Enrollment and revenue down | Concordia confirms ‘worst case scenario’

The increase in tuition fees for students from the rest of Canada is hurting Concordia University. The institution deplores a drop of nearly 30% in its enrolments this fall, anticipating losses of several millions of dollars in revenue.

“Unfortunately, this is the worst-case scenario we had anticipated,” said Concordia University President Graham Carr.

With one week to go until the start of the school year, the institution is recording a 28% drop in new registrations among students from the rest of Canada compared to last fall, according to data obtained by The Press.

The decline is also marked among foreign students, whose number has decreased by 11% at the first cycle.

Overall, the university reports a drop of just under 10% in the number of new students enrolled this fall.

Blaming the increase in tuition fees imposed by Quebec, Mr. Carr warns that the drop in enrollment will have “severe consequences” on the finances of the institution, which is already in deficit.

This year alone, he estimates it will cost the institution $15 million. And since it takes three to four years for a student to complete an undergraduate program at Concordia, that’s much more than the institution will lose in the long run.

“A decline this year represents a decline for years to come,” Carr said.

By cutting its expenses by $36 million, the English-language university hopes to limit its deficit to $35 million by the end of the current year, failing which it will rise to $79 million.

In this context, it will have no choice but to “change its game plan” for recruiting future students, says Graham Carr.

Also affected by the increase in tuition fees, McGill University announced that it would not share an overall picture of its enrolments until October.

“It’s no longer affordable”

“It’s no longer affordable,” laments Danna Ballantyne, coordinator of external affairs and mobilization at the Concordia Student Union.

Originally from Toronto, the student does not blame her peers who shun university.

Starting this fall, Canadian students from other provinces will have to pay $12,000 instead of $9,000 per year to study at an English-speaking university in Quebec.

Announced last year, the measure was strongly denounced by McGill and Concordia, with Bishop’s having been granted an exemption after arguing that such an increase would jeopardize its survival.

With this change, Quebec hoped to slow the decline of French and correct an imbalance between the funding of English-speaking and French-speaking universities.

But it is the students who are left to foot the bill, says Danna Ballantyne.

“Those who will suffer the most are those who are already in a precarious situation,” laments the woman who believes that the government would have done better to invest in the francisation of English-speaking students.

Concordia hoped to limit the decline in enrollment by offering up to $4,000 in financial support to non-Quebec Canadian undergraduate students. But the effect was limited.

“It was very difficult to get the message across to the students. When the announcement [de la hausse] was done, it was too late, many students had already made their decision [de ne pas s’inscrire] ” explains Graham Carr.

Asked to react, the office of the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, maintains that it has “taken the necessary measures to correct the financial imbalance between French-speaking and English-speaking universities” and “strengthen the French-speaking network”.

“No impact on course offerings, says Concordia”

It’s not new: Concordia has seen a “historic” drop in enrollment since the pandemic. A situation that worries its professors.

“We want to ensure that the expected drop in enrolment, particularly among students from outside Quebec, does not result in a reduction in the courses and program offerings that have made Concordia famous,” said Concordia University Professors Association spokesperson Léa Roboam.

“It would be detrimental to the university as a whole in the long term.”

Asked about the possibility of course offerings being reduced, Graham Carr argued that the administration was “doing as much as possible to protect academic life.”

“We are concentrating the cuts in other sectors, but it is certain that we will be much stricter in applying the minimum number of students required for a course to be held, for example,” he said.

Decline in foreign students

Other factors may have contributed to the decline in the number of foreign students, Carr says, citing in particular new immigration rules at the federal level.

But it is clear to him that “the negative message sent [par Québec] has certainly discouraged many students.”

Starting in the fall, foreign students will have to pay a minimum fee of $20,000, of which Quebec will collect approximately $3,000.

Since 2018, universities have been able to charge them whatever they want and keep the money.

“I find it sad not only for us, but for Montreal and for Quebec,” laments Graham Carr.

Like McGill, Concordia has filed a lawsuit against the government to force it to reverse its decision to increase fees for non-Quebec students.

In July, a Superior Court judge rejected Concordia’s request to delay the tuition increase.

The University will argue the merits of the case before the courts in the fall.

“This is not a decision we took lightly. We took it because we believe that these policies are not justified. And the figures show that they have serious consequences for us,” he said.