Having identified essential transferable skills (and how to measure them) in previous work, HEQCO sought to investigate the most effective ways of teaching them. To do so, we partnered with eight PSE institutions to form a Skills Consortium, designed to evaluate programs and interventions related to the acquisition, development and articulation of transferable skills — […]
A collaborative study of OCAS’ 2021 Applicant Experience and Intention Survey reveals that remote work and school have created key entry points for mature learners at Ontario colleges. HEQCO and OCAS will continue to investigate Applicant Survey data to help better understand the pandemic’s continued impact on learning preferences. Author: Jackie Pichette When Ontario colleges […]
A recent study outlines an approach that can help universities predict where, and when, to intervene with student supports. Taking a cue from K-12 research — where experts have long studied predictive factors related to overall achievement — the authors show how GPA and credits achieved in a student’s first year of study, and whether […]
A new coalition — the Hamilton Community Research Partnership — provides a model for collecting and connecting data to track and improve long-term student outcomes in Ontario. Authors: Jackie Pichette, Director, Policy, Research and Partnerships (HEQCO) and Lorraine Valmadrid, Learning and Evaluation Lead (Hamilton Community Foundation) The Hamilton Community Research Partnership (CRP) is a coalition […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has had the dual effect of negatively impacting student mental health while also disrupting the delivery of mental health supports. These dueling challenges come at a time when postsecondary institutions are working to shift their approach to mental health support from reactive to proactive. A proactive model is one built to engage, […]
Substantial evidence shows that racism in Canada has worsened in recent years. In addition to alarming rises in hate crimes in cities such as Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, there has also been a particular rise in anti-Asian hate that is disproportionately affecting younger Asian Canadians. Recent events such as the discoveries of mass graves […]
Microcredentials are a form of focused learning with the potential to respond to both the modern hiring needs of employers and the training needs of adults looking to advance or pivot in the labour market. At HEQCO, we define them as being tied to short learning opportunities that are focused on a discrete set of […]
Our perceptions are shaped by the way information is presented to us. This applies everywhere, including postsecondary education (PSE) where the dominant perspective often positions certain groups of students through a deficit framework. Deficit thinking uses a blame-the-victim way of attributing student failures to individual, family or community traits and approaches student difficulty through a […]
Work-integrated learning (WIL) — including co-ops, internships and practicums — is widespread in Canada; nearly half of postsecondary students complete WIL as part of their studies. Participation in WIL is associated with higher employment earnings and a higher likelihood of finding full-time work after graduation. Unfortunately, 35% of Canadian postsecondary students have missed out on […]