Direct Admissions is a system developed and piloted recently in the US that defaults graduating high school students into post-secondary admittance by data-matching their profiles (transcripts, standardized test scores, and prerequisites) with institutions' preset eligibility criteria. As applicant and institutional interest in direct admissions…

The term "summer melt" denotes a phenomenon when post-secondary students who received an offer of admission and may have paid a deposit when accepting the offer, "fail to enroll at all in the fall after high school graduation". Assessing the extent of summer melt and the success of measures to reduce it has become more relevant…

This report summarizes a comprehensive environmental scan of thirty-eight BC Transfer System post-secondary institutions' admissions processes and presents both current best practices in the system and opportunities to advance equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization (EDID) supports attached to institutional admissions policies and…

Direct Admissions is a system developed and piloted recently in the US that defaults graduating high school students into post-secondary admittance by data-matching their profiles (transcripts, standardized test scores, and prerequisites) with institutions' preset eligibility criteria. As applicant and institutional interest in direct admissions…

A plethora of micro-credentialing research and pilots are underway across Canada and around the world led by academic researchers, government, and industry. The intensity is creating a perfect storm of opportunity that is reframing assessment practices. Exploring their utility for admission and transfer into higher education, the focus of this…

This report examines transfer student pathways and performance from British Columbia (BC) Transfer System institutions into BC's public research-intensive universities: Royal Roads University (RRU), Simon Fraser University (SFU), Thompson Rivers University (TRU), University of British Columbia (UBC), University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC),…

Across Canada, systemic barriers have created an environment where Indigenous learners encounter obstacles to accessing and persisting through post-secondary education, resulting in an educational gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. The federal government has made it a priority to address this gap. This report expands upon…

This report was commissioned jointly by the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) and the British Columbia Registrar's Association (BCRA) to create a background document to further dialogue among stakeholders regarding any proposed changes to the secondary school graduation program in BC. The scope of the report includes only…

The goal of this study was to explore current practices that help support and enhance Indigenous students' experiences in post-secondary education. Through the use of Indigenous ways of knowing and storytelling, those supporting students at IAHLA and public post-secondary institutions gathered to weave together their stories of success, struggle,…

Assessing credits that transfer students bring to an institution may require a significant amount of institutional resources. The increased mobility of students among post-secondary institutions in British Columbia (BC), and the need to ensure efficient admission processes for both the student and the institution, makes transfer credit assessment…

A visiting student is a student who moves from their home institution where he or she is registered usually in a degree program, to take a specified number of courses or credits at another institution. Students may or may not hold a letter of permission. Most of these students later return to the home institution and request transfer credit for…

The project presented in this report examined how the public post-secondary education system in British Columbia (BC) uses various means to admit applicants who have not achieved high school graduation -- the normal criterion for admission -- to universities, colleges and institutes in the province. The criteria by which post-secondary…

A 2013 British Columbia Council of Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) research report suggested the need to continue research on mature students for the sake of ensuring access to postsecondary education (PSE) for adults and other categories of non-traditional students. The 2013 report laid a basis for this study which investigates key elements of…

This paper examines topics of equity and access to post-secondary education through exploration of barriers and other dimensions that serve to identify underrepresented groups in BC post-secondary education. The key purpose of the research project is to assess the policies and practices at the BC Transfer System institutions for admitting…

The BC Council on Admissions and Transfer is always seeking ways to improve the transfer system for the benefit of students. Doing so is informed by research in one form or another. Questions added to the 2011 Diploma, Associate Degree and Certificate Student Outcomes (DACSO) survey sought to gain a better understanding of why some students are…