Tag: Chinese students

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International students airing grievances

The focus of the Chinese international student scandal widened this week as a workshop set up by the CSU-run Housing & Job Bank, also known as HOJO, and the Advocacy Centre examined how some students’ rights were being violated on and off campus.

The workshops, offered on Wednesday and Friday, focused on informing students of their rights and the services available to them. It also sought to gather students’ opinions on situations that could be improved upon or addressed.

The three speakers at the workshop were Walter Tom, co-ordinator for the CSU’s legal information clinic, Lisa White, co-ordinator for the Advocacy Centre and Leanne Ashworth, co-ordinator for HOJO. Each spoke briefly about subjects that students in attendance may have needed to know more about, such as their legal rights when renting apartments and what to do if accused of plagiarism.

Throughout the workshops a translator was present, repeating everything that was said in Mandarin, to ensure that Chinese students in attendance would be able to follow easily.

International students were asked to fill out surveys that addressed the quality and usage of bathrooms in homestays and asked if individuals were ever “intimidated or bullied” by their hosts. The questionnaires also inquired if students received additional charges for requiring help for their transit passes, obtaining a cellphone or information about Montreal.

Ashworth said that the questions on the survey stemmed from real problems and complaints reported by students in recent weeks.

The application form that international students are asked to fill out before arriving in Canada was another source of worry for Ashworth.

“We saw the question ‘do you have any friends or family in Montreal?’ and we’re not sure what could be a good use of knowing that for a homestay,” said Ashworth. “That seems disturbing.”

Tom concentrated on tenants’ rights, a subject that he said is often neglected by international students.

“You’re already dealing with so much, so many things, a new place, new environment, your studies, all these adjustments, and then on top of that you have to deal with problems about where you’re staying,” Tom said. “Often these things are pushed aside because there are more immediate concerns, and unfortunately the problem with bad landlords is that they know they’re bad landlords, they know how to take advantage of people.”

Tom referenced the ongoing allegations of mistreatment by Peter Low, the director of the Concordia China Student Recruitment Partner Program, an issue that was brought to light in the Sept. 25 issue of The Link.

“A lot of that stuff, you would think that this would be part of the package that Concordia would provide to all international students when they arrive,” Tom added. “This is the shocking thing: you have a representative of Concordia charging them for stuff that that representative should know is provided for free by his employer.”

When surveyed at the information session, more than half the students in attendance said they had once stayed in a homestay. Now, however, none of them do. Most individuals chose to move out on their own but are still facing similar issues today. A common complaint from students at the workshop was that their landlord would not turn on their heating, or would not exterminate a bedbug infestation.

Speaking at the workshop, Ashworth told students that many of their rights were the same, whether living in homestays or in apartments, and that they could not be punished for protecting them.

“If you have a problem in your apartment or in your homestay, you need a clear process to deal with that problem,” Ashworth said. “We help students, for free, deal with those problems, whether it’s a heating problem or a bug problem, that’s what we’re here for.”

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How low can you go, Concordia?

Since problems first came to light about the Concordia China Student Recruitment Partnership Program, Concordia’s administration handled itself very nicely.

They expressed their desire to look into the matter, they collaborated with other campus groups to form a ‘working group’, they reached out to international students and they offered to have all the documents relating to the homestay program translated into Mandarin. These were all proactive moves which indicate that the people running this institution give a damn about the welfare of students.

And then on Nov. 9, a press release was sent out most likely in response to the attention this issue has garnered by national media.

Needless to say, few were impressed with what Concordia had to say about the “miscommunication” between international students and Director of the CCSRPP Peter Low.

There have been reports surfacing about how Low requested money from international students on behalf of Concordia and then did not transfer it directly. At the same time, documents have come to light indicating that Low told students the homestay program, which is independent from Concordia, was mandatory when it is not.

In these homestays, students say they were mistreated and their accommodations were gravely misrepresented. And yet, the press release issued by our university reads: “Peter Low, […] has adhered to the highest standards while helping students from China begin their studies at Concordia.”

Seriously? Is anyone actually going to buy into that? And that’s not all.

“Mr. Low, who directs students to homestay as an option and receives no remuneration from homestay providers, has delivered to the university key correspondence with Concordia students placed in homestays [which suggests] that the complaints reported on by the media are likely the result of miscommunication.”

If this doesn’t make you feel like the administration took a huge step back, then you have not been paying close enough attention. Students may not have been wronged by Concordia University officially, but the CCSRPP represents the Concordia brand and it’s not a stretch that students would put their trust and their dollars into the hands of a man who does legitimately work for the university.

Since Low’s contract is just about up and currently under review, we were hoping Concordia would have the good sense to slash their relationship with Low’s consulting company entirely and start fresh. Instead, we get the impression that they are coming to Low’s defense in the face of widespread media criticism.

So, why can’t he stand up for himself ? As far as we know, Low has made no public comments on the issue and has chosen to hide behind Concordia.

As student press with a knowledge that merely covers the tip of the iceberg on this issue, we want Peter Low and his recruitment company to be fired. If anyone should be left out in the cold here, it should be the parties responsible for misleading and abusing students.

If the university really has students’ best interests at heart, that is the only acceptable option.

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Left out in the cold

Photo by Madelayne Hajek
Photo by Leslie Schacter.

Concordia University students and supporters protested outside the annual meeting of the Canadian Bureau for International Education Wednesday, to denounce the alleged mistreatment of Chinese international students in homestay programs and at the hands of recruitment officers associated with the university.

A rally of approximately 30 people stood outside the Sheraton Hotel at noon to demand Concordia be held accountable for the allegedly questionable recruitment practices of Peter Low, the director of the Concordia China Student Recruitment Partner Program.

