; operating funding will be reduced to 2020/21 funding levels for 2023/24. Status Quo program funding from the Ministry of Immigration & Career Training for both years. Under 22 funding for ABE programming has been forecasted using 2020/21 rates with an increase of five students each year. Tuition rates are reflected at a 4% increase each year. Projecting a modest increase in enrolments each year. Agency payments have been budgeted at a 2% increase each year. Inflation although immaterial has been forecasted at 2% increase each year. Projecting an increase in enrolments provided we are no longer dealing with the impacts of COVID-19. Projecting other revenue sources to increase each year based on an average of 5% over the course of the next 3 years. Projecting an increase in revenues and expenses from international students in 2022/23 and 2023/24.

In 2020/21 the college funding ratio was as follows: Diagram 1

2020/21 Budget Other Sources 15% Tuition 12%

Operating Grant Funding 36%

Program Grant Funding 37%

Revenues

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Operating Grant Funding

Program Grant Funding

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Tuition

Other Sources

2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN

In 2023/24, the funding ratio will change as follows: Diagram 2

2023/24 Budget Year 3

Other Sources 17%

Operating Grant Funding 32%

Tuition 18%

Program Grant Funding 33%

Revenues

Operating Grant Funding

Program Grant Funding

Tuition

Other Sources

Even with the shift in revenues, the college will require additional changes in order to maintain long-term sustainability.

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Table 16- Resource Allocation Summary Resource Allocation Summary Revenues - Operating Grant Funding - Program Grant Funding - Tuition - Other Sources Total Revenues Expenditures - Out of Scope Salaries - Academic In-Scope - Professional In-Scope - Other Salaries - Benefits Sub-total Salaries and Benefits Other Operating Expenses Total Expenditures Annual Operating (Deficit) Surplus

2019/20 Actual

2020/21 Budget

2020/21 Forecast

2021/22 Budget Year 1

2022/23 Budget Year 2

2023/24 Budget Year 3

2024/25 Budget Year 4

$4,359,030 $4,642,594 $1,685,839 $2,264,693 $12,952,156

$4,539,400 $4,699,256 $1,490,353 $1,927,871 $12,656,880

$4,579,125 $4,671,289 $1,366,444 $2,282,695 $12,899,552

$4,625,050 $4,570,000 $1,692,420 $1,951,738 $12,839,209

$4,625,050 $4,570,000 $2,136,117 $2,131,426 $13,462,593

$4,486,500 $4,570,000 $2,485,561 $2,250,096 $13,792,157

$4,486,500 $4,570,000 $2,934,234 $2,426,896 $14,417,630

$1,066,439 $3,984,556 $2,413,716 $398,257 $1,187,139

$902,723 $3,845,719 $2,571,836 $63,947 $1,047,835

$836,113 $3,839,219 $2,467,662 $77,058 $1,081,519

$999,762 $4,093,216 $2,680,168 $68,185 $1,134,815

$1,027,311 $4,228,491 $2,743,105 $72,349 $1,157,512

$1 $1,047,857 $4,409,135 $2,803,514 $76,596 $1,169,087

$1 $1,068,814 $4,639,464 $2,859,584 $78,128 $1,180,778

$9,050,107

$8,432,060

$8,301,571

$8,976,147

$9,228,767

$9,506,188

$9,826,767

$3,999,097 $13,049,204

$4,260,566 $12,692,626

$4,475,343 $12,776,913

$4,069,123 $13,045,269

$4,332,732 $13,561,499

$4,490,731 $13,996,918

$4,728,508 $14,555,275

-$97,048

-$35,746

$122,639

-$206,061

-$98,906

-$204,761

-$137,645

Table 17- Operating Surplus Operating Surplus Internally Restricted/Unrestricted Operating Surplus - beginning Internally Restricted/Unrestricted Operating Surplus - ending

