College pressured students to pay tuition early, just weeks before applying for creditor protection
CBC
Sehaj Sharma says he began to suspect his private college in Longueuil, Que., was in trouble when it suddenly pushed him to pay thousands of dollars in tuition fees a month earlier than planned.
In late November, Sharma and his classmates were given days to pay the money or risk being suspended or kicked out.
He scrambled to come up with nearly $7,000.
"It's not that easy to pay all these fees in three to four days," said Sharma, a 19-year-old from India who was taking the college's medical office specialty program.
The college, known in French as the Collège de comptabilité et de secrétariat du Québec (CCSQ), offers vocational training in programs such as accounting and secretarial studies. Most of its students are from India.
Last Friday, the college, along with two other private colleges and a student recruiting firm, filed for creditor protection. In the court filing, the colleges blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for some of their financial troubles.
Students who attended CCSQ are now questioning the real reason for the big rush to pay their fees early.
Initially, the CCSQ's finance department told students on Nov. 21 they had until the beginning of January to pay their fees.
But an email sent Nov. 29, shared with CBC Montreal, told students they had until Dec. 3 to pay nearly $7,000.
The college said it couldn't offer extensions or payment by installment.
"Failure to make a payment by the due date will result in the suspension of a student's privileges (such as access to student services), up to suspension or expulsion from a studies program," said the email.
The demand for money coincided with an email extending the winter break.
The students were told the break would start the following day — Nov. 30 — due to concerns about the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Originally, the CCSQ was supposed to be closed from Dec. 12 to Jan. 10. The administration assured the students that their programs wouldn't be prolonged.
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