Recruiting in China

Concordia announced Friday afternoon that it will end its contract with Orchard Consultants Ltd., the company used to recruit Chinese students for the university.

In September, The Link published a story examining poor homestay conditions experienced by some Chinese students recruited through Orchard.

The story prompted an internal investigation by the university of its recruiting practices, particularly with regards to recruitment in China.

The contract between Concordia and Orchard was up for negotiation, but after receiving a list of recommendations aimed at addressing the issue of questionable recruitment practices, the university has decided to issue a Request for Proposals to seek out a new recruiting company in February.

In an interview with The Link, Concordia VP Services Roger Côté said the university will aim to make the process transparent; in the interim, the agreement with Orchard will continue until Feb. 28 to allow Orchard to finalize and transfer open student applications.

In order to prevent similar issues in the future, the university said in a press release on Friday that it intends to use “a blended approach to student recruitment in China” that will combine “in-house and third-party” involvement in the process.

Côté also said that the university is looking to work with the Concordia Student Union, the Graduate Students’ Association and Concordia’s Housing and Job Bank going forward.

“What we want to do going forward is have a relationship with the students ourselves directly,” said Côté.