2019/20 Actual

2020/21 Budget

2020/21 Forecast

2021/22 Budget Year 1

2022/23 Budget Year 2

2023/24 Budget Year 3

2024/25 Budget Year 4

$1,012,170

$1,443,323

$836,269

$943,107

$737,047

$638,141

$433,380

$836,269

$1,407,577

$943,107

$737,047

$638,141

$433,380

$295,735

Table 18- Salary in Year 1 Salary in Year 1 (from Table 2) annual merit increases annual economic adjustments

1,732 153,752

base adjustments

positions added/deleted Salary in Year 2 (from table 2)

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175,484

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2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN

CONCLUSION

North West College’s 2021-24 Business Plan is one of continued growth and prosperity. It focuses on NWC’s strategic initiatives, which are in direct alignment with a number of the actions of the Saskatchewan Growth Plan and the goals of the Ministry of Advanced Education and the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training. The Multi-Year funding model provides the College with an opportunity to invest in building an infrastructure that will enable our institution to be more sustainable, become less reliant on government funding by 2025/26, and continue to playing a “key contributing role in helping Saskatchewan achieve its economic recovery goals and objectives”. With this in mind, NWC is still committed to cultivating an Employable Labour Force, striving for continuous improvement in Student Success and working diligently to become the College of Choice and a High Performance Organization for all our stakeholders.

NORTH WEST COLLEGE

Page 70 of 79

2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN

APPENDICES

Appendix A – Financial Statement Template Appendix A - Financial Statement Package

Statement 1

North West College Projected Statement of Financial Position as at June 30, 2022 Budget June 30 2022

Forecast June 30 2023 Financial Assets Cash and cash equivalents Accounts receivable Inventories for resale Portfolio investments

Total Financial Assets

2,473,990 100,000 75,502 57,283

2,646,299 100,000 75,502 57,283

Budget June 30 2021

Estimated June 30 2021

3,144,001 100,000 75,502 9,998

2,781,667 100,000 75,502 57,283

Actual June 30 2020

2,710,921 280,771 61,957 57,285

2,706,775

2,879,084

3,329,501

3,014,452

3,110,934

Liabilities Bank indebtedness Accrued salaries and benefits Accounts payable and accrued liabilities Deferred revenue Liability for employee future benefits Long-term debt

200,000 330,000 76,480 269,700 -

200,000 330,000 30,000 269,700 -

200,000 330,000 76,480 269,700 -

275,885 368,155 418,250 253,900 -

Total Financial Assets

876,180

829,700

876,180

1,316,190

Net Financial Assets (Net Debt)

1,830,595

2,002,904

2,499,801

2,138,272

1,794,744

Non-Financial Assets Tangible capital assets Inventory of supplies for consumption Prepaid expenses

4,597,000 58,095

5,247,000 58,095

6,036,792 58,095

5,897,000 58,095

6,706,125 96,617

Total Non-Financial Assets

4,655,095

5,305,095

6,094,887

5,955,095

6,802,742

Accumulated Surplus

6,485,690

7,307,999

8,594,688

8,093,367

8,597,486

Accumulated Surplus is comprised of: Accumulated surplus from operations

6,485,690

7,307,999

8,594,688

8,093,367

8,597,486

Total Accumulated Surplus

6,485,690

7,307,999

8,594,688

8,093,367

8,597,486

NORTH WEST COLLEGE

Page 71 of 79

2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN

Appendix A - Financial Statement Package

Statement 2

North West College Projected Statement of Operations and Accumulated Surplus (Deficit) for the year ended June 30, 2022 2022 Budget

2023 Forecast Revenues (Schedule 2) Provincial government Grants Other Federal government Grants Other Other revenue Administrative recoveries Contracts Interest Rents Resale items Tuitions Donations Other Total revenues

Expenses (Schedule 3) General Skills training Basic education Services University Scholarships Development Student housing Total expenses Surplus (Deficit) for the Year from Operations

