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theotherpress.ca

French students to pay Canadian tuition rate

» Terms of France-Quebec agreement to change following negotiations

Marina Cupido
The McGill Daily (McGill University)

or over three decades,

French students at Quebec
universities have been exempt
from international student fees,
paying the same tuition rate
as residents of the province.
However, in light of ongoing
negotiations between the
Couillard government and the
French state, this special status

is about to change.

The current tuition
regulations are the result of a
bilateral agreement reached
in 1978. In recognition of the
profound cultural and historical
ties between Quebec and
France, French students pay an

(the same as Quebec residents),
rather than the tuition paid by
most international students,
which varies between $12,000
and $30,000 depending on the

program.
This arrangement has
been subject to increasing
criticism in recent years as the
number of those benefitting
from it has risen dramatically.
During the Fall 2014 semester,
roughly 8,000 French students
attended Quebec institutions,
representing an increase of
go per cent since 2006, while
around 1,000 Quebec students

attended French universities.
In late 2014, Premier
Philippe Couillard began
negotiations with French
president Francois Hollande
to reform the 1978 agreement.

: Although the details remain

: under discussion, La Presse

: reported that a mutually agreed-
: upon solution has emerged—

: French students will be subject

: to the same tuition fees as

: Canadians from out of province.

They will retain a unique

: status as citizens of France,
: but this tuition hike of roughly
: $4,400 is meant to help to ease

the province's financial burden.

Brice Letcher, a third-year

Biology student at McGill

: from Rhéne-Alpes, France,

: commented on the financial
: drawback for French students. “I:
: think for the French it’s a bit of
: a blow, obviously, and it’s going
: to restrict the [influx] of French

: students.”
annual tuition fee of only $2,200:

However, Letcher

ultimately expressed approval
: of the proposed reform. “All

: the arguments in favour of the
: raise, I think, are more than fair,” :
: Letcher told the Daily. “Philippe :
: Couillard made a promise to

: Hollande and held it, namely,

: French students will keep on
paying a preferential fee. It’s still
: a little bit above half the price

; anyone from anywhere else than
; Canada is having to pay. So the

: entente franco-québécoise is

: still very much alive.”

According to vice-principal

? and communications and

: external relations Olivier Marcil,
: this reform will bea positive

: development for the university,
and is expected to increase

: revenue.

“We think this isa

: reasonable point of view for the
: Couillard government to take,”

: Marcil explained in an email to
: the Daily. “We think it’s fair for
: astudent from Paris, France,

: to pay the same asa Canadian

: student from Paris, Ontario.’

Addressing the unique

: status of French students

: at McGill and in Quebec as

: a whole, Marcil said, “It’s

: important because of the

: historic relationship between

: Quebec and France, and to help
: strengthen the French language,
: which is a minority language in

: North America. We agree that

: French students should have a

: special status compared with

: other international students,

: and even after the new fee is set,
: students from France will still

enjoy an advantage.”

In response to concerns that

the tuition hike will negatively
: impact French enrolment,

Marcil remained relatively

optimistic.

“We believe there won't

: bea dramatic [effect] in either
direction,” he said, noting that
: until negotiations end and the
: reform is finalized, it will be

: impossible to know for certain.

When it does take effect

: however, the new policy

: probably won't apply to those

: currently enrolled. “The

: common view among Quebec

: universities, including McGill,

: is that current students should

: be grandfathered, so they would
: not pay the new fee once it is
established.”

_— —

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Douglas introduces
#I1ChoseDouglas campaign

» Draw prize for the contest will be $1,500 in tuition

Angela Espinoza
News Editor

Minews
: _ @theotherpress.ca

campaign, using the tag

#IChoseDouglas. Students who
use the hashtag on social media
sites such as Twitter, Instagram,

and Facebook will have a chance
: of the process was choosing a

: hashtag, because you want it

: to be short, you want it to be

: meaningful, it’s got to be easy to

to win $1,500 in tuition credit.
“Our students and grads
have awesome stories,” said
Douglas’ marketing manager
Tracey Denofreo, “and we hear
some of them throughout the
year, but we just know that

: there’s so many more out there.”

The #IChoseDouglas

: campaign gives students an
: opportunity to tell their stories
: about why they’re attending
De® College is Douglas, or just what they enjoy
undergoing its first hashtag :
: stated the popularity of social:
: media was beneficial as students :
: have multiple ways of entering

: the draw.

“I think the longest part

: remember, and make sense.”

Since revealing the

: marketing team’s hashtag of
: choice, Denofreo said, “The

: response has been amazing.

“It’s arandom draw,’ said

: Denofreo, “people can enter as
: many times as they want. They
: do have to use the hashtag and
they do have to tell us why they

about the college. Denofreo also: chose Douglas.

“We've had a few entries

: lately where people just tweet
: the hashtag, Instagram the
: hashtag, and we're sort of letting :

it go for the first little while.”

However, Denofreo

: stated that students should

: be encouraged in telling their

: stories about Douglas. Whether
: it’s about learning experiences,

: friendships made, or even food
: at the college, any positive

> message is welcome.

“If they use Facebook to

: enter the draw, they have to
: make that particular post public, :
: orelse wecan'tsee it.Orthey —:
can come to the Douglas College

: Facebook page and post it there.” :

“We've had some people

: that have entered every single
: day since we started, multiple

times a day, which is fine, and

: they always have something a
: little bit different each time.”

Denofreo added that

: the draw is also open to

: international students, and

: that the tuition credit received
: upon winning is valid until

December 31, 2017.

#IChoseDouglas has since

been incorporated into Douglas’
: ad campaign throughout the

Lower Mainland, spotlighting

: various students and graduates

and their reasons for attending

Douglas.
The #IChoseDouglas

: campaign will be running until

: March 31, near the end of the

: winter semester. Again, students
: can apply multiple times,

: and based on the response to

: this year’s hashtag campaign,

: Denofreo stated there could

: likely be another one in the

> future.

Students can learn

more about the contest at
: douglascollege.ca/ichosedouglas