Tag: international students

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International students struggle with hybrid system

Concordia’s hybrid school system leaves international students frustrated

As students return to Concordia with a new hybrid system of online and in-person classes, international students are feeling like they have been left in the dust.

In March, the university sent an email encouraging international students to return to school for September. It was anticipated that the provincial government would want students to be physically in Quebec for the new semester.

“It really felt like Concordia just completely left us behind in the equation,” said Jane Doe*, an international student from Kentucky who is majoring in environmental geography. “They were just so eager to be back in person, whether it was Concordia or Quebec, I don’t know. But we were totally left out.”

Doe explained that because of border closures, many international students are unable to fly to Canada in time for the start of the fall semester. Concordia University told international students that they have until Nov. 8 to arrive in the country. The Concordia website states that if an international student does not have their visa approved by Nov. 8, which is the DISC deadline, their registration will be removed and tuition refunded.

According to the Government of Canada’s website, international travel into Canada is now allowed only if the person is symptom free and has received the full series of an accepted vaccine. But International students from Morocco and India won’t be able to fly into Canada until Sept. 29, with possibility for a renewal of the ban.

“I was so pissed because I thought for sure that they [Concordia] wouldn’t do that so soon,” Doe said. She explained that she assumed Concordia would continue online school into the new school year. During the past year online Doe moved back to the U.S., got an apartment, a job and expected that her last semester at Concordia would be online.

Doe is currently paying for rent for her apartment in Kentucky and in Montreal, and had to quit her job in Kentucky. According to her, international students, specifically from the U.S., cannot apply for a loan if they are attending online school.

“I had slowly moved into my own place, totally moved on from this part of my life [in Montreal] and then I was told I had to come back,” said Doe.

Doe is currently not in Canada as a student but is in the country on a tourist visa, which means in three months she will have to return to the U.S. and return again to Canada as a tourist. Doe said that she applied for her study permit extension five months ago, but has received no update even though the process is supposed to take six to eight weeks. Despite calling, she still hasn’t received a response. She explained that this is caused by the massive amount of international students also applying for a permit extension.

“There’s a lot of students that I’ve heard from that are really concerned about this because they might not get their documents in time,” said Hannah Jamet-Lange, a French international student and the Concordia Student Union’s (CSU) academic & advocacy coordinator.

Jamet-Lange explained that if international students are unable to get their documents in before Nov. 8 they are disenrolled and the student can take a leave of absence for the semester. But Jamet-Lange stated that taking semesters off can impact an international student’s visa and work permits.

“We’ve been advocating a lot for a hybrid system just because it will make it easier for students that are still abroad to still access their classes,” Jamet-Lange said, who explained that the CSU released an open letter to Concordia in August, which laid out concerns about the unclear reopening plan, and gave recommendations on how to best accommodate students.

One of the recommendations was recordings of all classes, both those held in-person and those held online to ensure accessibility. The letter further stated that this includes but is not limited to, “students who are self-isolating and international students who are unable to enter Montreal due to travel bans and/or delays in immigration procedures.”

Vannina Maestracci, Concordia university spokesperson, stated that all universities have to follow eligibility criteria and regulations for study permits.

“The request to be in Montreal is linked to their study permit and immigration status, not to the delivery format of their courses,” stated Maestracci, who explained that the provincial and federal government are allowing international students who are having difficulties traveling to Canada the ability to start their semester online.

She explained that Concordia has offered international students until the beginning of November to travel to Canada while letting them start their classes remotely.

 

Graphic courtesy of James Fay

*Granted temporary anonymity for external circumstances.

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Student Life

Canada’s costly new mandatory quarantine unfairly punishes international students

Canada’s latest travel restrictions will incur exorbitant costs for those with student visas

Following a slew of winter vacationers to the Caribbean and Mexico, new regulations for passengers entering Canada have been enforced in an effort to discourage non-essential travel.

In effect since Jan. 30, the new restrictions include a suspension of flights to some sunny destinations enforced through April 30, as well mandatory COVID PCR testing at airports for returning travellers. But most notably, mandatory three-day quarantines at government-approved hotels, with packages that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says could cost upwards of $2,000 per returning passenger, have been the subject of complaint.

Among the chatter from Canadian vacationers who have expressed disdain for the new regulations, international students have begun to voice concerns about the financial and logistical impacts these travel restrictions will bear on their plans to return to Canada.