NORTH WEST COLLEGE

9,373,265 122,900

9,556,414 113,950

2020 Actual

9,068,994 144,985

284,580 76,056

284,580 39,930

235,844 39,930

217,876 15,357

1,361,638 27,708 306,300 225,000 2,136,117 57,900 175,733 14,065,927

1,105,894 27,708 306,300 225,000 1,692,420 57,900 175,733 13,580,542

749,589 65,350 287,513 325,000 1,557,777 57,900 178,200 13,042,004

1,337,579 22,219 238,940 225,000 1,366,444 49,215 163,539 13,349,074

1,339,689 74,873 286,887 312,276 1,685,839 60,728 264,419 13,471,923

6,131,028 3,598,919 2,859,752 1,606,296 265,504 115,800 310,937 14,888,236

5,918,417 3,341,609 2,854,699 1,570,247 260,298 115,800 304,840 14,365,910

5,709,681 3,048,630 2,738,831 1,531,677 288,923 115,800 276,875 13,710,417

$5,646,622 3,570,957 2,739,327 $1,329,560 204,023 78,165 284,539 13,853,193

5,798,502 3,316,028 3,110,843 1,409,141 303,923 130,763 399,087 14,468,287

(785,368)

6,485,690

(668,413)

8,093,367

7,307,999 $

9,506,051 122,900

2021 Forecast

284,580 -

(822,309)

Accumulated Surplus (Deficit), Beginning of Year Accumulated Surplus (Deficit), End of Year

9,368,051 122,900

2021 Budget

7,307,999

Page 72 of 79

(504,119)

9,263,101 $

8,594,688

(996,364) 9,593,850

8,597,486 $

8,093,367

8,597,486

2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN

Appendix A - Financial Statement Package

Statement 3

North West College Projected Statement of Changes in Net Financial Assets (Net Debt) as at June 30, 2022 2022 Budget

Net Financial Assets (Net Debt), Beginning of Year

Surplus (Deficit) for the Year from Operations Acquisition of tangible capital assets Proceeds on disposal of tangible capital assets Net loss (gain) on disposal of tangible capital assets Write-down of tangible capital assets Amortization of tangible capital assets Acquisition of inventory of supplies for consumption Acquisition of prepaid expenses Consumption of supplies inventory Use of prepaid expenses

Change in Net Financial Assets (Net Debt) Net Financial Assets (Net Debt), End of Year

NORTH WEST COLLEGE

2,138,272

2021 Budget

2,518,214

2021 Forecast

1,794,744

2020 Actual

2,119,348

(785,368) (250,000) 900,000 (58,095) 58,095 (135,368)

(668,413) (250,000) 900,000 (58,095) 58,095 (18,413)

(504,119) (59,123) 868,250 (58,095) 96,615 343,528

(996,364) (219,758) 889,233 (96,617) 98,902 (324,604)

(135,368)

(18,413)

343,528

(324,604)

2,002,904

Page 73 of 79

2,499,801

2,138,272

1,794,744

2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN

Appendix A - Financial Statement Package

Statement 4

North West College Projected Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended June 30, 2022

Operating Activities Surplus (deficit) for the year from operations Non-cash items included in surplus (deficit) Amortization of tangible capital assets Net (gain) loss on disposal of tangible capital assets Write-down of tangible capital assets Changes in non-cash working capital Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable Decrease (increase) in inventories for resale Increase (decrease) in accrued salaries and benefits Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and accrued liabilities Increase (decrease) in deferred revenue Increase (Decrease) in Liability for Employee Future Benefits Decrease (increase) in inventory of supplies for consumption Decrease (increase) in prepaid expenses Cash Provided (Used) by Operating Activities Capital Activities Cash used to acquire tangible capital assets Proceeds on disposal of tangible capital assets Cash Provided (Used) by Capital Activities

Budget 2022 $

Budget 2021

(785,368) $

Forecast 2021

(668,413) $

Actual 2020

(504,119) $ (996,364)

900,000 -

868,250 -

889,233 -

114,632

15,800 247,387

180,771 (13,545) (75,885) (38,155) (341,770) 15,800 38,522 129,869

(24,859) 17,827 29,069 137,136 255,921 13,200 2,285 323,448

(250,000) (250,000)

