Alison Prissinotti’s tuition increased significantly after she changed programs. Photo Alice Martin

Geneviève Sylvestre,
Local Journalism Initiative

Lack of clear communication from the administration leaves out-of-province student in the dark

Alison Prissinotti was accepted to Concordia University to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology for the 2023-24 academic year. 

As a student from British Columbia, she was part of the last cohort of out-of-province students accepted before the implementation of the Quebec government’s tuition hikes in September 2024. 

At the start of the Fall 2024 semester, the tuition for out-of-province students at English universities in the province increased from $8,992 to $12,000, with some exceptions given to students attending Bishop’s University.  

Students like Prissinotti did not have to pay the increased rate as they were accepted into their program before the implementation of the tuition hikes. 

However, out-of-province students choosing to pursue a degree transfer are subject to the tuition increase. 

When Prissinotti sought to change her degree from anthropology to print media, it had not yet been officially confirmed that changing programs would increase her tuition. When she got accepted into the program in May 2024, she had not yet received a clear answer from the university and decided to accept her admission offer.

“I did [accept] because they still hadn’t said anything and I figured by the time it’s summer and people have already received admission to certain universities that they wouldn’t be changing any tuition that late-notice,” Prissinotti said.

Over the Winter 2024 semester, she sent emails to departments such as academic advising and the Birks Student Service Centre looking for answers for whether she could change her program without her tuition increasing.   

She was informed that a change in program may affect her tuition, but that the government had not yet clarified with Concordia all the details of the tuition increase. At the start of June, the Birks centre told Prissinotti to keep an eye out on the Concordia website for any changes. 

According to web archives, information clarifying that students pursuing a degree transfer would be subject to a tuition increase was not made public on the Concordia website before Aug. 18, 2024, at the earliest. This update was only published two weeks before the start of the fall semester.

“We regret the confusion that some out-of-province students have had to face due to the new tuition policy,” Concordia spokesperson Julie Fortier said in an email to The Link. “The government unfortunately only confirmed details concerning students switching programs on August 2, 2024.” 

Fortier added that, due to lack of clear government directives, Concordia warned students that changing programs may result in higher tuition fees as soon as the new measures were announced.

Prissinotti is financially responsible for her education and relies on student loans from the government to cover the cost of her tuition. As such, she claims she was not given a clear answer from the university about the tuition increase before receiving a much higher amount in student loans than she usually does.

“I was not notified by anybody, I never received any email about it,” Prissinotti said. “I was notified by my student loans, which was ridiculous and I feel like I deserved better.”

She said she asked to go back into her old program but was informed that her tuition would increase no matter what. 

“I couldn’t afford the tuition to begin with before it was increased, never mind now,” Prissinotti said. “And so, if I can’t get enough external funding for next year, I’m gonna have to leave school and I don’t want to do that.”

Prissinotti said she felt angry and abandoned, and like the university was not listening to her needs.

“I feel like I’ve actually built a community here in Montreal and I love my life here and I love being in school. Truly all I want to do is be in school and do this program,” Prissinotti said. “It felt like something I’d worked really hard for […] had been taken away from me.”

After the tuition hikes were announced, Concordia implemented funding opportunities for out-of-province students to help lessen the financial strain of the increase in tuition fees. 

As it was too late for her to apply to any other universities, Prissinotti chose to stay at Concordia and try to apply for awards and bursaries to help her pay for tuition. Since her tuition increased, she said she is spending hours every week emailing people and applying to different grants and bursaries. 

“It’s kind of a part-time job, honestly,” Prissinotti said. “My break from doing homework is researching bursaries.”

She had an in-person meeting at the Ombuds Office in September 2024 for help on applying to scholarships and awards. On Sept. 15, she received confirmation from an ombudsperson that they will be looking into her file.

“I will look into the scholarships available through Financial Aid for new students and see what I can find out regarding eligibility for people in your situation,” the ombudsperson said in the email. 

Prissinotti exchanged a few more emails with the Ombuds Office and, on Jan. 20, 2025, she asked if it would be possible to provide an estimated end date to the investigation as the results will determine whether or not she needs to start applying to other universities. 

She was told that the Ombuds Office cannot provide a date but that they are hoping the investigation will be completed soon. She only received a notice of conclusion of her file on March 5, 2025. 

The office informed her she was not eligible for any out-of-province student awards as she is neither a student applying to Concordia from high school or a student transferring from an external Canadian university or college, which are the listed requirements for these awards.

“We therefore see no unfairness and we have no recommendations,” the decision reads.

The office also told Prissinotti that Concordia is planning on developing regular communications with program directors so that students can be advised appropriately on tuition increases. 

After months of unsuccessful communication, Prissinotti says she feels she has received next to no support from the university.

“It’s just a cycle of getting the same email,” she said. “They’d tell me to talk to this person and that person and everyone had the same answer, which was to look at the financial aid website for awards and bursaries of which—even if I got all the ones that I was eligible for—would not cover half of the cost.”

Prissinotti is not the only student feeling frustrated. Ella Rutera, a journalism student with a minor in education from Saskatchewan, said she wanted to switch to a communication major but couldn’t due to the cost. 

Rutera also said she feels pressure to graduate before the end of the grace period in summer 2029, after which she would need to pay the new tuition rate.  

“I had to declare a minor for my program, and with my specific minor, [the classes] are always full and I can never take any,” Rutera said. “I definitely feel pressure that I have to graduate on time.” 

Prissinotti said she feels that the university has no support system for students in her situation. 

“I think that the university should have been more organized on that front of letting people know when this was going to be happening, even if they didn’t know,” Prissinotti said. “They should have prioritized supporting students who this was happening to.”

Looking to the future, as the date has passed for Prissinotti to apply to other universities, she is hoping to find a way to secure enough funding to finish her degree. 

This article originally appeared in Volume 45, Issue 11, published March 18, 2025.