In multiple public posts to Concordia University’s subreddit, international students wonder whether those with student visas may be exempt. One user commented, “[$2,000] equals the tuition of a whole semester for a Quebec resident at Concordia. If they would [implement] this, why [issue] new study permits to international students?”

Currently, Concordia’s website lists international student tuition fees as ranging between $21,720 to $28,995 for one academic year. Given that Canadian citizens were responsible for the majority of non-essential travel that inspired these restrictions, legitimate concerns are being raised over the inequities in its effects on international students.

Conversely, since Canadian universities such as Concordia stand to profit broadly from international tuition fees (specifically nearly $6 billion in annual revenue for Canadian universities and nearly $22 billion in expanded economic contributions), candid discussions around the equitable handling of returning international students must be had.

In another Reddit post, one anonymous student remarked, “Concordia has definitely failed us, especially international students as they said last year that we could all go home and that they would adjust consequently…” Concordia and universities across Canada did, in fact, reassure international students flexibility as they collectively navigated distance learning in the pandemic.

However, the latest Canadian travel measures do not exempt international students from the $2,000 mandatory quarantine, which is evidence of universities’ negligence in advocating for their international students.

It is important to note that international students are not asking to break public health guidelines. Rather, given that international students are ineligible for emergency financial support like the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) or the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the costly mandatory quarantines exacerbate the already exorbitant costs they face. One anonymous student remarked, “That’s crazy. That’s the equivalent of four months of my rent.” Currently, robust measures to provide equitable travel guidelines for international students are still needed.

Concordia’s international students information page touts Montreal as the “best student city in North America.” With Canada’s failure to consider the unfair impacts on returning international students, Concordia’s claim that Montreal is an “affordable, student-friendly city” appears to leave out international students amidst a global pandemic.

 

Feature graphic by @the.beta.lab

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A victory for international education in America

A new administration translates to optimism for international students.

For international students in the United States, a Biden-Harris presidency could mean positive change for their place in the country.

Openly anti-immigration Trump policies towards student visas and post-graduate work visas have severely damaged the country’s reputation as the top destination for international education. The president-elect will most likely change that.

The loss of prestige in America as an educational destination is just as clear in the data. Since Trump took office in 2016, the number of new student visas issued has plummeted by nearly half.

Throughout the campaign, Joe Biden and his team heavily concentrated their messaging around rebuilding America’s standing worldwide, especially on the education front.

Since the election was called on Nov. 7, he immediately pledged to reverse many Trump-era executive orders that discriminated against foreigners, such as the controversial ban on travellers from majority-Muslim countries in 2017.

During his victory speech in Wilmington, Del., Biden said it was “a great day for educators,” as his wife, long-term educator Dr. Jill Biden, will be assuming the role of first lady. “You’re gonna have one of your own in the White House,” Biden said, adding that teaching is “who she is.”

Biden has also pledged to reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy that protects those who came to the US illegally as children.

DACA, which was put in place by the Obama administration in 2012, put undocumented immigrants who grew up in the US on the path to citizenship. This meant that these people would no longer be in a legal grey zone with regards to their status in the United States

According to a recent report by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, there are approximately 450,000 undocumented people in post-secondary schooling in the US. DACA would protect over 200,000 of those students, also giving them access to federal loans and grants for schooling.

Roxane Jardel is originally from France and is currently pursuing her undergraduate studies in Political Science at McGill University.

“I come from quite an educated family,” she said, adding that going to an American Ivy League school had been an option when she was applying in 2017.

She decided against it, in part due to the politics at the time.

“I didn’t feel comfortable doing my undergrad in such an atmosphere,” said Jardel, adding that the discourse being vehicled by the Trump administration went deeply against her values.

Documents they published by the Department of Homeland Security show that the number of student visas issued went from over 600,000 in 2014 to just above 389,000 in 2019.

Data published by the Institute of International Education shows this has caused a plateau in the number of international students currently in the United States, averaging approximately 1 million at any given time since Trump took office.

The Trump administration also used the COVID-19 pandemic as pretence to implement further regulation.

In July, Trump attempted to deport international students who were forced to attend online classes due to public health orders.

The decision was heavily criticised by the academic community, with Harvard University even suing the administration over the policy; forcing Trump to back off.

Biden weighed in on the issue with a tweet posted on July 7, condemning Trump over the attempt. He praised the place of international students in American society, saying they “study here, innovate here, [and] they make America who we are.”

