Acadia University is a 3-star charity. It has a B- results reporting grade, which is below average. Its overhead spending is within Ci’s reasonable range. Excluding donor-endowed funds, Acadia University has reserve funds to cover its program costs for 3 months.

Founded in 1832, Acadia University is a public liberal arts university in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. It uses a liberal arts model based on experiential learning and community engagement. Acadia also has a strong varsity athletics program. It has more conference and national championships than any other university in Atlantic Canada. Acadia has two main programs: Academics and Research. 

In the fiscal year ended March 2023 (F2023), Acadia spent $46.2m on Academics. In F2023, Acadia had 3,612 undergraduate students and 178 graduate students. 81% of students in F2023 were from Eastern Canada. 8% of students were from Central Canada and 5% were from Western Canada. 6% of students were from outside of Canada. Acadia had an average class size of 31 students and a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Acadia gives out over $5.0m in scholarships and financial aid each year. Acadia offers over 200 degree options across four faculties: Arts, Professional Studies, Pure and Applied Sciences, and Theology. 80% of its degree programs have co-op options.

Research:  Acadia has 11 research centres and institutes, three field stations, and six other research units. It also has eight research labs funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. In F2023, Acadia had four Canada Research Chairs. Acadia reports that it is the only Canadian university with a private research island.

In F2023, Acadia University received $16.6m in donations. It also received $32.8m in government funding (27% of revenue). Student academic fees were $46.0m in F2023 (38% of revenue). Administrative costs are 9% of revenue (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 3% of donations. Overhead spending is 13% which is within Ci’s reasonable range. For every dollar donated, 87 cents are available for the cause. In F2023, Acadia spent $90.2m (72% of revenue) on its programs.

In F2023, Acadia had a surplus of $17.6m and spent $3.3m on capital expenditures.

At the end of F2023, Acadia has $145.3m in reserve funds. $120.1m of these funds are donor endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, Acadia has reserve funds to cover 30% or 3 months of program costs.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Acadia University for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 21, 2024 by Thea Clark.