Acadia University

Acadia University is a 4-star charity with an average results reporting grade. Like most Universities, it is financially transparent. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity does not have enough funding reserves to cover any program costs. 

Founded in 1838, Acadia University (AU) is a public liberal arts university in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Acadia’s mission is to inspire students to become critical thinkers, lifelong learners, engaged citizens, and responsible global leaders. Acadia’s two main programs are education and research. Huffington Post ranked Acadia’s campus as one of the top ten most beautiful in Canada. 

Acadia University states it has 3,574 undergraduate students and 191 graduate students. Of all first-year students, Acadia reports that 11% are international. The University states that the average class is 32 students and that it has a faculty to student ratio of 1:14. Acadia offers over 200 programs across the following faculties: arts, pure and applied science, professional studies, and theology. Outside of class, the University also has over 70 student-run clubs and organizations. 80% of the programs offer co-op work placements.

More than 60 percent of Acadia’s research is applied in nature and focused on various sectors of regional importance, including agriculture & agri-food, health, environment, cleantech and data analysis. The University’s strategic research plan outlines four theme areas of focus: community life, organizations and cultural diversity; natural and environmental resilience; human health and wellness; and innovative and enabling technologies. 

The University states that the average earning per co-op work term is $10,000 per student. It also states that 97% of Acadia graduates who completed a co-op program are working or pursuing further education.  

While Charity Intelligence highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Acadia University’s results.

Acadia University received donations of $9.5m including endowment gifts and student academic fees of $42.4m in F2021. The University also received $35.1m in government funding. Administrative costs are 9% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 10% of total donations. AU spends 18% on overhead. This means for every dollar donated to the charity, 82 cents go towards its programs.  

Acadia University has $149.9m in gross funding reserves and $54.5m in interest-bearing debts. This means the charity has $95.3m in net funding reserves. $109.5m of gross funding reserves are donor-endowed. Net funding reserves can cover program costs for 1.3 years; however, when donor-endowed funds are removed, the charity has ($14.1m) in reserves and cannot cover any program costs.  

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

Updated on June 27, 2022, by Emma Saganowich.