Ideas received | Budget | Memorial University of Newfoundland

Cost-saving and revenue generation suggestions from the community

Below is a summary of suggestions received anonymously from the Memorial community. It is not indicative of planned actions. Any actions to be taken will include the appropriate decision making processes within Memorial's bicameral system of governance. Suggestions will be added as they are received.

Administrative efficiency and process improvement	Policy and governance reform	Revenue generation	Cost Reduction Measures	Space and infrastructure optimization	Academic, program and unit restructuring	Employee engagement and morale	General improvements
Streamline travel approvals and reimbursements using third-party software	Develop a formal Cell Phone Eligibility Policy with cost limits and allowances	Rent out campus facilities to external organizations	Reduce employee travel and professional development budgets	Establish a Space Optimization Working Group to review and repurpose underused space	Centralize administrative functions (HR, Finance, IT) across faculties	Offer tuition discounts for children of long-term employees	Increase Indigenous programming/partnerships
Automate repetitive administrative tasks	Strengthen oversight of carryover use and deficit spending	Develop Johnson Geo Centre assets, including pay-per-use parking	Encourage virtual meetings to cut travel costs	Promote remote work to reduce utility and maintenance costs	Review and merge/consolidate administrative departments with overlapping roles	Increase visibility and community engagement with SeaHawks sports	Improve employee and student retention through mentorship program
Implement a better system for direct deposits or EMTs	Review and modernize course cost recovery models	Negotiate reserved-seat agreements with provincial (non-NL) and international governments for program access	Limit university spending on personal office supplies	Integrate room bookings into a centralized system like Outlook	Centralize procurement and student recruitment and other services for cost saving and efficiencies	Provide earlier employee recognition gifts (e.g., at 5 and 10 years)	Improve how faculty interact with students with more in-person and overall access
Standardize organizational terminology and hierarchy to reduce confusion and inefficiencies	Strengthen financial accountability for Separately Incorporated Entities (SIEs)	Encourage voluntary faculty contributions (monetary or in-kind)	Review software licensing to eliminate unused subscriptions		Conduct a strategic program review based on enrollment, cost and relevance	Promote “Team Memorial” spirit through events and merchandise	Increase awareness of (and possibly income for) Memorial research with more public signage (i.e. along Prince Phillip Drive)
Increase articulation and other partnerships with CNA, NSCC	Reevaluate shared services and funding arrangements with the Faculty of Medicine	Explore micro-credentials and stackable credentials for adult learners	Decrease hosting and gifts		Align academic offerings with provincial and national labor market needs	Review remote work effectiveness
Upgrade technology and systems such as banner finance and HR		Improve access for local community and high school students	Eliminate where possible outsourcing contracts and consultants		Merge housing operations between St. John’s and Signal Hill campuses	Better access for employees to recreational facilities to support physical health, connection, workplace morale and a meaningful investment in employee well-being.
Provide low-cost or free software training to employees on commonly-used software to improve employee efficiency and foster innovative solutions to administrative roadblocks. Leverage and better utilize the Gardiner Centre's to provide training to Memorial employees.		Expand online course/program offerings	Allow unpaid leave to reduce costs without eliminating jobs		Restructure MI and Grenfell to align with other faculties (e.g., replace VPs with deans)	Improve chronic absenteeism by increasing employee accountability, and Reassess Memorial's leave policy to provide reasonable amounts of sick leave that are in line with other public institutions and use software that provides a visual calendar tracker
Utilize the university auditor's office to identify and act upon recommended areas of efficiency		Increase enrollment by building student-centred culture with supports, streamlined application process, etc	Reduce the number of senior admin positions		Merge the School of Music with the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences	Reduce the number of stat holidays and provide greater flexibility to employees instead
Marine Institute should invest in strategic hiring so it becomes feasible to propose and execute more projects, which would generate additional revenue. The Reserarch and Technical Personnel position also needs to be reviewed and reclassified. At present, they cannot apply for most research grants because they are not considered faculty. This change would be fair, given the role RTPs play, but it would also allow them to apply for more and larger grants to help generate more revenue		Grow endowments	Contract out certain facility services in key areas, such as cleaning and ground work, or, strengthen service level agreements in these areas		Suspend or eliminate low-enrollment programs
Reduce admin for Grenfell and MI		Increase parking fees	During the summer semester when student enrollment is minimal, minimize staffing, especially those who are student facing. Offer staff the option to be laid off, or to have 9 months of salary paid out over 12 months, or some other mutually beneficial option.		Take a regional approach to program offerings. The Atlantic region universities could effectively work together to consolidate academic programming into specific sites.
