Year 2 Action Plan Audit Results
The following message was also emailed to UPEI students, faculty, and staff on November 4, 2026.
Dear UPEI Community Members,
It is my pleasure to report that Deloitte has completed its independent audit of Year 2 of the University's six-year Action Plan: Building a Culture of Trust, Safety, and Inclusion. The Board of Governors received the final report on October 6, 2026. The audit concluded that the University received a qualified opinion.
This is significant.
The University wants to be clear about the result. Of the 65 criteria assessed, 46 were met, 15 were partially met, and 4 were not met.
Deloitte explained the basis for the “qualified opinion” as follows:
During the period from May 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026, the Board of Governors did not receive the express written consent required under the collective agreement with the UPEI Faculty Association to amend or replace the Fair Treatment Policy. Consequently, UPEI’s proposed Harassment and Discrimination Policy and Sexual Violence Policy were not advanced to the Board of Governors for approval. As a result, testing criteria 47, 58, 59, and 63 of the UPEI Implementation Plan–Year Two were assessed as not met. An additional 15 criteria were assessed as partially met, reflecting that some, but not all, of the activities associated with those criteria had been completed.
This is not the result the University hoped for. Several commitments were not within the University's control and could not be completed in the period under review. As a community, we must acknowledge that plainly.
Deloitte also concluded that, except for the matters described above, “the UPEI Implementation Plan - Year Two for the period of May 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026, was implemented, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable criteria.”
It is important to note that many criteria were met. These included maintaining a high number of campus engagement activities, continuing to develop governance practices, implementing leadership training, implementing additional security measures and services, and increasing the availability and transparency of information in a variety of ways. It is important to recognize that significant steps are being achieved that are foundational to creating the university UPEI aspires to be. The University thanks everyone for their contributions to these achievements.
The University's focus now is on continuing to embed completed work into its ways of operating, implementing Year 3 of the Action Plan, and completing the outstanding actions. UPEI will continue to establish clear accountability, evidence requirements, and timelines for every partially met and unmet criterion. The University will strengthen monitoring and documentation and report openly on its progress. UPEI will also continue work to advance the Harassment and Discrimination Policy and revised Sexual Violence Policy while respecting the University's legal and collective agreement obligations.
Full audit reports for Year 2 are now available on the Action Plan Progress Updates and Audit Results page on the upei.ca website. The University will discuss the results, answer questions, and outline next steps at the community town hall on Monday, November 30, at 2:00 pm in the Performing Arts Centre and Residence (PAC) 121S.
Your leadership team and the Board of Governors remain committed to ensuring that the full Action Plan is implemented and that all outstanding commitments are addressed. The University will not treat partially completed work as completed and will report candidly on its progress, successes, and any further difficulties or delays. Important progress has been made, and the University thanks members of the UPEI community for their continued focus and commitment to making things better.
Sincerely,
Jane Ngobia, PhD (she/her)
Vice-President, People and Culture
University of Prince Edward Island
