New Ontario university addresses need for French post-secondary education
Launching a French university is a natural extension of the growing Franco community in the province.
With over 600,000 francophones in Ontario, the population has needed services catering to its unique language needs for some time. That’s why in September, the Université de l’ontario français opened its doors as the first and only French university in Central and Southwest Ontario.
“We’re so proud to be serving this growing community,” said Pierre Ouellette, president of UOF. “There aren’t that many new universities opening up in general, so that in itself is an accomplishment. We’re really responding to interest and requests from the community stemming back over a decade; we’re a university by francophones, for francophones and created along with the Franco community.”
In its first year of operation, UOF is offering four undergraduate degree programs, all of which are humanities or social sciences-based taught in the context of the 21st century. Students could get a bachelor’s degree in digital culture, economy and social innovation, urban environments, or human pluralities. The university is already working on adding more programs in the coming years, including a Bachelor of Education program to address the lack of French teachers in Ontario.
“We see ourselves as an innovative institution, and we’re focused on creating and mobilizing knowledge in French while helping to form the French leaders of tomorrow,” Ouellette said. “We take an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning and eventually to research as well. I think UOF has collected the best practices from its peers, including small classes, a multidisciplinary approach to learning, innovative programs, and making sure our students are involved with the community.”
In fact, the university is adopting a collaborative approach throughout its programs by making experiential learning part of its mandate and engaging with the community at every level.
“Experiential learning is woven into the very fabric of our university,” Ouellette said. “We’re truly working to foster the link with the community, ensuring students are working with real situations and collaborating to come up with innovative solutions to issues.”
There are currently 151 students enrolled at UOF, and it has employed over 50 faculty and staff. It’s important to note that students need a knowledge of French to apply and must be able to participate in classes at the university level in French.
That said, there are support mechanisms in place for those who need some help with French.
“It’s definitely part of being student-centric,” Ouellette said. “We’re open to any French students whether they’re from Ontario, Quebec, or elsewhere; any student can apply.”
While 151 students may not seem like a substantial number, it’s actually much more than some established universities began with.
“I’m really happy with that number, and I remind people that York University started with under 50 students and now has over 50,000,” Ouellette said. “We’re definitely growing.”
UOF’S state-of-the-art campus is located right next to Sugar Beach on Lake Ontario and is just a 15-minute walk from Union Station, making its location extremely accessible.
“The building was custom built for us with brand new equipment and large open spaces for students and staff, it’s beautiful, has large windows, lots of natural light and is very modern,” Ouellette said. “It’s also set up for different modes of teaching.”
All UOF courses are offered in-person, but they are also available online to allow for remote learning.
“This was always the plan, so we were actually already set up for remote learning before COVID,” Ouellette said. “I’m sure we’ll continue to offer this dual system for the foreseeable future.”
Launching a French university is a natural extension of the growing Franco community in the province.
“It’s important that French institutions here have their own governance,” Ouellette said. “Toronto is not typically known for its Francophonie but there are tens of thousands of them there and it’s a growing segment, so it’s natural for francophones to be graduating the leaders of tomorrow for our community.”
In addition, producing graduates educated in French is helping to bridge the gap between French and English businesses.
“There’s a shortage of bilingual workers in Ontario and the need is growing, especially in Toronto,” Ouellette said. “So holding a degree of higher education in French while being fluent in English, as many franco-ontarians are, is an advantage and puts people in a good position to contribute to the economy and of course benefit themselves and the entire community.”
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