Quebec is moving forward with a university program, which has led English-speaking universities in the province to believe that it will lead to a sharp drop in student enrollment in other parts of Canada and other countries.
Source: US News
In a letter to the presidents of three English-speaking universities in the province on Thursday morning, the director of higher education, Pascale Déry, said the province made the following changes:
As of Fall 2024, tuition is set at $12,000 CAD for students from other provinces. That's 33% more than what they're currently paying but less than the $17,000 the government announced in October.
By the fall of 2025, 80% of students from outside Quebec who are required to Xi in the province will graduate with an intermediate level of French. Currently, universities in Quebec do not have such French language requirements.
The $12,000 tuition fee is about double the cost of liberal arts and science programs at institutions such as the University of Toronto and the University of UBC.
Déry told the heads of Bishop's University, Concordia University and McGill University that the changes would achieve several goals.
She said funding for English-speaking and French-speaking universities would be more balanced. These changes will reduce the amount of education subsidies for students from outside the province. In addition, the program will contribute to the preservation of the French language.
Bishop's will be partially exempted. Up to 825 out-of-province students will be allowed to continue paying the old tuition fees.
Bishop's University said the government's plan would evict students and devastate their finances. They say the tuition rate hike will discourage students from other parts of Canada.
And, McGill University says the new French language requirements will force many students to stay at university for an extra semester.
Students from another country who don't know French are required to take Xi "240-hour course or about 18 college credits" of French courses, the university said.
In the weeks after the initial plan was announced, critics called the latest policy misleading and harmful.
Five well-known French-speaking universities, including the University of Montréal, also oppose the plan, as do the Montreal Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the Conseil du Patronat, Quebec's largest employers' group with 70,000 members.
Support for the government's plan includes the heads of the Quebec Party and 10 French-speaking universities, all of which are part of the Quebec University network.