New approach needed to achieve equitable access to PSE, report argues A dramatic rise in enrolment at Ontario’s colleges and universities over the past two decades has done little to achieve equitable access for those students who have been traditionally underrepresented in higher education, argues a new report by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario […]
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HEQCO’s Program Evaluation Manual For Programs Related to Access and Retention was written by Helen Tewolde and Jess McKeown. HEQCO’s Program Evaluation Manual For Programs Related to Access and Retention The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) is an agency of the Government of Ontario that advances evidence-based research for the continued improvement of […]
Ontario students perceive gap between skills learned in postsecondary and those needed in the workplace Postsecondary students perceive a gap between the skills they think they will need in their future careers and those they are developing while in university or college, according to a survey conducted by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario […]
Use of predictive modelling to improve student retention growing Predictive modelling — the analysis of large data sets to predict future outcomes — remains a small but growing practice among higher education institutions as a means of identifying students who are at risk, and putting in place targeted interventions to improve student retention and success. […]
Higher PSE participation rates yield ‘substantial’ effects on underrepresented students A long-running research study looking at ways to increase access to postsecondary education of underrepresented students found that enhanced career-education programs and promises of financial support made as early as high school boosted participation rates. And higher participation rates yielded substantial economic returns to the […]
One-quarter of graduating students score below adequate on measures of literacy, numeracy One of the first major attempts to measure employment-related skills in university and college students on a large scale shows that students are experiencing some gains in literacy, numeracy and critical-thinking scores over the course of their undergraduate studies. Yet, one in four […]
Rise of competency-based education could help bridge ‘skills gap’ With increased pressure on the postsecondary education system to prepare students for a changing workforce, competency-based education (CBE) is emerging as a promising model for preparing graduates to meet employer demands. A new report published by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, Competency-based Education: Driving the […]
High demand exists for WIL programs, but barriers still keep certain students out Although much has been done to increase access to work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences in postsecondary education, there are still many opportunities to make WIL programs more accessible to students, argues a new report by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO). […]
University of Guelph Evaluates Online Outcomes Assessment Tool The University of Guelph was one of the first institutions to define the skills students would learn in their programs. This evolved into a list of five institutional learning outcomes that were approved in 2012. As a next step, researchers worked in collaboration with Desire2Learn (D2L), a […]