The Trump administration tried again this September when it proposed a bill that would force international students from 59 targeted countries to reapply for their visas every two years.

This meant that students were not covered on their F-1 visas for the entirety of their studies, meaning that an immigration decision could easily prevent them from completing their studies.

According to a poll conducted jointly by the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Minnesota, many Americans were worried about what another four years of a Trump presidency would do to international education in the country.

In a recent Teen Vogue article, Andrea Flores of the ACLU’s Equality Division said the election was “critical to the future continuation of foreign students in education programs in the United States.”

Jardel agreed with this.

“Trump does well at disgusting international students,” she said, relating it to how “the trivialization of extremist right-wing speech” has also pushed many students away in France.

She added that students who have the privilege of moving overseas for their education will rarely settle for a country that doesn’t reflect their values.

With Trump’s days in the White House now numbered, it is clear that circumstances for international students will change.

The number of international students in the United States nearly doubled during Obama’s presidency, which may be an indicator of how the future looks.

If Biden does in fact implement the policies on which he campaigned, the United States could regain the ground it lost on international education in the past four years, retaining its number one spot as international educator.

 

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

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Student Life

Studying 24/7: Examining the effects that time differences have on Concordia’s international students

How time zones amplify the inherent challenges in remote learning

It’s almost the end of your 8:45 a.m. Zoom lecture when the professor goes over the allotted time, again. Luckily, this time she’s only answering a question. She’s done five minutes later and logs off quicker than she can say goodbye.

You check the time on your laptop. It’s nearly midnight here in Hong Kong. If you go to bed now, you can get six hours of sleep before your next class at 6.p.m. EST.

Traditionally, every September, international students would return to Montreal for the start of the fall semester. However, as Concordia continues with remote learning, and with widespread travel restrictions in place, many students have decided to not return to Montreal this school year. For those who have decided to remain home, they face the unprecedented challenge of adapting to a university schedule based outside their respective time zones.

At the time of writing this article, I found surprisingly little on the official International Student Offices (ISO) website for these students. What I did find was mostly limited to the restrictions in place for travel in Canada. However, Concordia states that the university cannot provide any guarantees for students that they will be permitted to enter the country with the information provided. This has left many international students to make decisions about the 2020-2021 school year completely uninformed as to whether or not their decisions are valid, as was the case with Antony Flanagan, a third-year Fine Arts student at Concordia.

“I went onto the Canadian government website and looked through the restrictions,” said Flanagan. “I thought, well I might be able to get away with a few things, like some of them were vague criteria, but I called them and they just said no with what I had.”

Living in London, England, Flanagan finds the five-hour time difference frustrating but manageable. It’s when a student’s life outside of school begins to conflict with their school schedule when these challenges become more serious.

That has been the experience of a friend of mine, another third-year Fine Arts student who wishes to remain anonymous, currently studying in Honolulu, Hawaii.

“I can sum [remote learning] up for you in two words: it’s shit. I’ve been so unmotivated. I have so many classes that I need to catch up on, not to mention I’ve slept through a good amount of my classes … I work until 10 and my job is a 30-minute commute so I don’t get to bed until 11-ish. I just have no energy left,” she said.

As midterms are quickly approaching, she frequently questions her ability to continue like this in the long-term. She admits that deferring next semester has crossed her mind, but considers that to be her last resort. She would rather see Concordia provide more support to students stuck in similar positions.

Except for resources at the Student Success Centre and The Access Centre for Students with Disabilities, international students have to rely on the policies of their professors for support, which has left many students in serious trouble.

“I emailed [the professor] and asked if there is any way he could record the live sessions so that I don’t have to stay up from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. every night,” said Mohamed Almoallim, a fourth-year JMSB student studying from Saudi Arabia. “He told me to go find another section and that they weren’t going to change just for you.”

It’s this apathetic attitude towards students that have left him questioning his faith in post-secondary education in recent months.

“I’m learning online from professors at school. I can look at any search engine, find a reliable source, and find so much information. University is really worthless in a way, at least how it is now.”

It’s a common opinion shared by many students studying outside of Concordia’s local time zone, as time differences serve to amplify the inherent challenges in online learning. Concordia must provide more to students studying abroad, or risk having its international students become disillusioned with higher education completely.

If you are an international student studying abroad, you can find more information here.

 

Feature graphic by Taylor Reddam

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News

Outdoors club skates away midterm stress in enchanted forest

Concordia Outdoors Club organize group activities to build student community.

