The Université de l’Ontario français (UOF) has 357 students this fall, up 43% from the 250 students enrolled last April. While the institution has revised its enrollment target downward, it is counting on new programs to encourage students to enroll.
Recruitment has been the talk of the town since the Toronto university began in September 2021, when it had 73 students enrolled. The number of students grew to 193 in September 2022 and exceeded 230 in September 2023. The winter 2024 session ended with 250 students; at the start of the fall session, there are now 357, confirms UOF rector Normand Labrie in an interview.
“We had made projections when the university was being designed that predicted higher numbers,” he admits. “The university opened three years ago. It was 2021, which means all the work was done online.” [en raison de la pandémie de COVID-19]. I think it had an impact on the university’s ability to achieve the targets it had initially set for itself.”
The UOF initially planned to welcome 1,500 full-time students by 2026. “We are currently revising the targets, but we are aiming for 874 [étudiants] in 2027,” says Mr. Labrie.
Without a baccalaureate in education, there is no salvation
In its early days, the Université de l’Ontario français attracted little interest from students in the province. About 75% of its first cohort was made up of students from outside the province. This fall, the proportions are very different: “The current ratio is one-third international students, two-thirds national students,” says Normand Labrie.
This turnaround is mainly due to the success of the Bachelor of Education, explains the rector. “We have a total of 200 students in this bachelor’s degree,” which provides certification to teach at the elementary level in Ontario. The first students in this program, launched in January 2023, will graduate in December. “A quarter [des étudiants] already has a job before even finishing,” says Mr. Labrie.
The university is also preparing to extend its bachelor’s degree in education to the intermediate and secondary levels, adds Mr. Labrie, who notes a great need for French-language teachers in Ontario. He also wants to explore the possibility of training French as a second language teachers.
The rector explains that the university has relied heavily on “transdisciplinary” programs in its early days. Examples include “digital culture studies” or “human plurality studies.” However, the UOF wants to integrate more and more “professional” programs into its offering, particularly to meet the needs of the job market. The latter take longer to set up since they require accreditations and take longer to develop.
In the latter category are the bachelor’s degrees in education and business administration, which launched this month. A bachelor’s degree in mental health has been approved and will begin in September 2025. And the university hopes to offer a bachelor’s degree in social work starting in 2026, if approved.
“Healthy” finances
In the fall of 2023, an expert report cited financial difficulties and recommended exploring a possible federation of the UOF with other French-speaking or bilingual institutions in the province. The university rejected these recommendations, believing that they demonstrated a “profound misunderstanding and significant bias” against the institution.
” [En 2024]the finances are healthy, because for the first eight years, we benefit from a start-up grant that helps us develop everything: policies, programs, services, to be able to operate like any other university. […] “Our budgets are balanced,” says Normand Labrie.
The UOF is conducting a recruitment campaign aimed at increasing its notoriety. “We still have to prove ourselves, we are still very young,” recalls the rector.