Many prospective applicants cancelling campus tours and withdrawing from recruitment events, Concordia director of student recruitment says.
Author of the article:
Published Oct 21, 2023 • Last updated 6 hours ago • 3 minute read
McGill University students walk toward Sherbrooke Street and the Roddick Gates in Montreal, on Wednesday, September 22, 2021. ( Photo by Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette
Hundreds of teenagers and their families packed into Concordia University’s downtown Montreal campus on Saturday to attend the school’s fall open house.
Despite the high turnout, Concordia’s director of student recruitment, Savvy Papayiannis, was left with the impression the crowd was smaller than in previous years.
Article content
“It’s not busier, that’s for sure,” Papayiannis said over the phone from the event. She couldn’t confirm attendance figures, but concluded, “I feel like there’s a drop in attendance.”
Advertisement 2
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Montreal Gazette ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Montreal Gazette ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
REGISTER TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.
Article content
Papayiannis said her office is already seeing the effect of Quebec’s decision to raise university tuition for out-of-province students starting next fall, with many people cancelling campus tours or withdrawing from recruitment events.
And ever since the Oct. 13 announcement by the provincial government, calls and emails have been rolling in from worried prospective students, she said, many of whom say the tuition hike — from $8,992 to around $17,000 per year for Canadians outside Quebec — is an insurmountable financial barrier.
“We’re getting slammed more and more every day,” Papayiannis said.
Several high schoolers at the open house said the increase will influence their decisions about university. For 17-year-old Gage Crouchman from Ottawa, that might mean giving up on going to school in Quebec.
“It’s a shame,” he lamented. “(For) a lot of students, it’s going to take Montreal off as an option.”
Crouchman was considering Concordia and nearby McGill University for his undergraduate studies. “If they change it, it’s a possibility,” he said, referring to the government’s decision to impose the tuition hike.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Article content
Advertisement 3
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“If not …” Crouchman trailed off. “It’s definitely no,” his father, Cameron, interjected.
Coco Clement, a 17-year-old who travelled from Vancouver to Montreal to visit Concordia, said the new tuition rate makes her less interested in Quebec because of the additional financial burden.
“It’s extremely expensive and makes it so I don’t want to come here as much just because that’s another thing I have to get over,” Clement said.
Kees Lokker and his father, Jaco, from Grimsby, Ont., said their family would be able to afford the new tuition, but the younger Lokker worried the sum will eliminate opportunities for his friends.
He’s considering the renowned engineering and aerospace programs in Quebec, but his father said the increase will encourage them to explore other options in Ontario, the U.S. and Europe.
An undergraduate tuition rate of approximately $17,000 would be among the highest in the country for domestic students, and the highest outside specialized undergraduate law, management, dentistry, medicine, veterinary medicine and pharmacy programs, according to preliminary data from Statistics Canada for the 2023-24 academic year.
Advertisement 4
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“I don’t think it’s fair,” said Jaco Lokker, pointing to tuition rates in other provinces.
Quebec has said the increase will allow it to recoup the cost of non-Quebec residents’ education. The provincial government also plans to charge universities $20,000 for each international student they recruit. Premier François Legault has defended the move, insisting Quebec taxpayers should not have to subsidize students from outside the province.
The measure is expected to mostly affect Quebec’s three English-language universities — Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s — which welcome more non-Quebecers than French schools. Government officials have cited what they claim is a decline of French in the province in their decision to raise tuition. Legault said Tuesday the influx of anglophone students “threatens the survival of French.”
Quebec has committed to reinvesting its recuperated funds into the francophone university network.
Related Stories
Tuition fees: Quebec should lower them for francophone students, Montreal mayor says
Opinion: Quebec Liberals reject Legault’s brand of petty nationalism
Josh Freed: A simple solution to Quebec’s English student problem
Doubling tuition fees means students will choose Toronto over Montreal: Plante
Advertisement 5
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Article content
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Montreal Gazette – https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/quebec-tuition-hike-high-schoolers-from-other-provinces-weighing-alternatives
