Can McGill University Survive as an Elite School?

Last week's announcement by the Quebec government that it was 'fining' McGill University for charging almost $30K a year for an elite MBA, should have the university seriously concerned, not over the $2 million the government took away, but rather for its future as an elite school.
The government is arguing that the fine is based on the philosophy of equal access of students.

But McGill argues that it was subsidizing the MBA course out of its general fund and that students who graduate from the program to extremely high-paying jobs should be accountable for the cost of their education.

And so, is $30,000 really necessary for  an MBA course?

Well the 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating', so to speak. Since the fee increase, the McGill MBA program has jumped an astonishing 38 places in the world rankings according to the Financial Times.

2010 Financial Times World Business school rankings 2010- McGill- 95th place- LINK
2011 Financial Times World Business school rankings 2011 -McGill- 57th place-  LINK

The tuition fee increase has allowed McGill to 'catch up'' with the other elite Canadian business schools. The best, the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management ranks 46th in the world and charges $80,000 to Canadians for its two year program and $99,000  to foreigners. TUITION LINK

Is paying all that money worth it?..... You bet.
The average salary for graduates is over $100,000. Here's an interesting statistical view of the graduates of the U of T's, Rotman School of Business. LINK

I guess you get what you pay for.

Incidentally the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, ranks 47th in the world, just after Rotman and charges $70,000 for a one year program! TUITION LINK

The Schulich School of Business at the York University  ranks 51th in the world and charges $25,000 each year for a  two year program! LINK

So who is out of touch with reality, McGill or the Quebec education department?

Quebec's rationale that accessibility is more important than quality, is a frightening scenario for McGill, a school dedicated to maintaining its position as an elite school, not only in Canada, but worldwide.

Can an elite school exist where the majority of its funding comes from a government dedicated to the lowest common denominator? It's a frightening question.

Quebec's determination that the most important aspect to higher education is cheap tuition fees is a bankrupt philosophy that reaps mediocre results.

The philosophy ha disturbing consequences. Quebec universities cannot offer elite programs  because the government can't pay for it and won't allow schools to charge for it.
Sounds disturbingly like medicare.

Elite MBA programs cost a lot to run.  The Quebec government's solution is to just not have them.

But since students graduating these programs enjoy astronomical lifetime earnings, it's reasonable for them to pay for their education, even if it means paying up to $100,000 for their education.
If the government is disturbed by the lack of equal access for poorer students, they can provide loans that can be easily paid off when students graduate to extremely high paying jobs.

By fining McGill, the government has sent the signal that it doesn't want these types of programs to be available. There can be no other conclusion, since asking students in other faculties to subsidize the MBA program makes no sense and is unfair to boot.

You'd think with Canada's cheapest tuition, Quebec would have the highest enrollment, but it isn't true, Quebec's francophones continue to value university education, lower than anglophones and allophones and those in the ROC.

One has to wonder if McGill is being punished because it is so good and whether the Education Department's attitude towards the school is a question of taking the school down a peg or two, so that francophone universities don't look so bad. Not a completely outrageous notion.

It's a dangerous concept, lowering standards.

Maybe the next step is to lower admission requirements at McGill to the frightening low standards applied in francophone schools.
Because of the shortage of French students, standards have sunk so low for francophone cegeps that it is actually not necessary to have graduated high school to get in!

How's it been working out? .... Not so good.  
55% of them abandon school within their first year. LINK{FR}

The real problem is how education is viewed between cultural communities.
Francophones just don't see university education as important as the rest of the country. The concept of elite students and elite programs runs counter to the egalitarian philosophy of the Quebec's education department.

If the government can't afford to pay for it , nobody can have it, even if they pay for it themselves!.....

Tragic!

All this is taking place under a supposedly federalist Quebec government.  One can only imagine what will happen if the PQ gets elected, loses a referendum and then  gets down to exacting a measure of revenge on the English community.
They've already targeted English cegeps and it's foolish to believe that Mr. Curzi et als. won't address the separatist obsession with the supposed over-funding of English universities.
It doesn't auger well, but pretending it can't happen is foolish.

The long-term viability of McGill as an elite school is certainly in question. 

I may be one of the first to say it, but McGill cannot survive as an elite university under Quebec's public model, even if the government remains Liberal. The lack of funding, the beggar's tuition schedule (even with the recent increases) is a recipe for mediocrity.

Perhaps it's time to develop a 'Plan B'
In order to maintain it's status and free itself from the destructive arm of the Quebec education department,, the school may have to become private.(gasp!)

It's a shocking conclusion, one that would see student fees triple or quadruple and would result in a drastic downsizing. 

But it is the only solution to maintaining its status as one of the world's best universities.