Montreal’s Concordia University reports drop in enrolment following tuition hike [Video]

One of Quebec’s three English-language universities is reporting a nearly 30 per cent drop in enrolment of out-of-province students following a controversial tuition hike announced last year by the provincial government.

The president of Concordia University said Wednesday that the decline in new registrations will have a major impact on the institution, and is “clearly” related to the government’s decision to increase tuition for out-of-province students by 30 per cent.

“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Graham Carr said in an interview. “Obviously for the university it’s very problematic in terms of its impact on our financing.”

Concordia says out-of-province enrolment is down 28 per cent this year, while new registrations of international students have dropped by 11 per cent. The decline “will cost us approximately $15 million in revenue that we would otherwise have expected to get,” Carr said.

That hit will be felt for the next several years, …