MONTREAL/January 23, 2007—
Presenting to the commission, left to right: Bradley Tucker, Director of Institutional Planning; Marcel Danis, Vice-President External Relations and Secretary General; Louise Dandurand, Vice-President Research and Graduate Studies; Claude Lajeunesse, President; and Martin Singer, Provost and Vice-President Academic Affairs.
During his presentation today to the Quèbec National Assembly's Parliamentary Commission on Education, Concordia President, Claude Lajeunesse, asked not only for an end to the tuition freeze, but he also recommended that Quebec tuition fees be deregulated in the same way they are in Ontario.
ìWe have recommended higher tuition in order to improve education and we have shown good sound financial management through difficult times,î said Dr. Lajeunesse. ìTuition fees are simply too low, less than half, when compared to those in Ontario, where deregulation has also allowed tuition fees to vary according to new criteria. There, tuition for medicine, law, engineering and management, whose graduates can expect to earn more, are higher than those in the liberal or fine arts.î
He also made the point that, in an environment in which the government encourages universities to recruit on an international level, tuition paid by international students should be retained by the universities in which the students are enrolled. Before this option was closed to us a few years back, Concordia was the first university to retain these differential fees and create a scholarship and bursary fund for international students who required assistance. This is no longer possible in the context of today's financial reality.
During his speech, the president also highlighted the tremendous growth at Concordia University on all levels: increased enrolment, faculty recruitment, research funding and building construction. He also commended the recent move by the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports to inject an additional $90 million into the university network and for his follow-up to the Gervais Report.
About Concordia
Concordia University is now established as one of Canada's major research institutions, with numerous areas of excellence: 40 research units (institutes, centres and networks) and 67 chairs. It employs 6,316 people, including 1,722 professors and instructors distributed among four faculties: Arts and Science, the John Molson School of Business, Engineering and Computer Science Fine Arts, which offer 500 undergraduate and graduate programs and award 6,000 degrees every year. It has some 4,414 international students, who come from 157 different countries.
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Source :
Tanya Churchmuch
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University