(59,123) (59,123)

(219,758) (219,758)

Investing Activities Cash used to acquire portfolio investments Proceeds from disposal of portfolio investments Cash Provided (Used) by Investing Activities

(704) 4,004 3,300

Financing Activities Proceeds form issuance of long-term debt Repayment of long-term debt Cash Provided (Used) by Financing Activities

(10,338) (10,338)

Increase (Decrease) in Cash and Cash equivalents

(135,368)

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Beginning of Year

(2,613)

70,746

96,652

2,781,667

3,146,614

2,710,921

2,614,269

Cash and Cash Equivalents, End of Year

$ 2,646,299

$ 3,144,001

$ 2,781,667

$ 2,710,921

Represented on the Financial Statements as: Cash and cash equivalents Bank indebtedness Cash and Cash Equivalents, End of Year

$ 2,646,299 $ 2,646,299

$ 3,144,001 $ 3,144,001

$ 2,781,667 $ 2,781,667

$ 2,710,921 $ 2,710,921

NORTH WEST COLLEGE

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2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN

Appendix A - Financial Statement Package

Schedule 1

North West College Projected Schedule of Revenues and Expenses by Function for the year ended June 30, 2022

General

Skills Training Credit

Revenues (Schedule 2) Provincial government Federal government Other Total Revenues

$ 5,907,917 76,056 176,708 6,160,681

$ 1,466,411 2,014,477 3,480,888

Expenses (Schedule 3) Agency contracts Amortization Equipment Facilities Information technology Operating Personal services Total Expenses

17,250 900,000 278,077 666,187 65,700 775,466 3,215,737 5,918,417

619,702 15,550 82,000 21,150 331,366 2,237,443 3,307,211

Surplus (Deficit) for the year

242,264

NORTH WEST COLLEGE

173,677

Basic Education

Non-credit

Credit

Non-credit

45,000 45,000

$ 1,072,714 472,769 1,545,483

$ 1,059,009 284,580 80,125 1,423,714

1,265 4,000 19,000 8,278 1,855 34,398

37,070 97,112 4,770 83,331 1,312,977 1,535,260

75,921 2,135 66,340 5,075 168,184 1,001,784 1,319,439

10,602

10,223

104,275

2022 Projected Services Learner Support Counsel

65,000 225,200 290,200 16,500 343,382 1,066,585 1,426,467

University

Scholarships

Development

Student Housing

Credit

2,400 6,174 135,206 143,780

204,243 204,243

203,096 11,540 5,235 35,867 4,560 260,298

$ (1,136,267) $ (143,780) $ (56,055) $

Page 75 of 79

57,900 57,900 115,800

115,800 115,800 -

314,533 314,533

8,579 174,547 52,004 69,710 304,840 $

9,693

2022

2021

2020

Budget

Forecast

Actual

9,628,951 360,636 3,590,955 13,580,542

970,804 900,000 304,341 1,101,726 123,330 1,919,852 9,045,857 14,365,910 $

9,496,165 324,510 3,221,329 13,042,004

1,007,640 900,000 311,354 1,008,131 118,375 1,922,890 8,442,027 13,710,417

(785,368) $

(668,413) $

9,670,364 275,774 3,402,936 13,349,074

$ 9,213,979 233,233 4,024,711 13,471,923

908,676 868,250 352,667 1,141,044 119,111 2,077,357 8,386,088 13,853,193

851,923 889,233 274,278 1,118,510 100,376 2,031,139 9,202,828 14,468,287

(504,119) $

2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN

(996,364)

Appendix A - Financial Statement Package

Schedule 2

North West College Projected Schedule of Revenues by Function for the year ended June 30, 2022

General

Credit

Non-credit

Provincial Government Advanced Education/ Ministry of Immigration and Career Training Operating grants $ 4,515,536 $ 52,244 Program grants 1,081,381 1,414,167 Capital grants 311,000 5,907,917 1,466,411 Contracts Other 1,466,411 5,907,917 Other provincial Total Provincial Federal Government Operating grants Program grants Capital grants Other Federal Total Federal Other Revenue Admin recovery Contracts Interest Rents Resale items Tuitions Donations Other Total Other Total Revenues

