Concordia joins McGill in offering bursaries to counter tuition hikes

Concordia University will offer bursaries of up to $4,000 per year to out-of-province Canadian undergraduate students, joining McGill in creating an offset to the tuition hikes announced this fall by the Quebec government.

The university says eligible students will be automatically considered for the bursaries, called the Canada Scholars Awards, which will be pegged to academic performance and available to students with a B- average and higher.

"We want to ensure that Concordia continues to be the chosen destination for both francophone and anglophone students from elsewhere in Canada," said Concordia president Graham Carr in an emailed statement.

The statementsaid the bursaries are a response to "concerns that recently imposed tuition feeincreaseswould result in fewer students choosing to study in Quebec."

Earlier in the fall, Quebecannounced that tuition fees for out-of-province Canadian students would jump to around$17,000. Last week,it reduced the fees to $12,000 starting next fall, while adding a requirement that 80 percent of students demonstrate intermediate proficiency in oral French.

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While the province is reducing its tuition hike for out-of-province Canadian students, it's adding a French requirement that one university is calling 'devastating.'

The bursaries Concordia announced on Friday are forundergraduate applicants from high schools from provinces outside Quebec. But the universitysaid it was also addingfinancial awards for students transferring from post-secondary institutionsoutside Quebec, as well as additional bursaries for graduate students in Masters, diploma and certificate programs.

In the statementCarr also noted that Concordia is developing"exciting pathways that will support our students to fully participate in the vibrant francophone culture that distinguishes Quebec," appearing to extend an olive branch to the provincial government.

Quebec has framed the tuition hikes as necessary to counter the decline of French in Montreal and Quebec.

On Tuesday, McGill Universityannounced its $3,000 Canada Awards forstudents from the faculties of arts, education, nursing, music, the school of architecture and most science programs.

The government's response to the bursarieshasbeen muted so far.

Following McGill's announcement, aspokesperson for Quebec Higher Education Minister PascaleDrytold CBC by emailthat the university is "free to award bursaries to its students from its own funds," and the minister hopes she can count on the university's co-operation to implementthe government measures.