Christine Helen Arnold, PhD

While previous Canadian research has explored the relation between qualifications and labour markets, limited research has examined the connection between educational pathways and occupational pathways. This research compares and contrasts fields of education to explore whether educational pathways are connected to occupational pathways in Canada. It considers the implications for the purpose and design of qualifications, educational pathways, policy and relationships between educational institutions and social partners (employers, unions, professional and occupational bodies including regulatory authorities, and government). 

 

The 2011 National Household Survey (NHS), policy documents and literature are being used to compose provincial profiles that encapsulate key post-secondary and labour market variations and developments. The 2013 National Graduates Survey (NGS) (class of 2009/2010) is being used to examine the links between graduates' initial and subsequent post-secondary education qualifications within fields of study, and the interaction between qualifications, educational pathways, fields of study and labour market outcomes. Analysis of data includes comparsions across jurisdictions.

 

 

 

 

 

Student success is one of the most commonly used phrases in post-secondary education. Although the phrase often connotes a multi-faceted perspective of 'success' that varies by individual, persisting to graduation is the most commonly held component used to define this term. Provincial governments across the country are calling for 'value for money' while the public demands post-secondary graduates with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to meet the needs of a changing work place. In each case, supporting students through completion of their post-secondary education is essential for realizing students’ and the public’s investment. Programs and services that support student learning and success have become an important component of most colleges and universities, especially as increasing numbers of historically under-represented students (visible minorities, Aboriginal, first generation, and students with disabilities) are recruited and admitted into post-secondary educational programs. As these programs and services are added to post-secondary institutions, it is important to understand how colleges and universities organize to support student success and how institutional culture relates to student retention and graduation. This research investigates the organizational structures and communication of academic and student affairs divisions. Through site visits, focus groups and surveys across 24 Canadian institutions we have collected data from 5,700 students, faculty and senior administrative leaders. 

 

 

 

 

This work is motivated by a central finding from the Supporting Student Success project that students entering post-secondary education often face challenges navigating programs and services. Such problems may arise either from a lack of information or visibility of the programs available, or because some students simply fail to understand the roles of specific offices on campus. This project transformed research into practice through the development of a youth outreach strategy (interactive website, brochure, and modules/lesson plans) that provide high-school students with a vehicle for learning about the programs and services offered in colleges and universities prior to their transition into the post-secondary system. Our primary goal for the Blueprints for Student Success website is to introduce students to the area on campus called Student Affairs, Student Services, Student Life, or Campus Life. Whatever it’s called, this group of people, programs and services assist students in registering for classes, starting a club, working on a difficult class assignment, talking about a stressful situation or consulting a doctor, and much more. Many angles are needed to create any blueprint and this is particularly true in drafting a blueprint for success in college and university.

 

 

 

 

 

The Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC) and the Pan-Canadian Consortium on Admissions and Transfer (PCCAT) collaborated to lead an extensive study to understand current transcript and transfer credit nomenclature practices in Canada. These findings informed a comprehensive update and expansion of the 2003 ARUCC National Transcript Guide and resulted in a searchable database of transcript practices and Canadian transfer credit nomenclature. The resource enhances the clarity, consistency and transparency of the academic transcript and transfer credit resources that support student mobility. The research identified and summarized Canadian transcript and transfer credit nomenclature practices, reviewed four international jurisdictions as a means of highlighting promising practices related to these two areas and, finally, provided both an overview of systems and an initial examination of emergent perspectives and themes.

 

 

 

 

 

Over the last twenty-­five years, government reports on policy in post-secondary education have discussed the issue of student mobility, raising concerns of: globalization, institutional differentiation, autonomy, access, degree granting, retention, decentralization of authority, and efficiency. Student mobility is a local and global challenge that has broad implications for policy that affect all areas of educational administration. This research examines the extent to which the Ontario college-­to-­university transfer information system is performing efficiently, and identifies symmetries and asymmetries in stakeholders’ understanding of this process. Recognized symmetries were identified in areas where shared knowledge exists. Asymmetries were identified in areas where some stakeholder(s) would directly benefit from additional information from the other(s) that is not being fully disseminated, resulting in non-­uniform knowledge.

 

A qualitative methodology was employed, which included a review of over 70 documents representative of credit transfer deliberations in the province from 1999­‐2012, and focus groups with institutional administrators involved in the advisement of students and evaluation of transfer credit. Overall, 110 senior leaders, departmental and program coordinators, deans, advisors/counsellors, faculty and staff across 14 Ontario post-secondary institutions participated.