Students pay top dollar for places in the MBA program offered by the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. (photos.com)
In a surprise twist, the Quebec education ministry has decided to allow McGill to charge $32,500 — more than 10 times the provincial cap on tuition fees — for its MBA program starting this September.
The government fined McGill more than $2 million in March for breaking provincial rules on tuition fees, but will now grant the university a “specialized” MBA designation as McGill’s program will have an international focus and a mandatory study trip abroad.
Under the deal, McGill’s altered curriculum will launch in fall 2012 with a tuition price tag of $34,750.
Education Minister Line Beauchamp said in a statement Aug. 19 that McGill’s specialized program “isn’t an exception, because other Quebec schools already offer similar programs.”
Student groups weren’t buying it. In a joint release, the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec —the province’s largest student organization — and the McGill Post-Graduate Students’ Society said the province’s decision is opening the door to a two-tiered education system.
“What the government is saying to them, it’s like: ‘Do whatever you want. Eventually we’ll give you the right to do whatever you want to do with your program,’ ” said FEUQ president Martine Desjardins.
The approval of McGill’s MBA program comes as the provincial government is planning to hike tuition fees by nearly 75 per cent over the next five years.
Quebec’s student organizations vow to intensify protest action and launch information campaigns over the next two months culminating in a massive rally on Nov. 10.