2022 Projected Revenues Basic Education Services Learner Credit Non-credit Support Counsel

Skills Training

57,270 1,015,444 1,072,714 1,072,714 -

1,059,009 1,059,009 1,059,009 -

65,000 65,000 -

University

Scholarships

Development

Credit

57,900 57,900 -

2022 Total Revenues Budget

Student Housing

4,625,050 4,570,001 311,000 9,506,051 65,000 57,900 9,628,951 -

2021 Total Revenues Budget

2021 Total Revenues Forecast

4,539,400 4,573,865 260,000 9,373,265 65,000 9,438,265 57,900

$4,579,125 4,671,289 306,000 9,556,414 85,000 28,950 9,670,364 -

2020 Total Revenues Actual

4,359,030 4,642,594 67,370 9,068,994 70,035 86,850 9,225,879 (11,900)

5,907,917

1,466,411

1,072,714

1,059,009

65,000

57,900

9,628,951

9,496,165

9,670,364

9,213,979

76,056

284,580 284,580 -

284,580 284,580 76,056

284,580 284,580 39,930

235,844 235,844 39,930

217,876 217,876 15,357

76,056

284,580

360,636

324,510

275,774

233,233

27,708 5,500 7,500 136,000

553,000 1,435,677 25,800

45,000 -

472,769 -

80,125 -

225,000 200

204,243 -

57,900 -

300,800 13,733

1,105,894 27,708 306,300 225,000 1,692,420 57,900 175,733

749,589 65,350 287,513 325,000 1,557,777 57,900 178,200

1,337,579 22,219 238,940 225,000 1,366,444 49,215 163,539

1,339,689 74,873 286,887 312,276 1,685,839 60,728 264,419

176,708

2,014,477

$ 6,160,681

$ 3,480,888

NORTH WEST COLLEGE

45,000

472,769

45,000

$ 1,545,483

80,125 $

1,423,714

225,200 $

290,200

204,243 $ 204,243

Page 76 of 79

57,900 $

115,800

314,533

3,590,955

3,221,329

3,402,936

4,024,711

$ 314,533

$ 13,580,542

$ 13,042,004

$ 13,349,074

$ 13,471,923

2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN

Appendix A - Financial Statement Package

responsibility 400???

General (Schedule 4)

Agency Contracts Contracts Other Amortization Equipment Equipment (non-capital) Rental Repairs and maintenance Facilities Building supplies Grounds Janitorial Rental Repairs & maintenance buildings Utilities Information Technology Computer services Data communications Equipment (non-capital) Materials & supplies Rental Repairs & maintenance Software (non-capital) Operating Advertising Association fees & dues Bad debts Financial services In-service (includes PD) Insurance Materials & supplies Postage, freight & courier Printing & copying Professional services Resale items Subscriptions Telephone & fax Travel Other Personal Services Employee benefits Honoraria Salaries Other Total Expenses

Schedule 3

North West College Projected Schedule of Expenses by Function for the year ended June 30, 2022

