Language Exchange and Immersion Programs Outside Québec – Higher Education Component

The Language Exchange and Immersion Programs Outside Québec (PESLEQ) provides support for projects outside Quebec that aim to increase fluency in a second or third language.

The Higher Education component is designed for groups of college and university students and their language teachers.

Every Québec college and university, public or private, can submit a project targeting any language.

• To be eligible, the project needs to meet the following criteria:
• The groups must include at least five students.
• These students must have acquired at least 90 hours of training in the target language during the current school year and prior to their departure.
• The primary language of communication in the host province or country must be the language targeted by the project.
• During the stay, a minimum of three hours of instruction per working day in the target language must be given or supervised by the language teacher accompanying the group.
• The stay must be for a minimum of 10 days, excluding the travel days to and from the location.
• The project must be led and coordinated by the language teacher, in collaboration with the partner in the host province or country.

The maximum number of accompanying persons per group must be:

• 1 accompanying person for 5-14 students
• 2 accompanying persons for 15-20 students
• 3 accompanying persons for 21-29 students
• 4 accompanying persons for 30-39 students

You may be reimbursed for your round-trip transportation (e.g. airline or bus tickets). The amount reimbursed is the lowest cost available, up to a maximum of $1 000 per student. Each student also receives a one-time payment of $200.

Local travel is not reimbursable.

If you are receiving a grant from another Québec government program, it will be considered in the calculation of the reimbursement you may receive.

If your stay outside Québec is between April 1 and June 30, you will be reimbursed for your tickets before March 31.

Funding limit

Funding for eligible projects may be limited to an amount of up to $30 000, depending on the available budget.

Project funding for private educational institutions is limited to 8% of the available budget. If there is unused funding after all applications have been processed, it will be used for institutions, public or private, whose projects are awaiting funding.

The college or university must complete the formulaire de demande de subvention (grant application form) (PDF 1.68 Mb) and include the following documents:

• a quote for transportation tickets
• a detailed itinerary for the stay (clearly indicating the hours devoted to language courses)
• a list of names of participants from Québec
• a list of names of participants from the host province or country
• an official letter from the institution's administration (summarizing the main elements of the project)
• other relevant documents

The number of projects and funding per institution and per administrative region may be limited at any time. If you plan to submit multiple projects within the same school year, establish an order of priority.

When more than one institution is involved in a project, only one of them should submit the project on behalf of the group. If the project is accepted, a single cheque will be issued to that institution and sent to the attention of the Director or Dean.

Deadline
Between December 1 and January 31

Applications are evaluated according to the following criteria:

• prior contact with partners and participants in the host province or country
• educational activities in the target language organized before, during and after the stay
• social activities with the partner and/or host families
• expected outcomes of the project
• reciprocity of the project (hosting in Québec of participants from the province or country visited during the same school year)
• overall quality of the project

You will receive a letter indicating whether your project is accepted.

The university or college must complete the Rapport d’utilisation de la subvention (grant usage report) (PDF 1.24 Mb) within 60 days after the completion of the project.

A cheque for any unused funds must made payable to the Minister of Finance and be attached to this report. This situation could arise if, for example, a student dropped out or a ticket cost less than expected.

The report must also be accompanied by the following documents:

• a detailed itinerary of the stay (including language courses, activities, etc.)
• a receipt of transportation tickets for each participant (indicating the name of the person and the price paid)
• other relevant documents

An educational institution that has previously received a PESLEQ grant may reapply. However, the applicant must provide a report on the use of that previous grant in order to be considered for a new application.

Courriel
Phone: 418 643-7095
Toll-free: 1 866 747-6626
Fax:  ;418 646-6561

1035, rue De La Chevrotière
Québec (Québec)  G1R 5A5