LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY DENIES FILM STUDENTS THE EDUCATION THEY PAID FOR
We are students in the Film Production program at Laurentian University (LU), and we are asking for your support in demanding that we receive the education we are paying for. With your support, we hope to inform the Minister of Colleges and Universities about this serious violation of university policies and students' rights.
ABOUT
Explaining the Issue
On April 30th, 2020, we students received a group email from Laurentian University (LU) with the subject heading, “Closure of Theater and Motion Picture Arts: Message from the Dean of Arts". Upon communicating with the Dean of Arts and other administrators at LU, we were told that we would not be allowed to complete our degrees in the Motion Picture Arts (MPArts) Program. We were also informed that the entire MPArts faculty have been laid off. The students and community pushed back, responding by challenging LU, stating that it could not close a program with students still in it.
Following the community's response, LU held a Senate meeting to decide on the status of our program on May 19th, 2020. This Senate meeting had the largest attendance in LU's history. The Senate confirmed that under the policies of the Ministry of Colleges and Universities they could not close our program. After this meeting, we felt relieved but the communication that followed after exposed just how far LU is willing to stray from not only policies but morals to escape its legal responsibilities to its students.
After the Senate meeting, the Dean of Arts informed us in a group email that we would be allowed to complete our degree in MPArts, however, we would not be offered the appropriate courses for our degrees and would be taught by instructors who are unqualified to instruct anything about filmmaking. We were told that the courses that form the basis of the contract we entered into with LU and form our degrees have been canceled. Instead, LU offered us to take their so-called course “equivalents” that come from not only other Departments at LU but potentially also colleges. These course "equivalents" that Laurentian is attempting to replace our courses with are in fact not “equivalents", and most are not even related to filmmaking.
Our Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is unique because our curriculum is not theory-based, but is practice-based. In our practice-based program, we learn how to make films, not only how to analyze them. These practice-based courses must be given by instructors with both the required practice-based academic credentials (i.e., Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Production) and the appropriate professional experience in commercial filmmaking.
LU is using these course "equivalents” as a way to avoid financial commitments. They believe they can convince the students that they are following the legal requirements by providing these course "equivalents” to give us our degrees, which is false. This is to avoid financing qualified teachers in filmmaking and the appropriate courses. Furthermore, attempting to get us to switch programs, and now attempting to drastically alter the specific and unique practice-based courses with appropriately qualified instructors in our curriculum, goes completely against the policies of the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities. If LU does not provide the fundamental knowledge of our degree and simply just gives us the degree, LU will negate its legal obligation to us as students and Ontario’s Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP).
All programs at LU are approved by the Academic Planning Committee of Senate (ACAPLAN) at LU. Then the quality of the delivery of programs is overseen by the Provost of LU, who assures LU’s delivery of the program is in compliance with IQAP. However, these actions towards our MPArts program by the administrators at LU, notably the Dean of Arts, the Provost, and the President, justifies the quality of our program delivery is no longer assured and is not in compliance with the IQAP.
Some in the community have responded to us by saying, “just transfer schools.” Please know that even if we wanted to do so, we could not because the closest university that offers a BFA degree in Film Production is in Toronto, which is not financially viable for most students. Also, taking classes online to learn filmmaking from other universities is simply not of the same quality as in-class courses, and would therefore damage the quality of our education. Therefore, we must return to LU and continue to pay thousands of dollars in tuition to attend, regardless if LU provides the education we paid for.
To put this into perspective, imagine if this happened to other students in other programs. Imagine if this happened to a Medical or Engineering program? If LU can do this to one program then they could do this to any program. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if students were given degrees without the necessary courses and instructors that make up their degrees. We place faith in our universities to ensure that people who earn university degrees are educated with the appropriate knowledge to function in their field. If a university can be allowed to give out any degree to suit their financial desires without providing the appropriate skills and knowledge to students then it renders degrees, and the importance of post-secondary education, meaningless.
We are students who have paid thousands of dollars in tuition and will continue to pay for the upcoming years. These drastic changes to our courses and faculty are so significant that they have fundamentally changed our program. This is not the education that we were guaranteed, and for which we are paying. We are humbly asking for your support so that we can receive our education. We are certain that the words and actions of the President, the Provost, the Dean of Arts and other administrators at LU have and continue to negate LU's contractual obligations to us as students enrolled in the MPArts program, and the program is no longer in compliance with the IQAP.
How Do We Take Action?
We, the students in the MPArts program, have sent a letter addressed to the Minister of Colleges and Universities, who has the authority to resolve this issue.
Through the community signing this petition we can demonstrate that this is a critical issue that requires the attention of the Minister. Please share this website and petition with your friends, family, and local media outlets.
This website is updated daily.
You can also join the Facebook group.
Please write an email to LU's administrators respectfully expressing your concerns:
1.The President of Laurentian, Dr. Robert Haché
2. The Interim Vice-President Academic and Provost, Dr. Serge Demers
3. Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Jöel Dickinson
