Update on tuition increases for non-Quebec students

Dear Concordians,

On October 13, I wrote to you sharing my shock and disappointment at the Government of Quebec’s decisions: first, to nearly double the tuition fees paid by students from the rest of Canada who choose to study in Quebec; and second, to dramatically alter the funding formula for international undergraduate and non-thesis master’s students. These decisions would have a drastic impact on the finances and cultural identity of Concordia.

I’d like to thank all members of the Concordia and Montreal communities, as well as many others across Quebec, Canada and internationally, who have supported us over the last 10 days. Your thoughtful and passionate responses have been inspiring. All of us should be heartened by the multitude of people, particularly in the francophone community, who share our position and have spoken out.

Late last week, I had the opportunity to meet with Pascale Déry, Minister of Higher Education. I appreciate that she and members of her team took the time to hear our concerns in person. We hope that the government will continue these discussions around the impact of the new policies and will be open to considering modifications to the current proposed increases. We are willing to explore alternative solutions to address the government’s stated goals of promoting and protecting the French language and providing additional financial support to francophone universities.

For example, supporting students to learn or perfect their competency in French is fully consistent with our mission as a university, especially given our commitment to work-integrated learning. We have repeatedly expressed our dedication to this idea in the hope that even more of our students will ultimately choose to stay and further contribute to Quebec society and its economy after graduation.

In the meantime, however, Concordia must unfortunately prepare to deal with the very real and dire financial consequences of the announced policies. While we continue to analyze the full impact, it’s abundantly clear that the dramatic increase to tuition will result in a massive decline in enrolment from the rest of Canada. The effects on international student enrolment are also bound to be negative.

I will share more information in the coming weeks as we receive greater clarity. But based on what we currently know, the financial impact for Concordia — let alone the repercussions for who we are as a university that values diversity, accessibility and openness to the world — will be in the tens of millions of dollars per year.

Our goal, as always, will be to continue to offer students a world-class education, regardless of where they are from. Concordia has always contributed in extraordinary ways to the dynamism of Montreal and to Quebec’s economic success. We have tremendous momentum in terms of our research, our contributions to arts, culture and design, and our reach beyond the borders of Quebec. Together, we need to continue to tell this positive story as we respond to the challenges we now face.

Thank you for your continued support. And thank you for all you do to help Concordia students succeed.

Graham Carr
President and Vice-Chancellor