17,250 17,250

Skills Training Credit

Non-credit

513,922 105,780 619,702

2022 Projected Expenses Services Learner Non-credit Support Counsel

Basic Education Credit

1,265 1,265

6,180 30,890 37,070

24,946 50,975 75,921

16,500 16,500

University

Scholarships Development

Credit

203,096 203,096

2022 Total Expenses Budget

Student Housing

748,144 222,660 970,804

2021 Total Expenses Budget

2021 Total Expenses Forecast

745,205 262,435 1,007,640

$659,711 248,965 908,676

2020 Total Expenses Actual

851,923 851,923

900,000

868,250

889,233

211,976 66,101 278,077

8,650 400 6,500 15,550

2,135 2,135

8,579 8,579

231,340 400 72,601 304,341

290,713 20,641 311,354

262,323 90,344 352,667

266,769 555 6,954 274,278

70,042 205,952 225,735 164,458 666,187

82,000 82,000

4,000 4,000

7,500 76,112 13,500 97,112

66,340 66,340

11,540 11,540

4,800 61,913 107,834 174,547

4,800 77,542 445,944 301,148 272,292 1,101,726

4,800 74,042 387,044 273,052 269,193 1,008,131

2,400 105,354 439,594 321,959 271,737 1,141,044

561 4,602 270,725 374,585 159,758 308,279 1,118,510

2,623 63,077 65,700

14,000 7,150 21,150

19,000 19,000

4,770 4,770

5,075 5,075

2,400 2,400

5,235 5,235

38,235 12,468 72,627 123,330

38,235 9,248 70,892 118,375

38,235 8,093 72,783 119,111

336 11,438 2,515 879 7,146 78,062 100,376

171,680 27,951 15,812 33,397 49,037 30,128 16,262 9,446 253,511 6,405 77,480 66,121 18,236 775,466

49,978 707 222,234 3,738 24,522 139 30,048 331,366

7,042 379 227 339 64 227 8,278

2,633 61,750 1,325 7,800 2,916 6,907 83,331

8,250 685 5,000 116,038 950 8,621 800 27,740 100 168,184

77,371 3,100 22,115 3,000 204,545 21,243 12,008 343,382

1,750 739 1,700 1,985 6,174

3,952 800 1,200 500 29,390 25 35,867

115,800 115,800

250 14,400 5,272 18,360 1,108 1,430 11,184 52,004

322,906 33,182 15,812 38,397 63,437 459,616 26,302 51,928 271,871 204,545 6,405 83,007 185,091 157,353 1,919,852

305,552 33,130 13,332 45,257 55,463 357,234 23,294 87,102 193,645 295,455 7,422 73,793 270,863 161,348 1,922,890

282,162 33,253 15,655 22,665 71,532 792,892 30,043 45,829 258,274 204,545 6,984 83,440 113,499 116,584 2,077,357

232,307 18,629 15,923 16,467 30,151 66,519 463,314 36,875 75,282 208,136 320,390 6,498 71,895 212,685 256,068 2,031,139

485,412 23,148 2,705,103 2,074 3,215,737

244,169 1,992,311 963 2,237,443

201 1,654 1,855

118,694 1,194,283 1,312,977

100,816 900,968 1,001,784

160,691 905,894 1,066,585

24,272 110,934 135,206

560 4,000 4,560

12,741 50,219 6,750 69,710

1,147,556 23,148 7,865,366 9,787 9,045,857

1,067,941 26,333 7,337,639 10,114 8,442,027

1,109,923 15,993 7,228,628 31,544 8,386,088

1,208,380 14,285 7,966,586 13,577 9,202,828

304,840

$ 14,365,910

$ 13,710,417

$ 13,853,193

$ 5,918,417

NORTH WEST COLLEGE

3,307,211

34,398

1,535,260

1,319,439

1,426,467

143,780

Page 77 of 79

260,298

115,800

2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN

14,468,287

Appendix A - Financial Statement Package

Schedule 4

North West College Projected Schedule of General Expenses by Functional Area for the year ended June 30, 2022 2022 Projected General Operating Facilities and and Administration Equipment

Governance

Agency Contracts Contracts Other

Amortization Equipment Equipment (non-capital) Rental Repairs and maintenance Facilities Building supplies Grounds Janitorial Rental Repairs & maintenance buildings Utilities Information Technology Computer services Data communications Equipment (non-capital) Materials & supplies Rental Repairs & maintenance Software (non-capital) Operating Advertising Association fees & dues Bad debts Financial services In-service (includes PD) Insurance Materials & supplies Postage, freight & courier Printing & copying Professional services Resale items Subscriptions Telephone & fax Travel Other Personal Services Employee benefits Honoraria Salaries Other Total General Expenses

