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Post-secondary experiences, attitudes & intentions of 2005–2006 B.C. high-school graduates who did not pursue public post-secondary education in British Columbia by fall 2007

April 2009

Funded by:
British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer and
Canadian Council on Learning

Forty-two percent of British Columbia’s 2005–2006 high-school graduation cohort had not registered at a public post-secondary institution in British Columbia by the end of the 2007 fall term. In March 2008, 2,018 of these high-school graduates were surveyed to find out more about their experiences and attitudes, and to determine whether they intended to pursue post-secondary studies.

The co-funders were interested in (a) other post-secondary destinations outside of the B.C. public system, and (b) better understanding the intentions of high-school students who have not continued on to post-secondary education after graduation from high school.

Highlights

By March 2008, or nearly two years since high-school graduation, an estimated 78.4% of 2005–2006 B.C. high-school graduates had transitioned to public or private post-secondary education at institutions within B.C. or elsewhere. The rate of transition to B.C. public post-secondary institutions alone was 62.1%.

Although they had not transitioned directly to public post-secondary studies in B.C., most survey respondents (96%) were pursuing or were interested in pursuing further education: only 4% indicated that they had no intention of ever pursuing post-secondary studies.

An estimated 6.9% of 2005–2006 high-school graduates had enrolled at private post-secondary institutions in B.C. and 6.2% had left the province to pursue their studies elsewhere in Canada. Among transitioners outside of the B.C. public system, students with high grade-point averages (GPAs) tended to leave the province, while students with lower GPAs were more likely to be found in B.C.'s private post-secondary institutions.

Financial concerns were the primary barrier to pursuing post-secondary studies reported by survey respondents.

Post-secondary Status: Experiences, Attitudes and Intentions
Each of the 2,018 respondents was classified into one of eight mutually exclusive postsecondary status categories, based on their post-secondary experiences, attitudes and intentions at the time of the survey:

  • Active registrants had pursued post-secondary studies and were still attending at the time of the survey (n = 656, 33%);
  • Completed registrants had completed a post-secondary program or course(s) (n = 244, 12%);
  • Accepted applicants had applied for admission to a post-secondary program but had not registered, often because their program had not yet started (n = 166, 8%);
  • Pending applicants had applied for admission to a post-secondary program and were still waiting for an admissions decision (n = 77, 4%);
  • Rejected applicants had applied and were denied admission to a post-secondary program (n = 24, 1%)
  • Former registrants had pursued post-secondary studies but left before completing their program (n = 87, 4%);
  • Postponers had not applied for admission but had considered it or might consider it at some point in the future (n = 690, 34%);
  • Opposers had never applied for admission, had never considered doing so, and probably never would (n = 74, 4%).

Post-secondary experiences, attitudes & intentions of 2005–2006 B.C. high-school graduates who did not pursue public post-secondary education in British Columbia by fall 2007

Le parcours, l’attitude et les intentions des diplômés du secondaire 2005–2006 de la Colombie-Britannique qui ne s'étaient toujours pas inscrits à un établissement