Concordia University cutting costs due to decline in enrolment
Concordia University says enrolment issues are forcing significant cuts, especially in the face of incoming tuition hikes for out-of-province students.
In a memo sent to staff and faculty last week, Concordia officials said that after 10 years of growth, enrolment had declined in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
"Due to this drop in revenue, Concordia cannot meet its core operating costs, which consist mostly of salaries and the day-to-day operations that support teaching, research and student life. Inflation, which affects the cost of goods and services, as well as rising interest rates, employee benefits and salary costs, have also had a significant impact on the university's expenses," reads the letter, which Concordia shared with CTV News on Monday.
The university says it's aiming to cut its overall spending by 7.8 per cent. Measures include freezing the salaries of Concordia executives, continuing the hiring freeze for non-academic staff, and dipping into reserve funds, among others.
While the memo does not mention Quebec's plan to dramatically increase tuition costs for out-of-province and international students, the Concordia administration has previously said the hikes will drive new students away.
In fact, according to some, it already has.
"A couple of my friends wanted to come up here this year and now they've changed their minds because it's too much money compared to going to Ontario now," Concordia marketing student Dyland Buyers told CTV News.
The Coalition Avenir Québec government says the hikes are designed to protect the French language, arguing that too many non-French speaking students flood into Montreal only to leave after graduation.
But critics like engineering student Fatima Faisal say there are better ways to protect French that don't restrict academic opportunities: "Free French courses in universities and stuff like that would be better than a tuition hike."
- Amid tuition hikes, former students share why choosing Montreal was the best decision of their lives
Marwah Rizqy, the Quebec Liberal Party critic for higher education, accused the Legault government of trying to court French-speaking voters after a painful loss in October's by-election.
"But they're doing so by hurting institutions such as Concordia, McGill and Bishop's," she said.
Post-doctorate researcher Nadia Hausgather, who studies student movements, says the hike will only drive away lower-income people.
"The only people we invite as possible future students from outside Quebec will be the elite who can afford those fees," she said.
More than 33,000 students have signed a National Assembly petition to stop the hikes.
On Thursday, demonstrators are expected to gather at Concordia's downtown campus for another protest, demanding the province change course.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.