College System Revenues and Expenses - Trends in College Funding - Human Resources Trends - Student Financial Aid - Highlights

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob

Overview of Ontario colleges’ financial structure and funding dynamics in 2018-19, including total revenues of about $5.5 billion and expenses of about $4.9 billion. Highlights the composition of revenue from grant sources and regulated, high-demand tuition, and the expense distribution led by salaries and benefits. Tracks changes since 2003-04 in real operating grants, per-student funding, space per student, and apprenticeship per diem adjusted for inflation, plus staffing growth and the scale and default rates of OSAP student assistance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

HIGHLIGHTS

College system revenues and expenses

Trends in college funding

Human resources trends

Student financial aid

COLLEGE SYSTEM REVENUES AND EXPENSES

College system revenues, 2018-19

College system expenses, 2018-19

TRENDS IN COLLEGE FUNDING

Enrolment and revenue changes, 2003-04 to 2018-19

Estimated grant and tuition fee revenue per college student, all provinces, 2018-19

HUMAN RESOURCES TRENDS

College staffing levels

Number of full-time college staff by category

STUDENT FINANCIAL AID

Levels of student assistance and number of recipients

Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan default rates

APPENDICES

Appendix 1. Operating grants and regulated tuition fee revenue per FTE

Appendix 2. Number of college student assistance recipients, by student type

Appendix 3. Average student assistance issued to college students, by student type

Appendix 4. Distribution of student assistance recipients by post-secondary sector and student group

1 HIGHLIGHTS 1 2 COLLEGE SYSTEM REVENUES AND EXPENSES 2 2.1 College system revenues 2 2.2 College system expenses 3 3 TRENDS IN COLLEGE FUNDING 4 3.1 Enrolment and revenue changes 4 3.2 Estimated grant and tuition fee revenue per college student, all provinces 5 3.3 Operating funding and regulated tuition fees per student, Ontario education sectors 6 3.4 Square feet per student, Ontario education sectors 7 3.5 Summary of apprenticeship per diem history 8 4 HUMAN RESOURCES TRENDS 9 4.1 College staffing levels 9 4.2 Number of full-time college staff by category 9 5 STUDENT FINANCIAL AID 10 5.1 Levels of student assistance and number of recipients, college sector 10 5.2 Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan default rates 11 6 APPENDICES 12 6.1 Appendix 1. Operating grants and regulated tuition fee revenue per FTE 12 6.2 Appendix 2. Number of college student assistance recipients, by student type 13 6.3 Appendix 3. Average student assistance issued to college students, by student type 13 6.4 Appendix 4. Distribution of student assistance recipients by post-secondary sector and student group 14 1 HIGHLIGHTS Revenues and expenses • In 2018-19, college system revenues totalled almost $5.5 billion. Grant revenue from all sources accounted for only 37 per cent of college system revenue. • College system expenses amounted to about $4.9 billion in 2018-19. Like other organizations in both the public and private sectors, salaries and benefits together are by far the largest expense item for colleges. Trends in college funding • In 2018-19, real operating grants per full-time equivalent (FTE) student were eight per cent higher than in 2003-04 but 11 per cent lower than during the peak in 2007-08. • Per student revenue from operating grants and domestic tuition fees for Ontario colleges continues to be the lowest among the provinces. Funding per student for Ontario colleges continues to be significantly lower than for secondary schools and universities. • Space per student is much lower for Ontario colleges (84 square feet per student) in comparison to universities and secondary schools and is in fact lower than it was three years earlier. • While the apprenticeship per diem in current dollars is higher than it was in 2003-04, it is actually eight per cent lower than it was 15 years ago, once inflation is taken into account. The in-school student fee has not increased since it was introduced in 2002-03. Human resources • Colleges employ more than 50,000 people. From 2003-04 to 2018-19, the number of full-time staff employed at colleges increased by 34 per cent. Student financial aid • In 2018-19, almost 160,000 college students were OSAP recipients. This represents 86 per cent of the total full-time post-secondary enrolment. 2 COLLEGE SYSTEM REVENUES AND EXPENSES 2.1 College system revenues, 2018-19 | Other revenue*

8%
Other non-tuition fees
and ancillary revenue
10%
Apprenticeship classroom fee and
other tuition
2%
Unfunded domestic and international
tuition
26%

High-demand tuition
Total revenues = $5,477,084,542

Grant revenue 37%

Regulated tuition | | --- | | 5% 12% | *Includes contractual and other fees for services. Source: Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities, CFIS. Prepared by Colleges Ontario. • In 2018-19, grant revenue from all sources accounted for much less than half of college system revenue. • Domestic tuition fees were a significant source of revenue for colleges. In 2018-19, regulated and high-demand tuition fees accounted for 17 per cent of system revenue. 2.2 College system expenses, 2018-19 Other expenditures* 12% Ancillary services expenditures 3% Supplies and minor equipment 5% Services 18% Salaries and wages 50% Transportation and communication 1% Employee benefits Total expenses = $4,933,616,751 11% *Includes amortization expense.

FAQs

How much did Ontario college system revenues and expenses total in 2018-19?

Revenues totalled almost $5.5 billion and expenses amounted to about $4.9 billion in 2018-19.

What is the main driver of college expenses?

Salaries and benefits together are the largest expense item for colleges.

How many college students were OSAP recipients in 2018-19?

Almost 160,000 college students were OSAP recipients, representing 86% of the total full-time post-secondary enrolment.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob