Centre for Research in Student Mobility

Ontario Colleges have been offering bachelor’s degrees since 2002, with currently almost 4000 graduates annually.0F Associated with this expansion, colleges have been developing a variety of pathways into degree programs. However, a significant knowledge gap exists in terms of profile of students who take these pathways, the amount of advanced standing that has been provided, and whether their academic and labour market outcomes are comparable to non-transfers. This study addresses this by tracking the outcomes of degree students at five of Ontario’s largest degree granting colleges.

All students who enrolled in a degree at one of Seneca, Conestoga, Sheridan, George Brown, or Humber between fall of 2015 and winter of 2018 (n=21,036) were included. Students were then followed until winter of 2020. Within each institution, individual students were followed from high school, through other PSE (if applicable), to college degree entry and either graduation or the point they left the degree.

Over half of the degree entrants (55%) had obtained some form of postsecondary education after high school, with over a third of students having previously attended their own college, 17% having attended a university, and over 11% having attended a different college before entering their college degree.

Key findings of the study indicate that pathways into college degrees are very diverse, with the block transfer pathway serving as a pathway for diverse students. As well, in general, students transferring from other postsecondary education into a degree outperform non-transfers, and those with a block transfer (advanced standing) outperform others in terms of grades, graduation, and retention rates.

Recommendations include providing more support or bridging for students who enter non-directly from high school; encouraging academically strong diploma students to transfer into degree programs within their own colleges; enhancing and expanding other college-to-degree pathways and university-to-college degree pathways. In addition, to increase degree access, Ontario college certificate level preparatory programs could be created or enhanced.

He has a PhD in Economics from the Università degli Studi di Bari, Italy, and a MSc in Economics from the University of East Anglia, UK. Previously, he was a research fellow at the University of East Anglia.