MONTREAL ? After a lot of controversy and bad publicity about its overseas recruiting practices, Concordia University has decided to sever ties with the consultant it was using in China and to take a more proactive approach to recruiting.
Concordia officials confirmed the university is ending an agreement with Vancouver-based Orchard Consultants, contracted to recruit students in China, at the end of February.
Last fall, students demanded an external investigation into the university?s handling of international students after an investigation by The Link newspaper said the consultant who carries out recruiting in China for Concordia forces the students into paying costly fees to process their arrival here and then basically abandons them, offering little support and substandard homestay experiences.
Roger C?t?, vice-president of services for Concordia, said it was time for the university to develop a ?blended approach? to recruiting.
?Our review (of Orchard) coincided with an adjustment in our strategy,? he said in an interview. ?We recognized that having a direct relationship with our students is important to us. We realized we ourselves need to be more present, as opposed to overly relying on agents to do that on our behalf.?
The blended approach means Concordia will develop its own capacity to recruit in China, but will seek support from service providers. It?s still not known who those service providers will be, as the university will go to tender next month.
While C?t? said the process undertaken by the university wasn?t necessarily an assessment of Orchard itself, it seems the university is responding to criticism from students who said the school should take responsibility for recruiting.
In fact, Concordia relies on third-party recruiting only in China, because of unique circumstances there, said C?t?.
Schubert Laforest, president of the Concordia Student Union, said students are pleased about the changes being made.
?They are taking a more proactive stance,? he said. ?And we?ve been invited to help because we want to ensure that international students coming here having the best possible living conditions.?
While he said there is still a lot of work to be done, he?s pleased Concordia reacted to the student protests this fall.
The university is now implementing an action plan to enhance its offering of support services and to ensure international students have information on housing and tenant rights. Certain sections of Concordia?s website, particularly those accessed most by international students, will also be available in Mandarin and other languages.
kseidman@montrealgazette.com
Twitter: @KSeidman
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