Consider a strategic reallocation of administrative staff functions to enhance operational efficiency. Explore opportunities for job-sharing, role adjustments, and cross-departmental collaboration		Increase bookstore offerings and improve access	Senior administrative costs can be reduced by combining some existing portfolios, as was done with finance, administration and advancement. For example, the portfolios of equity, diversity, inclusion and indigenization can be combined (EDII). Eventually, even a combined portfolio should not be needed, as, through strategic planning, this work can be solidly done at the faculty level and overseen at the senior administrative level.		Look to the colleges for examples of successful and growing enrolment programs. e.g. Allow students to sign up for and achieve a credential for a year at a time.
		Introduce lab fees for students	Ensure cuts are strategic, not across the board		Work with the provincial government to reassess the funding model that sees health fund medicine separately from the rest of Memorial
		Campus run café on campus vs. outside vendor	Advocate to government about getting larger sum in advance to tear down old buildings to save money		MUN should pay particular attention to the clause in the collective agreement related to variations from the teaching norm. Faculty who are not actively researching should have to teach more. This would help with the teaching-term and PCI budget. It would reduce the number of either of these groups.
		Sell campus digital signs as ad space	Sell university property/campuses		Get rid of Ocean Science Centre and merge with Department of Biology
		Increase costs for accommodations and space rentals	Reduce grad programs at Grenfell Campus		Conduct an academic audit to evaluate the instructional staffing of academic programs. Establish clear benchmarks or thresholds for faculty involvement.
		Increase residence fees	Conduct a comprehensive analysis of event-related expenditures—including things like catering, rentals, and support services—to identify opportunities for cost savings		Explore the inclusion of non-academic staff or ASMs with recent and relevant practitioner experience in associate dean or dean roles
		Elevate our marketing strategy to better attract students from across Canada and internationally with unique strengths—in harsh environments, proximity to the ocean, and leadership in marine and Arctic research. These should be core features in our promotional campaigns. We should invest in targeted, professional marketing that highlights these differentiators.			Engage the Registrar’s Office in leading a campus-wide teaching planning initiative, incorporating a structured optimization process aimed at maximizing space utilization and teaching capacity
		Increase professional program tuition to be more in line with other universities across the country			Conduct a review of course offerings to identify potential duplication. Where appropriate, consolidate or share courses to boost enrolment, enhance interdisciplinary learning opportunities, and reduce overall teaching demands
		Provide virtual tours of rentable space on the MUN website so that community members can visualize the rooms/lecture halls/dining halls etc.			Conduct a review of Grenfell offerings, how it supports our special obligation to the province and determine what programs should be offered there
		Improve student campus culture. Beautify the campus so it does not look like one huge parking lot. This will make it more attractive for student recruitment			Strengthen collaboration between Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic (CNA) by reviewing existing structures and identifying opportunities for mutual support
		Strengthen course material policies to compel faculty to direct students to the bookstore for paid course material or the library for open educational resources			As part of the review of Harlow programming, consider transitioning toward more robust international collaborations that offer mutual benefits for all partner institutions
		Reduce red-tape to encourage more businesses to rent on-campus facilities that are underutilized. Create rentable space on the ground floor of most buildings.
		Monetize campus card operations so commissions are collected when students use their campus card as payment at off campus vendors
		Require more staff, faculty and students to be on campus instead of remote/flexible work, so our facilities are used to their full potential and vendors on campus make more money, returning more commission to the university
		Endowment grown and investment returns; Plan a multi-million dollar capital campaign to grow the current $184M endowment closer to peers; Expand legacy giving tools (e.g., gifts of securities, wills, property); Create a Memorial Endowment Investment Committee with expertise in ESG/impact investing
		For international student recruitment: Scale the mandate of the Student Recruitment Committee to include international partnerships; create Memorial Global with regional recruiters, branded pathways, and admissions incentives; offer guaranteed housing or micro-scholarships to reduce friction for applicants.
		Microcredentials & Lifelong Learning: Expand Lifelong Learning & Online Education with microcredentials in marine safety, Indigenous governance, climate resilience and data literacy; launch a Memorial Professional Academy (fully online, asynchronous short programs); Ppartner with employers to co-create curriculum and offer employer-funded seats
		Build on RIO's foundation by creating a Memorial Innovation Fund as seed capital for startups emerging from RIO and Genesis. Introduce faculty equity incentives and clearer revenue-sharing models
		Establish a Corporate & Government Engagement Office, leveraging Memorial’s success ($58M+ corporate income in 2020) to attract partner-led R&D in ocean tech, energy, and climate resilience
		Scale the Signal Hill model to other assets (GEO Centre, parking, summer residences). Formalize asset rental strategy to include public events, tourism and film sector partnerships
		Sell old buildings to developers to build student housing
		Establish preschool-age childcare centres at the Botanical Garden and Geocentre (nature and science-focused to align with each site's educational mandate). This would optimize space, generate revenue, and, if students/employees were given preference for childcare spots, increase student and employee retention and morale