Post-secondary Education in Canada: Strategies for Success

2007 Report

Summary: Part I  Chapter 4 

Quality PSE 

If expenditures per student constituted the sole assessment of quality, Canada would, with the U.S., be leading the field. However, excellence depends on more than the level of spending; Canadians require a clear picture of quality within the PSE sector.

Complicating the picture is the proliferation of private providers and colleges awarding degrees, which is challenging the ability of employers to assess a job candidate’s credentials and suitability for employment.

Most developed countries have established national organizations with mandates for quality assurance or accreditation of post-secondary institutions. Canada is one of the few countries in the world that has not.

Further challenges related to PSE quality in Canada:

  • Despite a slight decrease in the ratio of full-time students to full-time professors from 19.8 in 2003–2004 to 19.6 in 2004–2005, this figure is still higher than the ratio of 15.6 in 1993–1994. The higher ratio may erode the post-secondary experience for learners.

Figure 4.3.1  Full-time students per full-time instructor, Canada


Source: Statistics Canada, Post-secondary Student Information System (PSIS), 2004–2005

  • The complexity of the sector is increasing, with the emergence of university colleges and private, degree-granting institutions. We have little information about these evolving institutions.
  • There is a need for learner protection, to ensure that credentials earned are recognized.
  • A study by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation (CMSF) on retention and attrition found that 20% to 25% of first-year students do not proceed to second year. An additional 20% to 30% leave PSE in subsequent years.
  • Canada has no mechanism to track what happens to students (and the public investment in their education) who abandon their PSE studies. For example, there is no comprehensive, national information about students who drop out, change courses, change institutions, or move from university to college.

What does this mean?

Without a quality-assurance agency for PSE and a comprehensive mechanism for tracking the learning and employment pathways of Canadians, it will continue to be difficult to measure how well the sector is delivering on the substantial investments of governments and learners.

The imperative of accountability and value for money is further intensified by the complexity and globalization of the PSE sector—teaching and learning are increasingly unhindered by borders. Such realities reinforce the importance of national quality assurance mechanisms.


Part I in full (PDF, 3.1 MB)

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