UQAR establishes a university branch in the region, including at the college campus on the Islands

A university branch of the Université du Québec à Rimouski will be established on three campuses of the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles, including the one on the archipelago.

Premier François Legault was accompanied by the minister responsible for the region, Jonatan Julien, and the rector of UQAR, François Deschênes, to make the announcement at the college today.

Magdalen Islands students will have the choice of four university programs: education, nursing, social work and management.

Mr. Legault explains that the programs have been targeted because of the shortage of manpower in these priority fields and that they are linked to the Perspectives Québec scholarships.

He noted that the provincial government will provide $1.35 million per year in financial assistance for the development of course offerings, which will be held face-to-face at each campus.

The Premier emphasized that accessibility to higher education will help retain young people in the region and, as a result, improve the graduation rate.

The local satellite of UQAR will be located on the premises of the college campus of Les Îles, which will require some logistics for sharing space, said François Deschênes, who said that Quebec is ready to finance work on infrastructure if necessary.

Evening and weekend classes are among the scenarios being considered.

Deschênes says about 10 professors and lecturers will need to be hired and the university branch could be up and running by the start of the 2023 school year.