Some students are up in arms after McGill decided to raise the annual fees for its MBA program from $1,600 to nearly $30,000.
Don Melville, Director of MBA and Masters Programs at McGill, says he's excited about next year's hike and that it's necessary to "ensure that we're the top program in Canada and one of the best in the world."
The program gets rave reviews from its students but not everyone shares in Melville's excitement about the fee hike.
"That's a huge hike. That's incredibly high," one student told CTV News on Thursday.
Another said: "Personally, I don't support it."
The change means Canadian and international students will all pay the same tuition.
Quebec residents previously paid a lower rate than people from the rest of Canada who in turn were charged less than foreigners.
Melville calls the new pricing scheme a "self-funded model".
"What that means is that we will not be receiving any subsidies from the government and we'll be working off the tuition that we receive as well as donations from people," he said.
Still a bargain?
McGill insists the new tuition levels are still lower than most of its major competitors in Canada, though Concordia's John Molson School of Business down the street would be one glaring exception.
Quebec MBA students at John Molson pay roughly $3,300 a year and some McGill students say their school is asking too much.
"It's unfair to us students because tuitions fees are so high and we want to get an education," said one woman.
But Allison Aab, president of the McGill MBA Student Association, said it's not unreasonable to pay fees nearly nine times higher than those at Concordia.
"It's a sacrifice that you make to come out with advantages that an MBA provides you, which will hopefully last you the rest of your life."
Minister cautious
Quebec's education minister tells CTV News that McGill's tuition-hike proposal is not a done deal.
"They need approval for that and honestly...it's a big gap," said Michelle Courchesne.