This issue first came to light in an article published in the Sept. 25 issue of The Link.

The international students who spoke of their experiences went only by their first names out of fear of repercussions. Many described situations where their money disappeared, they were poorly treated in homestay programs, and they were lied to by Low.

Lydia, the first student to speak, explained how she paid her tuition to Low, only to find that more than $2,000 of it vanished without ever reaching her Concordia student account.

“I understand paying money but not why it disappeared,” she said. “I paid money to Peter Low because he is the person who is on Concordia University’s website. I trusted him but now it seems like he has taken my money away.”

Gloria, a Chinese exchange student, said that despite the promises of what her homestay experience would be like, her time there left her feeling angry and betrayed by the university.

“I was not eating well, I was not receiving the food I was promised,” she said. “I feel cheated because I came here thinking Concordia University would take care of me and they didn’t.”

Nadia Hausfather, VP external of the Graduate Students’ Association and an organizer of the event, said that it was unfair to offer what she felt are unrealistic expectations to international students.

“Unfortunately providing these kinds of expectations is not new to Concordia, such as in 2009 when the Board of Governors raised tuition for certain international student programs by up to 50 per cent without warning them even before they came to Canada, so some students did not find out about this huge increase until they got off the plane.”

Concordia Student Union President Schubert Laforest confirmed Monday that he had seen documents in which Low implied to a student that the homestay program, which is independent of Concordia, was mandatory when that is not the case.

Walter Tom, the CSU’s legal information clinic’s co-ordinator, stressed the need to hold an investigation in conjunction with student groups like the CSU and GSA, because an investigation by the university alone may not be seen as credible.

“[The university] recently launched an external review regarding the compensation of executives at Concordia, why not do the same thing with this question,” Tom said. “This is even more fundamental, it’s about how students are affected directly, students they have brought over here, students they have recruited and are supposed to be cared for.”

Concordia responded to some of the allegations in a press release Friday, stating that they had received the full co-operation of Peter Low and that he “has adhered to the highest standards while helping students from China begin their studies at Concordia.”

The release states that contrary to the reports from some exchange students, Low only suggests homestays as an option, and receives no remuneration from homestay providers. According to the release, Low provided the university with evidence suggesting “that the complaints reported on by the media are likely the result of miscommunication.”

Jennifer Humphries, Vice-President, Membership, Public Policy and Communications for CBIE, told The Concordian that the role of the bureau is to provide guidelines for its members to follow, not to investigate its members actions, and that they trusted the university to act appropriately.

“Our sense is that Concordia will and is keeping us informed of the situation,” she said. “Frankly it’s just our role to work with them, and at this time we believe that they are working very hard to make sure that the students who have raised some concerns are responded to.”

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ConU addresses concerns over foreign recruitment

Concordia’s VP Services Roger Côté announced six new measures Monday afternoon, which will be taken to address concerns raised about the experience of international students at the university.

Côté sat down with student media to discuss initiatives the administration will enact, in response to an article published in The Link on Sept. 25. The article stated that some Chinese international students have had negative experiences with the Concordia China Student Recruitment Partnership Program and the Premier Homestay program.

“It came to light that some students were experiencing difficulty with the homestay program,” said Côté. He went on to explain that while the university administration was concerned about students who had bad experiences in a homestay, the program is not run by Concordia.

“Students elect to do that on their own,” he said. It is arranged “independently” from Concordia and Côté emphasized that it is a “private arrangement” which international students are in no way required to do.

Peter Low is the director of the CCSRPP via the university’s agreement with his company, Orchard Consultants Ltd. The company is authorized to represent ConU at educational fairs and presentations as well as accept tuition and fee payments from international students.

On Oct. 2, a letter was sent out to Concordia’s 5,200 international students encouraging anyone who had complaints or concerns to come forward.

“While some students may hesitate to launch complaints for fear of compromising their academic or immigration status. We assure you that is not the case,” read the letter. “We urge you to take advantage of Concordia’s student services or contact the Dean of Students office for immediate assistance.”

Members of the administration spent the next few weeks reviewing the situation and coming up with six measures to help clarify the CCSRPP’s information and investigate complaints further.

“Given the fact that there were few responses [to the letter], we wanted to proactively reach out,” said Côté.

One of the main focuses of the initiative was to call for the translation of all relevant documents into Mandarin as well as English. The pre-departure guides created by the International Students Office, the documentation provided by the CCSRPP and homestay applications will all be made available in Mandarin in the future.

University spokesperson, Chris Mota, explained that while the university can ask to have these changes made, it is not in the “parameters of the contract” with Orchard. Côté, however, said that he was optimistic these changes would be made nonetheless.

“It’s in the interest of all parties to be as helpful and supportive to students and make things as clear as possible,” he said. “We’re interested in working with individuals that have the best interests of our students at heart. Those are the kind of partners that we want to have.”

This fall, a survey will be created to gain a better understanding of “student needs relating to university residence with a focus on international students.” Student enrolment services will also conduct annual interviews with a random sampling of 15 per cent CCSRPP students.

“We’ll be asking students to come in and talk about their experiences,” said Côté. “We want to be responsive and supportive of the needs of students, especially those who travel halfway around the globe to get here.”

The last measures will be to establish an online orientation session for new international students in not only Mandarin, but Arabic and Farsi as well, and update all references to the CCSRPP on the Concordia website.

Earlier this week, at the Concordia Student Union meeting on Wednesday, a motion was passed to formally review the situation. Côté explained that he had already met with student representatives to discuss the issue and hoped to collaborate with them further.

According to Côté, the contract with Orchard is almost up and is currently under review.

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