Universities’ balance sheets reveal impact of COVID-19

Radio New Zealand 25 April 2021

Annual reports show the COVID-19 pandemic wiped millions of dollars off New Zealand universities’ balance sheets last year, with the impacts including a NZ$44 million (US$32 million) bill for redundancies at the University of Auckland and a multi-million-dollar dent in income from foreign student fees, writes John Gerritsen for Radio New Zealand.

Five of the country’s eight universities have so far published their reports and only Auckland University of Technology’s (AUT’s) showed a surplus from its core operations of teaching and research. Donations and income from trusts and foundations ensured that Auckland, Massey and Canterbury were also able to record surpluses for the year, while Victoria’s result was a deficit.

Despite the loss of international students, Auckland, Canterbury and AUT received more money from students’ tuition fees last year than in 2019, thanks to an increase in domestic enrolments. Victoria and Massey reported less fee income and fewer students than in 2019.
Full report on the RNZ site

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