Uqar program under scrutiny: a ritual, students’ distress and an external review
In a clearing near campus, students recall exercises that used rose petals and embers and encouraged public sharing of personal trauma — memories that helped trigger an external review of uqar’s psychosociology programs. The rites, fasting exercises in the forest and accounts of students leaving the program distressed have put teaching methods under an institutional lens.
What has been alleged about Uqar’s psychosociology program?
Former and current students and some professors described classroom practices that some compare to therapy or ritual. Testimonies collected include accounts of students being encouraged to recount traumatic experiences publicly, to perform symbolic actions — circles where someone is placed in the middle while others use rose petals or go on hands and knees and roar — and exercises such as fasting in the forest or jumping over embers. Members of the psychiatric community voiced concern about students who appeared traumatised when they left the program; a group of psychiatrists once sent a letter to the university’s rector and the program was later revised after that communication.
Who is speaking out, and what do they say?
Jeanne-Marie Rugira, professor at the department of psychosociology and social work and a former director of the program, rejects the criticisms. She said she never pressured students to reveal personal details and described a clear pedagogical agreement with participants: “I have a pedagogical contract with the students. They know that they are not obliged to say anything, absolutely nothing if they do not feel capable. ” She added that if a question causes distress, students can say stop and she will respect that boundary.
At the same time, François-Pierre Renaud, responsible for graduate cycles at the campus student association (AGECAR), said students confided fears about denouncing certain practices used in the program. That fear, he noted, has made some reluctant to come forward and has shaped how alumni and enrolled students discuss the curriculum.
What is the university doing and what does the review examine?
Uqar initiated an external analysis of the bachelor’s and master’s programs in psychosociology of human relations in the autumn prior to the review. Anne-Sophie Lebel, director of communications at the university, confirmed the analysis was launched and explained it is ongoing and confidential. The review is designed to include a survey of students, graduates and teaching staff. Because the process remains active and confidential, the university has declined to discuss details publicly.
The review follows years of debate: some faculty and psychiatrists raised concerns over time, and the program underwent revisions after an earlier letter from psychiatrists. The current external analysis aims to gather perspectives across the program to assess whether practices align with professional and pedagogical standards and to gauge student experience.
The question now is whether the analysis will reconcile the tensions between a faculty that defends an inclusive, experiential approach and students and health professionals who warn of harmful effects. For those who recall rose petals in a classroom circle or a student pushed to bare a family story, the review carries the weight of unsettled questions about care, consent and pedagogy at uqar.
