UdeMNouvelles Université de Montréal

Guy Breton, Université de Montréal rector, spoke to elected officials of the Parliamentary Committee on Culture and Education in Quebec City on August 25 and presented the accomplishments and challenges his university faces and offered solutions for its long-term funding. “The Université de Montréal makes an exceptional contribution to the scientific, economic, social and cultural development of our province,” said Dr. Breton. “Our university wants the necessary resources to fulfill its mission – not more, but not less.”

Dr. Breton stressed that as a research-intensive institution, with a wide assortment of programs, the Université de Montréal is disadvantaged by the province's funding formula, which is based on the average costs of Quebec's entire higher education network. What's more, indirect costs related to research, such as the maintenance of equipment and scientific infrastructure, are only partially covered by provincial and federal government grants.

“We are penalized by our accomplishments,” said Dr. Breton. “Since 2004, we have made cutbacks that have reduced our operating budget by $40 million annually. If our financial difficulties persist despite these major efforts, it is because the current university funding formula is poorly adapted to the reality of a university such as ours.”

The Rector presented three potential solutions to the chronic financial difficulties facing universities:

• Flexible tuition fees based on discipline as well as flexible financial aid.
• A general increase in tuition fees.
• The establishment of innovative fiscal measures to increase private funding. These measures could include, for instance, a higher education fund financed by a new type of government bond with various fiscal incentives.
  

“Students can't be the only ones asked to work towards a solution to university funding, since society as a whole benefits from the teaching and research conducted on our campuses,” said Dr. Breton. “Our businesses are the first to benefit from the expertise of our graduates. We don't want to tax them, but rather create a fiscal environment that would encourage them to support universities. This formula would instill a genuine culture of knowledge investment in our entrepreneurs.”

In closing, Dr. Breton invited all of Quebec society to take ownership of its universities: “The time has come to find sustainable solutions to a problem that need not exist.”

Université de Montréal at a glance

• With its two affiliated schools, HEC Montréal and École Polytechnique, the Université de Montréal has over 60,000 students – approximately one out of every four Quebec students.
• Some 7,700 foreign students from 180 countries walk the Université de Montréal campus every day.
• More than 7,000 lecturers, including 2,000 regular professors, are at the disposal of Université de Montréal students registered in 660 programs.
• One student out of four is a graduate student of the Université de Montréal – the highest rate in Canada.
• Each year, 11,000 students are awarded a diploma and become Université de Montréal alumni; a community with 300,000 members. 
• The Université de Montréal educates 40 percent of students working in the Quebec health sector; 34 percent of physicians; more than 50 percent of pharmacists and dentists; 60 percent of nurses and 100 percent of optometrists, audiologists and veterinarians.
• The Université de Montréal educates 28 percent of lawyers; 80 percent of demographers and 100 percent of criminologists in Quebec

On the Web:
For a complete report of the Université de Montréal presentation, please visit the Rectors' homepage

Media contact:
Sophie Langlois
Director, media relations
Université de Montréal
Telephone: 514-343-7704
Twitter : http://twitter.com/umontreal_news