NORTH WEST COLLEGE

17,250 17,250

2022 Total General Budget

Information Technology

17,250 17,250

2021 Total General Budget

16,250 16,250

2021 Total General Forecast

14,250 14,250

2020 Total General Actual

1,563 1,563

900,000

868,250

889,233

4,107 4,107

40,660 51,829 92,489

171,316 10,165 181,481

211,976 66,101 278,077

231,849 15,140 246,989

189,555 70,085 259,640

155,649 211 4,655 160,515

70,042 205,952 225,735 164,458 666,187

70,042 205,952 230,735 164,458 671,187

95,454 205,952 234,885 164,458 700,749

266,046 182,145 91,020 175,528 714,739

5,333 5,333

2,623 57,744 60,367

2,623 63,077 65,700

2,623 65,742 68,365

2,623 69,676 72,299

336 1,588 2,515 879 6,975 76,669 88,962

6,500 9,682 712 10,165 24,177 500 51,736

171,680 21,451 15,812 22,215 49,037 29,416 16,262 9,446 204,586 5,668 77,480 28,761 16,516 668,330

1,500 38,760 737 7,004 1,219 49,220

6,180 6,180

171,680 27,951 15,812 33,397 49,037 30,128 16,262 9,446 253,511 6,405 77,480 66,122 18,235 775,466

187,174 27,948 13,332 43,256 41,063 11,864 12,894 6,006 175,285 6,922 67,965 146,415 18,571 758,695

170,157 28,179 15,655 20,665 57,132 26,144 17,898 19,876 258,274 6,300 77,480 29,777 15,054 742,591

149,195 17,526 7,403 16,467 30,151 51,579 50,618 23,249 5,663 198,029 3,674 63,622 80,710 108,566 806,452

23,148 23,148

417,728 2,297,416 2,074 2,717,218

46,891 213,071 259,962

20,793 194,616 215,409

485,412 23,148 2,705,103 2,074 3,215,737

462,483 26,333 2,557,314 2,064 3,048,194

471,029 15,993 2,499,761 2,064 2,988,847

479,092 14,285 2,640,597 3,064 3,137,038

4,306,905

$ 1,073,191

463,437

$ 5,918,417

5,709,680

$ 5,646,626

$ 5,798,502

74,884

Page 78 of 79

2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN

Schedule 5 North West College Projected Schedule of Accumulated Surplus for the year ended June 30, 2022

June 30 2020 Actual

Invested in Tangible Capital Assets Net Book Value of Tangible Capital Assets Less: Debt owing on Tangible Capital Assets

External Contributions to be Held in Perpetuity

Internally Restricted Operating Surplus Capital Projects: Designated for Tangible capital asset expenditures $ Other (provide details) $

June 30 2021 Budget

6,706,125 6,706,125 -

$ $ $

805,505 805,505

550,757 100,712 148,874 800,343

Unrestricted Operating Surplus

Total Accumulated Surplus from Operations

Other:

Operating Reserve Residence Reserve Scholarship

NORTH WEST COLLEGE

June 30 2021 Forecast

6,036,792 6,036,792 -

$ $ $

758,070 758,070

1,154,884 218,619 137,884 1,511,387

285,513

8,597,486

5,897,000 5,897,000 -

$ 250,000 $ 250,000

657,594 52,004 148,874 858,472

288,439

285,513

8,594,688

8,093,367

Page 79 of 79

June 30 2022 Budget

Reductions During the Year

$ 311,000 $ 311,000

1,052,382 1,052,382

Additions During the Year

900,000 900,000 -

$ $ $ $

250,000 250,000

206,060

9,692 9,692

206,060

$ 570,692

1,356,060

5,247,000 5,247,000 -

June 30 2023 Estimated $ $ $

4,597,000 4,597,000 -

1,113,382 1,113,382

451,534 61,696 148,874 662,104

352,629 65,291 148,874 566,794

285,513

7,307,999

6,485,689

1,036,382 1,036,382

2021-24 BUSINESS PLAN