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Montreal, February 15, 2008 – The Conference of Rectors and Principals of Québec Universities (CREPUQ) deplores today’s announcement by the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports regarding orientations for increasing control of university fees.

Recalling the commitments on transparency, consultation and reporting made by the university heads in 2004 and reiterated in autumn 2007, the President of CREPUQ and Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University, Heather Munroe-Blum, stated that “the introduction of additional controls would only be detrimental to the quality of the services that, remember, are intended for the students”.

The university heads believe that knowledge of students’ needs enables universities to offer services that meet the specific requirements and special needs of their clientele, that the range of services available should be able to change to suit the needs and that it is normal for such services to be funded with additional fees, in compliance with provisions already contained in the Ministry’s budgetary rules.

“It goes without saying that service quality cannot be maintained unless compulsory fees are adjusted for increases in basic costs. Acting otherwise may deprive students of resources that are constantly changing and are closely tied to their university education”, added Heather Munroe-Blum.

The CREPUQ President indicated that it was normal for compulsory fees to vary from one university to another because the services offered are varied and often tailored for different target clienteles.

Giving as examples fees related to copyright, insurance premiums and purchases of educational equipment, Heather Munroe-Blum added that universities often acted only as intermediaries and that they often had no direct control over costs. On this topic and for other points raised by the Minister’s announcement, the CREPUQ President said she hoped to have a constructive dialogue with the Ministry of Education authorities to avoid situations that, ultimately, would risk penalizing students.

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For information :
Daniel Zizian
Directeur général
514-288-8524 p. 201