Don’t rely too much on your common sense when it comes to college finances. The matter is more complicated than it seems. What seems logical at first glance suddenly becomes less obvious after you crunch the numbers.
The CAQ reform demonstrates this well.
For foreign students, this is not a doomed disaster. But for students from other Canadian provinces, the problem is real. Quebec will become the first province to refuse to pay part of the tuition fees of applicants from the rest of the country (ROC).
why
Before breaking down the announcement, let’s get back to the context.
It was not an improvised move in reaction to the Parti Québécois’ victory in Jean-Dalon.
Earlier this year, Jean-François Roberge, the minister responsible for language, promised to present a plan to protect French by the fall. Higher Education Minister, Pascale Déry, has been preparing for a university funding review for months.
In June, Mme Déry met separately with the McGill and Concordia administrations. He asked them to respond to three concerns: anglicization by students from other provinces, defective franchising and financial imbalance caused by foreign customers.
Other universities were not consulted. It was only through the media that they came to know the general intentions of Mr.me Terry.
A meeting is scheduled for October. It ultimately helped announce the outcome. Mme Déry wanted to get ahead of McGill, which was preparing to unveil its francization plan (50 million over five years).
As a partnership, we could have done better.
What is Quebec aiming for? It depends on who is talking.
for meme The goal is to restore fairness to Terri, taxpayers and French-speaking companies. Mr. For Roberge, Greater Montreal needs to de-emphasize English.
There is tension between the two.
Mr. If Roberge feared anglicization, he concluded that ROC students should stay in Montreal after their diploma. But if Mme Terry sees an injustice to taxpayers because these people contribute to our labor market instead of leaving Quebec to work elsewhere.
We may both want to reduce the number of English-speaking students and give them less funding. But that doesn’t help us use our university town as a lever for economic growth.
The reform has two parts. The first is about ROC students and “reciprocity”.
True, other Canadians do not directly fund the Quebec model, which offers the lowest tuition in the country. But the current system already takes this into account.
In the late 1990s, their bill rose. This is approximately three times the normal rate. Today, an ROC student pays us nearly $9,000.
This price roughly corresponds to what a Quebecer pays on average in other provinces1.
Caquists break this balance. For undergraduate and non-thesis master’s degrees, the bill for ROC students will rise to $17,000. or actual cost of training.
Quebec will become the only province not to fund a portion of other provinces’ workforce studies. According to Mme Déry, the French protectorate justifies this exception.
“Reciprocity” sounds like an excuse to cut ROC students. However, unlike foreign students and temporary immigrants, their numbers have fluctuated little over the past 20 years. About 15,000 people study in our universities.
It is true that 82% of them are in an English speaking institution. Could have focused more on franchising. Instead, the CAQ approach creates a diplomatic incident with other provinces and poses an existential threat to the small episcopal university.
Others may console themselves by saying that Quebec did not dare to make French a requirement — to take a course or pass an exam — to be admitted or receive a diploma.
For foreign students, there is no scam. Quebec’s charm remains intact.
Mme Déry did not stop them from coming here. Yes, it imposes a $20,000 floor rate. But this is already lower than the asking price. Their numbers are not expected to decrease. English-speaking universities will only lose money in their pockets.
In 2008, the Liberals partially waived tuition fees for some science programs. In 2018, they generalized these restrictions to all of Quebec. A university can now collect whatever it wants from them and keep all the money without sharing it with other institutions.
Mme Déry offers a hybrid model. This market is only partially regulated. Quebec takes the disbursed amount (the difference between $20,000 on the ground and the actual cost of the studies) and redistributes it to French-speaking companies.
In return, if a university charges more than $20,000, it keeps this excess in its pockets.
The details of this redistribution are not known.
But one thing is certain: it will be a zero-sum game. There will be losers (McGill, Concordia, Bishops) and winners (French-speaking universities). It defends itself well.
For example, the network of Quebec universities is a work in progress. About half of its enrollees are the first in their family to attend university, and their ability to fundraise is limited.
The Cauquists could have gone even further to reinforce knowledge of the French language.
Here are two examples.
First, special deals. The French and Belgians will keep their reduced prices, which is great. But why give them this advantage when they come here to learn English at McGill and Concordia? The discount should be used to strengthen the French-speaking world, not to practice your English.
Then, less funding. According to a report prepared by economist Pierre Fortin for the Office of Interuniversity Cooperation, our universities are underfunded by 1.4 billion. Quebec supports them less than other provinces and the gap is widening. However, there is a direct link between graduation rate and per capita income.
Instead of investing more, the CAQ government reallocated the current envelope. At best, he plans to redistribute around 110 million to French-speaking universities.
Prioritizing education, economic development and Quebec pride, Mr. For politicians like Legault, helping our universities more would be a chore.
After all, weakening McGill and Concordia is not the goal. It’s about strengthening the French-speaking network, leveling it up.
1. Elsewhere in the country, the cost per session varies by province, institution and program. For example, an Ontarian will pay more to be trained in chemistry than in history. We do not have this modulation.
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