What it is
A single, disciplined process that brings Facilities, IT, Ancillary, and Faculty capital needs into one comprehensive five-year plan approved by the Board of Governors.
- Replaces separate, project-by-project approvals with one coordinated cycle
- Requires business cases and clear prioritization before any funding
- Aligns capital decisions with enrolment, growth, and long-term affordability
Five-year plan
Comprehensive capital plan, refreshed annually and approved by the Board each April.
The Trigger
In December 2023, the Auditor General identified five areas to strengthen capital planning at York.
The University committed to acting on all five — and the new framework is how.
Five Recommendations
- Financial Viability (#3): evaluate each project against institutional capacity
- Business Cases (#4): full business cases approved before a project starts
- Governance & Oversight (#5): Board-level approvalof the comprehensive capital plan
- Space & Asset Management (#6): coordinate physical and IT infrastructure planning
- Long-Term Sustainability (#7): tie capital decisions to cash flow and fiscal capacity
How We Responded
Each Auditor General recommendation is met by aspecific element of the new framework.
Together they add institutional foresight, governance discipline, and fiscal alignment.
Five Commitments
- Affordability Principles: Total allowable spend tied to net amortization
- Standardized Submissions: Common definitions and required business cases
- Governance Discipline: Intake, prioritization, and approval kept separate; five-year plan to the Board
- Integrated Asset Planning: Space and asset management feed the capital budget
- Comprehensive Five-Year Budget: A multi-year plan aligned to cash flow planning
| STAGE | DESCRIPTION | YORK STATUS |
| 1 – Project by Project | Individual asks, approval by project | PAST |
| 2 – Coordinated Plan | Multi-year view, standardized submissions, Board approved institutional capital budget | CURRENT |
| 3 – Portfolio Governance | Explicit trade-offs, sequencing, lifecycle & operating integration, cash visibility | NEXT (TBD) |
| 4 –Capital Stewardship | Capital actively enables strategy, revenue, risk management | FUTURE |
CAPITAL DEFINED BROADLY
Capital includes both IT and Facilities assets, aligned with accounting standards (GAAP).
IDENTIFIED EARLY
Projects are captured when needs first emerge, not discovered at year-end.
OPERATING & CAPITAL SEPARATED
Operating and capital budgets are kept distinct, so each is planned and tracked on its own.
SPENDING WITHIN OUR MEANS
Total capital spend is capped at amortization less sinking-fund contributions — currently set at $36 million.
WHAT IS A CAPITAL PROJECT?
Initiatives that acquire, build, improve, or extend long-term assets costing over $20,000
Buildings and deferred maintenance, renovations, and infrastructure
IT systems, software, and equipment (not annual licences or support renewals)
Furniture, classroom, and lab equipment
Useful life beyond one year; not intended for resale
THE AFFORDABILITY CEILING
- Net amortization of $36 million less sinking-fund contributions for debt repayment, sets the annual capital spending ceiling for University Operations
- The ceiling covers all York University Capital including technology, space, equipment etc. It excludes Ancillary operations as they are self funding capital reinvestments.
Capital Assets (Tangible and Intangible)
- Physical or non-physical resources acquired to deliver services, produce goods, or for administrative purposes.
- Useful life beyond one fiscal year
- Not intended for sale
- Capital assets are recorded at cost and amortized over their useful lives.
Threshold for York
Purchases at or above $20,000
Tangible Capital Assets
- Includes land, buildings, renovations, equipment, and vehicles.
- Include technology equipment, Audio-visual and other IT infrastructure
Intangible Capital Assets
Non-monetary assets without physical substance, such as software and copyrights.