Fellow Members of the University of Saskatchewan Community:

I am writing to you today to provide an update on TransformUS and the process that will follow the receipt of the final prioritization reports from the Academic and Support Service Transformation Task Forces on November 30, 2013.

To ensure we are making the best decisions for the future of our university, we will follow a three phase process following the receipt of the reports. Attached to this email you will find a diagram outlining the phases of the TransformUS process. The key activities for each of these phases are outlined further below.

Read the full announcement from President Ilene Busch-Vishniac

The following is a letter submitted to The StarPhoenix by Brett Fairbairn, provost and vice-president academic at the University of Saskatchewan and has been reprinted with permission.

Contrary to what's claimed in the letter No cost saving (SP, Sept. 20). the U of S is making solid progress on our finances.

In May 2012, the university projected an operating deficit of $44.5 million by 2016 if no action is taken. Unlike many of our peers across Canada, we have

time to take strategic and informed actions and have identified several strategies that will result in a stronger university.

We have a four-year plan for financial sustainability. In the first year we made a $15 million permanent difference in our budget, closing the projected gap between revenue and expenses by more than one-third. With close to 75 per cent of our operating expenses tied to our workforce, the reorganization of various colleges and units, including eliminating 248 positions, was an important part of our response.

Read the full letter

I am writing regarding an emergent and time sensitive situation and with a request. As I do so, I want all of you to know that I am fully committed to an open and transparent process regarding the TransformUS initiative.

Late Friday afternoon the template submissions for one college's academic and support service programs were posted on a college’s website. The Academic Programs task force co-chairs contacted me shortly thereafter to request that the templates be taken down.

I hope you will know that I fully support the college in sharing this information. The issue is the timing of the posting, and particularly the ability of the task force members, who are already under significant pressure, to complete their work without further distraction. I understand that the experience of the task force to date has caused them to conclude that having the templates before the campus at this time would be a disruptive influence on their work; and that the templates would be more useful information for the campus when paired with the task-force recommendations so that people can see how the information in the templates was used. As a result of additional discussions, the college has removed the materials from its website for now on the understanding that these will be ultimately posted with the final report of the task force.