Back by popular demand, Concordia Outdoors Club held their second trip to skate the trails of Domaine de la forêt perdue, or the “enchanted forest,” in Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel on Feb. 15.

The nonprofit student-run club organizes events in and out of the city for students and Montrealers with the goal of building a sense of community, getting outside and getting active.

“In the past, it was kind of focused on just being outdoors,” said Salar Jaberi, president of Concordia Outdoors. “Now it’s transitioned to be a bit like ‘here’s something to do this weekend if you’re stressed out about school.’ We’re trying to get people outside the city more.”

Jaberi, a fourth year electrical engineering student, runs the club with a team of eight executives who are all Concordia undergraduates. Most participants are also undergraduates, though the events are open to all––non students as well.

Activities vary by season, though the enchanted forest skate trip is winter’s most popular one, said Jaberi. Saturday’s event had 87 participants and was the second of its kind this season, after huge interest in the first.

The club also goes tubing, snowshoeing, hiking, and cross country skiing. They also organize a chalet overnighter once a semester, and trips to Oka Beach in summer. Concordia Outdoors also has a partnership with Allez Up in St-Henri for weekly rock climbing on Wednesdays.

In January, Concordia Outdoors went on a chalet trip to Rawdon with 60 attendees, who participated in team activities such as toboggan building and racing. Vice President of outreach Brandon Poirier said this allows students to “connect with other people you might not usually see yourself connecting with, but also getting more comfortable with the outdoors.”

“Often times there’s a financial barrier to how students and members can get to these places,” said Poirier, a second year recreation and leisure student. He said the group “gives people the potential to be exposed to what’s outside Montreal, or even what’s inside Montreal that is outdoor related.”

Jaberi said they like to connect with and promote other clubs and events within the Concordia community, because “at the end of the day we just want people to have stuff to do,” he said. “We’re trying to build something, so [students] have something to remember once they graduate.”

“That’s the big idea: keeping people busy, keeping people outdoors,” Jaberi added.

Sashka Jones, a first year art education student, went on her first trip with the group to Oka Beach last semester.

“My friend and I stumbled upon the club and having known no one else at Concordia, we decided to take a trip with them,” she said. “We were both really introverted and left the trip feeling so good and full of energy.”

Jones said the group is great even for non-outdoorsy folks because the social aspect makes things easy. “It seems like everyone leaves the trips having known a new person,” she said. “Because you’re doing an activity, it’s really easy to start talking to anyone because you have at least that thing in common.”

This can be particularly beneficial for exchange students to combat loneliness and foster new friendships—the group has a lot of international students participating as a result, said Jaberi.

Though the group is growing in size––it almost quadrupled from two years ago––Jaberi said they don’t get much funding from Concordia’s Student Union; certainly not proportional to their growth. He wishes he didn’t have to rely on charging for tickets, but the trips are very accessible and Concordia Outdoors regularly sells out events.

Of Saturday’s 12 kilometres of enchanted forest trails, Poirier said “you don’t realize where you’re going, you just skate.” Jones said the winding S-shaped trails, lined with trees and dotted with animals and a hot chocolate shack were beautiful.

Concordia Outdoors events can be found on Facebook and on their website.  Next up this month are rock climbing Wednesdays, DodgeBow on Feb. 22, and a sugar shack trip to Cap-Saint-Jacques on Feb. 23.

 

 

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Opinions

Education, denied

Graphic by Wednesday Laplante

Ah, Twitter. The wonderful app that connects the universe with short bursts of 280-character tweets. Those tweets, which provide us with a way of expressing ourselves, are often funny, insightful, and inspiring. While Twitter is a great app that has been known to start careers and highlight important issues, it has also been known to end careers and relationships. And we’re not talking about relationships between people per say—unfortunately, we mean relationships between countries.

At the beginning of August, Canada’s foreign ministry tweeted: “Canada is gravely concerned about additional arrests of civil society and women’s rights activists in #SaudiArabia, including Samar Badawi. We urge the Saudi authorities to immediately release them and all other peaceful #humanrights activists.” This spurred angry tweets by the Saudi foreign ministry.

In a series of tweets, the Saudi foreign ministry said they were expelling the Canadian ambassador from the country and suspended trade and investment transactions between the two nations. Most notably, the Saudi government decided to suspend scholarships for its foreign students studying at Canadian universities and colleges, according to Global News.

