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Governors at Monday’s meeting asked a few questions about the finances before approving the business plan for Jazan in 2015-16.

Officials are revising programs at Jazan, and attendance and graduation rates are improving dramatically, said Doug Wotherspoon, Algonquin’s vice-president for International and Strategic Priorities. That’s important because Algonquin is paid based performance indicators.

Wotherspoon said the deficit was about $500,000 higher than initially anticipated for 2014-15 because the college didn’t receive its bonus for reaching a quality rating of “good” rather than simply satisfactory, according to independent assessors approved by the Saudi government.

He said all but one of the other 36 internationally run technical colleges in Saudi Arabia got the same “satisfactory” rating. Stephen Heckbert, the faculty representative on the board, suggested that if he was cynical he’d think the Saudis were simply trying to avoid paying the quality bonus.

Another board member wondered if Algonquin had an “exit strategy” if Jazan continued to lose money. But Algonquin President Cheryl Jansen said she was confident in the financial projections. The plan calls for Jazan to start earning money this year, and end up turning a profit of $4.35 million over its first five years of operation.

Some critics have also said that Algonquin should not be operating a mens-only college in the repressive country, where political dissent is punished harshly and women do not have equal rights. College officials argue they are pursuing a policy of “engagement over isolation in the international arena.”

jmiller@ottawacitizen.com

Twitter.com/JacquieAMiller