As program-level assessment increasingly becomes an integral part of the higher-education landscape, so does the debate regarding the efficacy of current assessment methods. Traditionally, students do not participate in assessment--neither of their own learning nor of institutional or program efficacy. Our assessment process presents an…

Student learning outcomes assessment examines whether programs cover the material stated in their learning goals, whether students are learning the material, and the impact on student retention, graduation, post-graduation outcomes, and institutional accreditation, with the aim of providing faculty with data that can be used to help programs…

This paper explores a method to support instructors in assessing cognitive skills in their course, designed to enable aggregation of data across an institution. A rubric authoring tool, "BASICS" (Building Assessment Scaffolds for Intellectual Cognitive Skills) was built as part of the Queen's University Learning Outcomes Assessment (LOA)…

More and more Canadians are pursuing graduate studies, often to increase their chances of getting a better-paying job. Using data from the 2016 Census, this study examines the extent to which median earnings of workers with a master's degree or doctorate differ from their counterparts with a bachelor's degree, focusing on differences across fields…

This paper interrogates the case for improved and broadened public sustainability reporting by universities, and explores whether and how global performance measures capture the institutional attitudes and activities pertinent to universities' contributions to sustainability. The analysis explores all stand-alone, English language reports produced…

In this article, the authors present results from a survey of Masters of Economics program directors to determine the missions, inputs, and outcomes of these degree programs throughout the United States and Canada. They compare results of this survey to those of two previous studies that they conducted 20 and 10 years ago. Respondents were asked…

This article reports on the findings of 25 associate teacher surveys and six associate teacher interviews collected between June 2008 and February 2009. The survey invited associate teachers to report on the preparedness of student teachers, including their strengths, weaknesses, and how well prepared they were for the realities of becoming a…

Some suggest there is a dilemma in post-secondary education between the tidal pulls of career- or disciplinary-oriented education and liberal education. A survey of University of Lethbridge alumni indicated that they found their liberal education important for developing skills that are valuable in life and work after graduation. Specific skills…

This latest report in the GMAC® Data-to-Go Series provides an overview of trends in graduate management education in Canada and a brief look at jobs and employment trends for recent 2013 business school graduates in Canada. Key themes of internationalization, program portfolio, and student recruitment appear in data throughout. Data presented here…

This study examines the number of credits earned at graduation for two groups: those who graduated with a baccalaureate degree and who were admitted as transfer students and those admitted as secondary school students to one of the four BC research universities [Simon Fraser University (SFU), University of British Columbia, Vancouver (UBC),…

The paper provides an assessment of what we currently know about college, institute and polytechnic (collectively described here as colleges) applied research and positions them as key players in Canada's innovation system and in the federal science and technology strategy. The paper builds upon findings of previous research and reports on the…

The BC Diploma, Associate Degree, and Certificate Student Outcomes (DACSO) Survey (formerly the BC College and Institute Student Outcomes Survey) collects and disseminates information about former students' post-secondary experiences and their subsequent labour market and further education experiences. The survey is administered annually to former…

The BC Transfer System allows students to attend public colleges, institutes and teaching intensive universities (i.e., Central Data Warehouse or CDW reporting institutions) throughout the province where they accumulate credits which they can transfer to research intensive universities and use to fulfill their degree requirements. The Student…

In this paper, data from the Baccalaureate & Beyond 93/97/03 survey is used to examine the link between college graduate earnings and the number of years a school has been accredited by AACSB International. We find that there is no monetary benefit to attending an institution of higher learning which has been accredited longer, which suggests…

Universidade Aberta (UAb), being a distance teaching university, is particularly suited to tackle some of the recommendations concerning the assurance of accessibility to education expressed in the "Education and Training 2010" goals. Meanwhile, the University's strategic plan for 2006/2010 decided to implement a fully virtual innovative…