Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – A sharp increase in applications from students in the region and the rest of the province offsets in part the massive loss of international students in the first round of registrations for the fall semester at Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles. 

According to data from the registration period that ended March 1, the college has received 717 registrations compared to 783 at the same time last year. Of the registrations 306 were from the region, and over 250 from elsewhere in the province. 

The retention rate for students from the region is 80%. “The demographics are improving in the Gaspésie. More students were enrolling in CEGEP in the region. We have about fifty more admission applications this year, and the retention rate is 80%, which is very pleasing,” says Director of Studies Serge Rochon. 

However, the outlook for international students is less optimistic. “We are seeing a significant drop in the number of applications from international students. We are down 42%, which is significant. Despite this, we are able to offer almost all programs at Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles,” says Mr. Rochon. Applications for international students have dropped from 302 to 176. 

“For months, the government has been saying, ‘We’ll impose this measure, or it will be more difficult for post-graduation permits,’ because students, once they graduate, would like to stay in Quebec and work to meet our labour needs. This rhetoric, which we’ve been hearing for months, has made students less interested in coming to study in Quebec,” says Mr. Rochon. 

The Adventure Tourism Technique program has already reached capacity in the first round, while only a few spots remain in the second round for the medical archives, marine engineering, legal technology, police technology, and computer technology programs. 

Due to budget caps imposed by the Quebec government, the Police Technology program will not require practical labs for its first year, as budgets for capital investments have been capped by Quebec. This work is planned for the summer of 2026. 

“We have a cap, but we’ve prioritized Police Technology. In the first year, there are mainly theoretical courses on professional knowledge, psychology courses, which means we didn’t need labs in the first year,” says Mr. Rochon. 

On the other hand, an extensive revision of the Early Childhood Education program failed to attract enough students to revive the course. 

“We had renewed the program. We had developed partnerships with daycare centres in the Côte-de-Gaspé region. There were jobs available upon entering the program, paid internships. Despite this, we had few applications for admission. We will look into this with our partners to make the program as attractive as possible. The training is less attractive to young people. There is the whole issue of working conditions. We see that they are negotiating, and we hope that with better conditions, we will attract young people. It is our great disappointment to be forced to suspend only one program, and that is Early Childhood Education Techniques,” analyzes the director of studies. 

Last year, the CEGEP found housing solutions for out-of-town students, including a public call for student accommodations in Gaspé, which resulted in a surplus of available housing.  “With our partners, there is still space, and we are hopeful of housing all our students in Gaspé next fall,” he says.

In Carleton-sur-Mer, a new residence is under construction with about twenty spaces.  Meanwhile, the residence project in Grande-Rivière is moving forward with the Ministry of Higher Education, but nothing has yet been finalized.  “The budgetary context makes it difficult to have new projects these days. But with private partners, we found solutions. I don’t think we have any particular issues in Grande-Rivière,” notes Mr. Rochon. 

In the anglophone sector, 17 registrations were received at Gaspé campus. “It was 22 last year. It’s a slight decrease, but there’s still room. We often have registrations in the second, third, and fourth rounds. There are also agreements with English-speaking CEGEPs that often arrive during the winter semester,” says Mr. Rochon.