The People’s Universitymade by Alpha

Follow the money

Let’s talk about your money.

Paid to Concordia by students in mysterious fees, 2024-25

$38.8M

On top of tuition. Not your student union or association fees: these are Concordia’s own.1

So what are they? Concordia’s fees, 2024-25
Student services fee$15.2M
Administrative fee$11.1M
Technology fee$5.3M
Admission fees$3.7M
Registration fees$2.3M
Other mandatory fees$1.2M
Total$38.8M
Not included: the $12.9M Concordia collects for your student associations. That money goes to them.1

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What you pay

One full-time year of Arts & Science at Concordia. Tuition only.2

Same classroom. Same library. Same shuttle bus that stops at 6:30 p.m.

International students pay11×the tuition.

And Concordia says Quebec’s 2024 funding rules leave it about $6,000 less per international student, every year.3

Then everyone pays fees on top.4

Concordia fees, full-time year (30 credits)
Administrative fee$401.40
Student service fee$362.10
Technology infrastructure fee$189.30
Registration fee$62.20
Copyright fee$13.50
Total, before tuition$1,028.50

You pay more for “administration” than for “student services.”

You might think…

After all that, Concordia covers your graduation, right?

Nope.

Your graduation, itemized
Asking to graduate$49.90
Asking late+$19.00
Each guest who comes to see you$30 + tax
Guaranteed guest tickets4
A grad cap to keepyou buy it
Grad photossold by private studios
Flowers, diploma framefor sale
Free souvenirnone listed
From Concordia’s own graduation pages.5

Your parents, your grandma, your best friend: $30 + tax each to watch you walk.

Congrats. That’ll be extra.

At McGill, grads pushed back on convocation ticket fees in 2025, and McGill reversed course.6

Pushing back works.

Who pays for student life?

Mostly you.

$22.5MWhat Concordia spent on student services in 2024-25.7
$15.2MOf that, paid by you, through the student service fee. About two-thirds.7
$12.9MPaid by students to their own associations, which run the clubs, events and services you actually use.7

The library stays open all night because students pay $1 a credit for it.8

For every $1 Concordia adds to student life from its own budget,

$4comes from students.9

You’re not just a student here.

You’re paying for it. You should have a say in it.

More coming here: where the rest of the budget goes, and what Concordia could have funded instead.

Sources

  1. Concordia University, SIFU 2024-2025 (Quebec’s standardized university financial report), Annexe 18: mandatory institutional fees (frais institutionnels obligatoires) $38.8M, including student services fee $15.2M, administration fee $11.1M, technology fee $5.3M, admission $3.7M and registration $2.3M; “other” is our math ($38.8M minus the listed items). Student association fees collected on their behalf: $12.9M, listed separately.
  2. Concordia University, undergraduate tuition rates, Fall 2026 and Winter 2027: Quebec residents $103.92/credit; Canadians from outside Quebec admitted Fall 2024 or later $324.35/credit; international Arts & Science $1,160/credit. Totals are our math for 30 credits. Some students qualify for exemptions or lower rates. concordia.ca
  3. Concordia University, “Fall update on Concordia’s budget,” Nov. 4, 2025 (Quebec’s 2024-25 funding formula: about $6,000 less per international student per year). concordia.ca
  4. Concordia University, “University fees,” 2026-27 rates: administrative fee $13.38/credit, undergraduate student service fee $12.07/credit, technology infrastructure fee $6.31/credit, copyright fee $0.45/credit, registration fee $31.10/term. Totals are our math for 30 credits over two terms. concordia.ca
  5. Concordia University, graduation and convocation pages, viewed November 2026: graduation application fee $49.90 and late fee $19.00 (apply to graduate); “Guest tickets are $30 + tax”, four guaranteed per graduate (convocation); mortarboards “available to purchase as a souvenir”, photos by Lassman Studios and GradImages, flowers and frames sold (photos, gifts and souvenirs).
  6. Academica, “McGill reverses course on convocation ticket fees, guest limits after backlash,” 2025. academica.ca
  7. Concordia University, Système d’information financière des universités (SIFU) 2024-2025, filed with Quebec’s Ministry of Higher Education: Annexe 2 (operating spending on student services, $22,540,755) and Annexe 18 (student service fee revenue $15,170,361; student association fees collected on their behalf $12,909,194).
  8. Concordia Student Union, Library Services Fund: undergraduates contribute $1 per credit, funding 24/7 library access and more. csu.qc.ca
  9. Our calculation from the SIFU source: Concordia’s own contribution to student services is roughly $22.5M minus the $15.2M student service fee, about $7.3M. Students pay $15.2M + $12.9M = $28.1M. $28.1M ÷ $7.3M ≈ 3.9. A rough comparison: it doesn’t count every source of student-life funding.