All students relying on Saudi-funded scholarships have either already been forced to leave, or are preparing to leave Canada in the coming weeks. Sept. 22 was announced as the final deadline for Saudi trainee doctors to leave the country, according to CBC News. The same source confirmed that 8,310 Saudi students were enrolled in Canadian post-secondary schools from Jan. to May 2018. Of that number, 435 were in Quebec, with 327 at McGill University, and more than 60 at Concordia.

We at The Concordian are frustrated to see innocent students affected by this diplomatic dispute. While we understand that each country has its own customs and political systems, we believe that no student’s education should be affected by international policy disputes—especially ones rooted in a request to respect human rights. In an ideal world, these students would be allowed to stay and strive for a bright future here in Canada.

We cannot imagine what these students are going through. But we know that Canada—our society, our educational system and our workforce—will be deeply affected by the departure of these students. Saudi Arabia was the sixth largest source of international students in Canada in 2015, according to a Global Affairs report. International students add approximately $15.5 billion annually to Canada’s economy, with Saudi students representing five per cent of that group.

Specifically, Saudi students’ impact on the Canadian economy is approximately $400 million per year, according to the same source. Although monetary value should be the last thing we look at when determining someone’s worth, it’s important to stress and recognize how detrimental this loss is for Canada.

In an ideal world, a tweet about human rights would not trigger such a hasty retaliation. In an ideal world, that tweet wouldn’t have been necessary to begin with. The common saying that students are our future is true; students are the force that shapes society’s future. The things we learn and what we choose to do with that knowledge is useful in developing our opinions and overall worldview. It’s a shame that a diplomatic dispute is interrupting something as important as education.

We consider those who finally felt Canada was becoming their home. For those of you who have to say goodbye to a place you only recently said hello to; for those who were almost finished with their degree and were beginning to step toward a bright career here in Canada. We’re disappointed that a nation that celebrates its diversity and inclusivity is losing cherished and valuable members of our society. The Concordian wishes you luck in all your future endeavours, and we hope something as trivial as a tweet is never again the reason for your goodbyes.

Graphic by Wednesday Laplante

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News

Concordia responds to possible tuition hikes

Red Day organizers hosted a meet-and-greet on Nov. 11. Photo by Ana Hernandez

Clarification on the potential undergraduate international student fee increase

In response to recent student outrage over the university’s proposed tuition hikes for certain incoming international students, Concordia’s president Alan Shepard and university’s spokesperson Chris Mota spoke to The Concordian to explain the administration’s side of the story.

Students became concerned when the Concordia Student Union (CSU) made a post on their website about the university’s proposal to increase international students’ tuition and implement a cohort pricing system. The increases would apply to international undergraduate students in deregulated programs, which include engineering, computer science, business, mathematics and pure sciences.

Mota said the proposed increase would only affect incoming students in deregulated programs as of the 2017 fall semester-not current students. Cohort pricing is described as the model that will prohibit students already enrolled from facing a tuition hike, while if hikes are decided upon it will only apply to new students, said Mota.

“Cohort pricing is a guarantee for incoming students who are coming to Concordia for a three or four year program that their tuition won’t rise for that period,” Mota explained to The Concordian.

She said deregulated programs do not receive funding from the government. As a result of the deregulation of these programs, Concordia has less funding available and is now looking into cohort pricing for these new students, Mota said. “The government gave us [permission] to charge whatever we wanted,” she said. “Concordia did nothing for one year, while other universities immediately started to raise their rates.”

Mota said the tuition increase would only come into effect if the Concordia Finance Committee finds that the proposal has merit. If the committee approves the proposal, it will then be sent to the Board of Governors, who will make the final decision.

“We haven’t decided what the tuition fees will be,” said Concordia president Alan Shepard. “It’s a matter before the Board of Governors.”

“As far as we know, they plan to approve this tuition increase without any prior student consultation, nor even sharing the proposal with the Concordia community before its approval,” said Aloyse Muller, the external affairs and mobilization coordinator for the CSU.

However, Mota said there will be student input. “Once a proposal is brought to the board all members of the board, student governors included, will vote on the proposal,” said Mota.

“Historically, we’ve been setting the tuition to be exactly identical to the tuition rise prescribed by the Quebec government for Quebec residents and the rest of canadian students, which is still regulated by the government,” said Shepard.

Shepard said for international undergraduates in deregulated programs the university receives zero dollars towards their education.

