Canada: Province of Quebec and McGill University fight over fees

The university claims it couldn't otherwise sustain its existing program. It also says that its higher rates would still fall below those at similar MBA programs in Canada. The government of the Quebec province, though, begs to differ. Treating the university like an unruly student, comments “The Globe and Mail”, the administration says it will punish McGill over the planned dramatically increased tuition fees for the MBA program.

The government has the ultimate command over setting fees and Education Minister Michelle Courchesne argues: “Why should Quebeckers accept that we give McGill the same amount of money as other universities while they are asking $30,000 from individuals?" McGill says it moved to a self-funded model at its Faculty of Management in Desautels because needs the revenue to maintain quality and stay competitive. The MBA program costs McGill $22,000 per student, while the university receives $12,000 a year back in tuition and government grants. “In essence, McGill University currently subsidizes an MBA by approximately $10,000 per student per year,” claims the university.

Meanwhile Courchesne sent McGill notice that the government would claw back close to $30,000 in financing for each MBA student from Quebec to eliminate any advantage from the tuition hike. Courchesne says the government is intent on maintaining an even playing field for universities. “Our responsibility is to ensure that the quality of teaching is comparable across Quebec.” The province has the lowest tuition fees in Canada. The recent provincial budget called for a hike in 2010 by an undetermined amount.

The dispute at McGill mirrors similar conflicts across Canada, as underfinanced universities struggle to increase revenues. Provincial governments have rejected several university requests for fee increases in professional programs such as medicine and law, although Quebec’s government may have gone furthest by slapping on sanctions.

McGill so far refused to say whether it will back down. But the university reports it wasn't able to invest enough to keep its MBA program at a “world-class level”. Courchesne, however, insists other Quebec business schools make do with their funding. “McGill say that charging $30,000 will let them compete with other universities in Canada, the United States and others in the world. I cannot accept that argument because we have excellent schools,” says Courchesne. She may have a point: The Desautels School of Management was one of six Canadian business schools to make it into the top 100 schools ranked by the “Financial Times” for 2010.

Although the hike has raised concerns it would curtail access, the head of Desautels’ MBA Student Association endorsed it. “When you look at the education we receive, in terms of the market value, it's definitely fair," said Dave O'Brien, president of the association. "I think we're getting our money's worth. Before, it was too good to be true.”