Concordia laments fewer applications amid tuition hikes

Concordia University says applications from out-of-province students wanting to continue their studies in Montreal are down by 30 per cent.

Graham Carr, the university's president and vice-chancellor, points to higher tuition fees and the Quebec government's new French requirement as the main reasons for the sharp decline in enrollment.

"Just to put it in context, immediately before the holidays, we were looking at a decline of 20 per cent in applications," Carr said. "Students have, in many cases, unfortunately, concluded that they don't feel welcome here."

He says there has been a lot of confusion surrounding the tuition increase.

"We experienced 10 weeks of confusion from the moment the government made its initial announcement...until that final decision was announced," Carr said. "We foresaw that students would make decisions to go elsewhere."

Quebec Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry confirmed last December that tuition fees for students from other Canadian provinces will go up 30 per cent from $9,000 to a minimum of $12,000 per year.

The original proposal was an increase to $17,000.

International students will now have to pay a base rate of $20,000, with the government collecting $3,000 in fees.

Carr states efforts by the universities to offer awards to help out-of-province applicants offset the fee increase were dampened when the government announced that students would now also be subjected to a French-language requirement.

The prerequisite demands that out-of-province and international students pass a proficiency test at a Level 5 in order to graduate.

"The challenge for us, in the short time that remains, is to continue to do our utmost to communicate to potential students how welcome they are to come to Concordia, that Montreal continues to be a fabulous city, that Concordia will continue to accompany them through work-integrated learning programs and other initiatives that will give them the opportunity to stay here after they graduate," said Carr.

He adds applications from international students have also plunged, and laments the negative backlash is far from over.

"I believe there's going to be significant damage done to both Concordia and to McGill," said Carr. "I continue to be optimistic that the government will come to its senses and realize what wonderful contributions we make to the success of the Quebec economy and the enrichment of Quebec society."