Canadian Council on Learning | Conseil Canadien sur l'Apprentissage

Post-secondary Education in Canada: Strategies for Success

2007 Report

Summary: Part III

From Data to Benchmarks

Part II outlines the need for, and characteristics of, a pan-Canadian data strategy for PSE. As indicated in this strategy, the word data can have different meanings and serve different functions. These functions range from baseline information about the sector’s characteristics to robust and telling indicators that allow for assess ment of performance and progress over time, or in comparison to other jurisdictions. Finally, data can be used to set numerical targets to which jurisdictions attach priority for future attention.

Part III moves beyond the data strategy to explore the question of benchmarking. This requires close attention to the linkages between PSE and the wider social and economic goals being pursued in Canada.

In today’s competitive, global economy, and in the current policy environment, which emphasizes accountability in publicly funded sectors of society, the move to measure outcomes has become fairly standard. Much effort has been devoted to designing, assembling and assessing data and indicators that shed light on who undertakes PSE, what they gain from it and, increasingly, how those benefits affect life after tertiary education.

Many other jurisdictions have established benchmarks. While the idea of benchmarks has been interpreted differently in different countries, they are generally understood to refer to system averages. The methodologies, terminology and results of these exercises vary in their focus and intensity. There is considerable internal debate within governments and institutions regarding the appropriate balance when determining what to report on and with what degree of analysis and interpretation.

Part III of the report provides a brief overview of the initiatives to monitor and report on PSE in several other countries and jurisdictions. The intent is to identify some of the approaches, models and indicators that Canada could examine to determine the potential applicability or usefulness of such practices to the Canadian situation. This section supplements the conclusions reached in Part II and proposes that seven key areas serve as a foundation for discussing the development of a focussed set of benchmarks and, potentially, targets, for Canada.

The seven areas that CCL has identified are:

• literacy levels
• math, science and technology graduates— undergraduate and graduate
• R&D personnel per 1,000 population
• graduation rates
• PSE attainment rates for population
• high-school completion rates
• adult participation in lifelong learning

These seven areas are offered as a starting point for consideration by researchers and policy and program experts across the country.

Part III in full (PDF, 459 KB)