Samuel Miriello, a first-year human resource management student said there is a lack of transparency from the university and he is planning to meet with administration next week. “The nature of our anger comes from the fact that the university needs to always consult the CSU and the [Graduate Student Association] before doing things like this,” he said.

Miriello is part of the Red Day team, which is composed of students who want to raise awareness about the potential hike they have created a Facebook page and are asking students to wear the colour red on Nov. 24 to show their support for international students.

Mota said surveys and research conducted by the university and by international recruiters showed that incoming international students would prefer to pay more for tuition—if for the duration of their program they wouldn’t see an increase.

“What I really regret it that it’s being played out in the press like we’re debating international tuition in the press before the governors can hear arguments for or against and make their decision,” said Shepard.

The vote will take place at the Board of Governor’s meet on at 4 p.m. on Dec. 16. Interested viewers can watch in the observer’s room in 633-1 of the Hall building.

With files from Gregory Todaro

Categories
Opinions

Editorial: Concordia is going after International Students

Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.

The news spread like wildfire on social media after the CSU shared a statement on a variety of Facebook groups and platforms. The statement detailed how the university’s administration has been looking to increase tuition costs for international students for the last three years. The CSU believes a proposal is expected to be approved by the board of governors on Dec. 14, meaning the increase would be implemented starting in the fall 2017 semester.

We were in shock here at The Concordian, as international students already pay way more than Quebec residents. Many of these students rack up a huge amount of debt whilst studying in our bustling metropolis, or are forced to look for some sort of employment to ease the financial burden. However, it can be especially difficult for non-francophone students to get jobs in Montreal.

Here at The Concordian, we think this proposed tuition hike is downright shady. It feels like Concordia is finding new ways to extort money from the student population, like capitalist vampires on a bloodthirsty hunt for fresh meat. According to the CSU’s website, international students currently make up approximately 17 per cent of Concordia’s students body, and they are the source of 25 per cent of the university’s tuition-based revenue—this was revealed during the university’s September 2016 budget meeting. At the meeting, it was also stated that “Concordia is looking to increase the ratio of international students in order to generate additional revenue from tuition,” according to the CSU.

The fact that this proposal has been in the works for the past three years is also quite troublesome, especially given the fact that it’s only being brought to our attention now. How many other secret projects are in the pipeline that’ll impact our student population? We would like to think that Concordia values its international students and what they bring to our university, but the current circumstance seems to suggest they value money more than good education.

As of yet, the university won’t allow CSU representatives to see the proposal, meaning we—the students—won’t be able to get the concrete details.

“[The proposal] has yet to be presented to the Finance Committee of the Board of Governors. That will only open happen late next month. We have to respect our governance process so the proposal won’t be shared with anyone until it goes through the required.” Said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota.

We understand the protocol in this situation, but we believe the university should be more transparent and divulge the true details of this proposal, so the student body can be fully informed before anything is approved.

This isn’t the first time international students have been screwed over either. Rewind to 2012, when the media reported widely on the fact that many Chinese international students were being ripped off. CBC News reported that Concordia hired a third party recruiter to attract chinese students to the university, yet the recruiter overstepped his role and essentially took their money and set them up in housing accommodations. When the students arrived, many of them were crammed into tiny rooms and were not even fed properly, according to the same report. Many students lost a lot of money and were afraid to speak out because they weren’t aware of their rights and feared deportation.

The university’s main focus should be on providing an opportunity for students—both from Quebec and abroad—to get a decent education and acquire the skills and expertise they need to work in an international job market. How can Concordia build its reputation abroad if the administration is constantly trying to suckle every penny out of these poor students?

Categories
News

Concordia restructures Chinese recruitment

Concordia released a statement Jan. 11 concerning the university’s decision to restructure its Chinese student recruitment policy, making it a combination of in-house and third party approaches.

Following claims from a number of Chinese international students of negative experiences with the Concordia China Student Recruitment Partner Program that came up towards the end of 2012, the administration has created a plan to move forward.

Notably, the university will be severing ties with Orchard Consultants Ltd., a company contracted by Concordia to recruit prospective students in China. The company, which was mandated to represent the university overseas, has drawn criticism as allegations of mistreatment have continued to emerge regarding the head of Orchard Consultants Ltd. and director of the CCSRPP, Peter Low.

This information initially came to light in an article published in The Link on Sept. 25.

