A few weeks before the start of the school year, universities feared that they would not be able to accommodate all their students. A scenario that they have fortunately avoided, at least for now.
Posted at 6:03 p.m.
Updated at 7:49 p.m.
“The situation is not resolved, but it is still encouraging,” said Jean-François Hinse, media manager at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR).
Across Quebec, students feared finding themselves homeless at the start of the school year, recently reported The Press.
A scenario that universities and CEGEPs have however managed to avoid, reported several establishments a few days after the return to campus.
At the University of Sherbrooke, “the situation is under control,” said media manager Isabelle Huard by email.
“To our knowledge, there are no students or students without a roof,” she adds. A place in a student residence, which is full everywhere, is even available.
“The situation has not turned out to be as critical as it might appear,” confirms Marc-Antoine Bolduc, vice-president of external affairs for the Student Federation of the Université de Sherbrooke.
For its part, the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières has multiplied the calls to its staff and to the population to accommodate students. “Our calls generated a hundred offers of places. It helped us a lot, ”says Jean-François Hinse.
“Apartments may be further from campus or smaller than expected, but the important thing is that students have a roof over their heads,” says Hinse.
Good news: the City of Trois-Rivières also granted Wednesday 3.75 million more over ten years for the student residence project of the UTILE organization.
Between now and its commissioning, the university is continuing its efforts with property owners. Residences for seniors, monasteries, boarding schools: the management did not exclude this summer any idea to accommodate its students. “The management door is wide open for anyone who has a proposal to make to us,” says Jean-François Hinse.
In August, students admitted to the University of Quebec in Rimouski were not sure of being able to register, for lack of having found accommodation.
Fortunately, “to this day, none of our students are left without a roof over their heads,” says Jean-François Ouellet, director of student community services. “Despite the not really obvious context, everyone has found a housing solution, for the moment”, he specifies.
However, the establishment remains alert: foreign students could still arrive next week. “We don’t know the definitive portrait of the situation, but it’s still not so bad at this level,” notes Mr. Ouellet.
Remember that several players in the community are calling for a national strategy to tackle the student housing crisis. The urgency is all the greater as a wave of tens of thousands of additional students is expected on the benches of CEGEPs by 2029.