Law 14

Amendments were made to Quebec’s Charter of the French Language with the adoption of Law 14 in May 2022 by the National Assembly which directly impact all English-language cegeps.

English-language cegeps are officially designated as anglophone institutions but continue to be allowed to admit students of all language backgrounds, regardless of whether a student holds a Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) to access English-language education in the province. This certificate is required to study in an English-language elementary school or high school in Quebec but is not required to study in an English-language cegep. However, depending on whether or not a student at the cegep level holds a CoE, there are differing program grids and language exam requirements for graduation.

Specifically, this means that:

• Students without a Certificate of Eligibility must write the provincial French-Language Exit Exam (students with a CoE will continue to write the English Exit Exam) beginning as of Fall 2023 admissions
• Students with a Certificate of Eligibility are prioritized for admissions as of Winter 2024 admissions
• All students in an English college will take a total of five courses in French (either language courses or program-specific courses) within their program of study beginning as of Fall 2024 admissions

French-language acquisition support services are in place and available to all students at Champlain-Lennoxville, regardless of language background.

⬇️ Please note that the following information was originally compiled by Dawson College and made available for public use.

English Exit Exam VS French Exit Exam

As of Fall 2023, all CEGEP students in the province must pass either an English Exit Exam or a French Exit Exam to receive their Diploma of Collegial Studies (DCS). Under Law 14:

• Students with a COE attending an English CEGEP will need to pass the English Exit Test to graduate (no change)
• Students without a COE attending an English CEGEP will now need to pass the French Exit Exam, whereas before they wrote the English Exit Exam. The course content of our programs has been adjusted so that students who must write the French Exit Exam can develop their French skills to an appropriate level.

Fixed Cap on Enrollment

• The law sets limits on the total number of students English-language CEGEPs can enroll. In concrete terms, at Champlain College-Lennoxville, this means we can enroll a maximum of 1,200 students, which is similar to our student population in recent years.

Priority Admission

As of Winter 2024, for programs in which the number of applications for admission is higher than the number of spaces available, priority will be given to certificate holders as follows:

• For first choice program applications, priority will be given to certificate holders based on college-determined standards that will vary depending on the program. These standards might consist of, for example, a certain overall average and/or score on audition, interview, drawing test, portfolio, etc. As these standards may vary from one year to the next, they will be made public at the start of the recruitment period. In most programs there will still be space to admit those without a COE.
• For the Fall semester, for second choice program applications, admission priority will be given to certificate holders who meet the minimum requirements. This may result in admission to a different program or to the Springboard pathway.
• For programs leading to an Attestation of College Studies (ACS), admissions priority will be given to certificate holders based on program-specific admission requirements.

Important: 

• Priority of admission should not be interpreted as a guaranteed admission into an applicant’s first choice program/CEGEP and all applicants must meet the minimum admission requirements.
• Based on the number of applications we historically receive from certificate holders we do not expect the current ratio of certificate holders versus non-certificate holders in our student population to alter dramatically.

Course in French

Up until Fall 2024, all students have and will complete their courses in English apart from second language courses. However, as of Fall 2024:

• Students with a COE will have to take three program courses in French OR three additional French language courses to improve their French language skills, depending on their level of ability.
• Students without a COE will have to take three of their program courses in French.

Champlain-Lennoxville already has many supports in place to practice and improve French language skills, including CLÉO (Centre de langue écrite et orale) and the CAF (Centre d’aide en français). For more information, click here. 

⬇️ Please note that this information was originally compiled by Dawson College and made available for public use.

At the moment, the Ministry of Education defines the criteria. A detailed description is available on the Ministry’s website. More information is also available on Quebec’s EducaLoi website.

Important: All English CEGEPs have been granted access to the provincial government’s records to see who has eligibility, so you do not need to submit a copy of your Certificate with your application.

More information coming soon!