Concordia VP Services Roger Côté told The Concordian that the “university undertook a review of interactions” in order to better understand how to improve its practices.

Côté explained that the university’s contract with Orchard would be extended until Feb. 28 so that all open files can be completed and transferred to Concordia. Following that, Orchard will no longer represent Concordia nor will it be recruiting any new applicants.

According to Côté, the focus of the new plan will be to “engage early and immediately with students.” He explained that this change came about as a result of the university administration’s realization that they needed to be more directly involved in the process.

“Over the past few months we felt we had to work alongside students more closely,” said Côté.

The so-called “blended approach” will include both internal and external recruitment strategies. This combination of on-site as well as virtual recruitment efforts will mean an increase in resources such as communication materials and staff who will recruit on behalf of the university.

Côté explained that contact with international students will be made much earlier and that it will be a priority to ensure they have all the information necessary for their transition.

The university also plans to use existing assets to bring recruitment closer to Concordia.

“We are going to hire our own students to help us,” said Côté.

Part-time e-recruiter positions will be created in order for current students to establish contact with prospective ones and create an “opportunity for student-to-student interaction.”

Once Orchard Consultants Ltd. is out of the picture, the university intends to send out a request for proposals from other agencies. Before that, Côté explained, a new set of requirements would be created with the help of several groups within the community.

“I have indicated to student leaders that I would like their input,” said Côté, referring to representatives from the Concordia Student Union and the Graduate Student Association.

CSU President Schubert Laforest said he was happy to see the university taking charge of the situation, calling the move “a step in the right direction.”

He noted that his priority would be finding a company that will act in the best interests of students.

“We really appreciate being included in the making of request requirements,” said Laforest.

He went on to say that the idea of hiring Concordia students to facilitate peer-to-peer recruitment was a positive change and that “nothing really beats having another student who is dedicated to you. It’s a more personal touch.”

The university’s working group headed by Dean of Students Andrew Woodall, which focused specifically on the issue of homestay and off-campus housing for international students, presented a list of recommendations to university administration. Côté confirmed that some of the proposed changes on the list were already being adopted to ensure the most accessible and clear information be put forth.

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News

Tuition hike may not be gone for good

McGill University's international and out-of-province students are still waiting for their tuition refund. Photo by writer.
Photo by Madelayne Hajek.

Concordia University refunded all students upon receiving official directives from the provincial government concerning the tuition fee rollback while McGill University’s international and out-of-province students are still waiting on adjustments to their accounts.

The letter sent out to Quebec universities earlier this month confirmed the cancellation of the proposed tuition fees increase. The document also cites that the Parti Québécois is considering raising tuition fees for out-of-province and international students. McGill chose not to reimburse its foreign students in anticipation of an increase.

“We all got the same instructions,” said Chris Mota, Concordia University spokesperson. “We responded in one fashion and McGill chose a different route.”

This was also confirmed by Chief Financial Officer Patrick Kelley, who told The Concordian that the administration at McGill did not interpret the official directives from the the provincial government differently than Concordia but decided differently.

Simon-Pierre Lauzon, VP external of the Concordia Student Union, said he didn’t agree with the direction that McGill chose to take.

“McGill is kind of going in another direction and not doing what I think they’re supposed to be doing right now,” said Lauzon. “I find it very unfortunate that McGill students find themselves in this situation, it’s very unfair and I hope that it gets resolved quickly.”

Joël Bouchard, the press attaché for Pierre Duchesne, the minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, confirmed that no decision has yet been made about increasing tuition fees and that the proposition is being studied.

“If we are then told at a later date that we have to increase tuition for out of province and international students, we will do so,” said Mota.

McGill University spokesperson Carole Graveline explained that the university has not refunded the increase initially tabled by the Charest Liberals because of a potential increase for out-of-province and international students on the way. Although there’s no indication of precisely when the increase will be announced, if there will be one, and just how much it will amount to, it remains “very likely” according to Graveline.

VP external Robin Reid-Fraser of the Students’ Society of McGill University said the process and wait has been disheartening.

“People are frustrated and confused,” said Reid-Fraser. “The contact we have with the administration is that they’re waiting on the government to put out their budget and really finalize what the plan is with the international and out-of-province fees.”

The Parti Québécois minority government will present a budget on Nov. 20.

“I presume there will be something in the budget but there’s no knowing,” said Graveline. “We’re not waiting on the budget, all we’re doing is taking a different path.”

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News

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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Opinions

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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