HEQCO conducts and commissions studies and evaluations, often in partnership with Ontario’s colleges and universities, on key issues in accessibility, quality and accountability. Various organizations and individuals have considerable and valuable expertise in postsecondary education research. The research publications below reflect this collaboration with some of the best thinkers on issues related to higher education. Join our mailing list and keep current with the latest HEQCO research.
At HEQCO, we are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner, and will do so by preventing and removing barriers to accessibility and meeting requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. To request HEQCO material in alternate formats, please contact info@heqco.ca.
Research Summary: Francophone peer mentorship program eases the transition to postsecondary education As North America’s largest bilingual (English-French) postsecondary institution, the University of Ottawa enrols significant numbers of anglophone and francophone students from across Canada and internationally. Most of its students, however, come from across Ontario, often from communities that are linguistically and culturally diverse. Two […]
Research Summary: Tracking Student Engagement Can Help Address “First-Year Problem” First-year introductory courses introduce a large number of students from diverse backgrounds to new material and learning environments. For instructors and administrators, the size and scope of these courses present student success, retention and engagement challenges, sometimes called the “first-year problem.” A new study by […]
Research Summary: Adult high school students aiming for higher education Most adults return to high school because they want to pursue postsecondary education, according to a new study from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO). The most often cited reasons for going back were the need for a better paying job, to train […]
Research Summary: Online education should bring effective learning and cost savings Online education has the potential to provide high-quality learning – for some students, in some fields of study – at significantly lower unit costs than traditional forms of instruction and those savings should help fund the cost of improving face-to-face learning, according to a […]
Research Summary: Differentiation: Toward a more coherent and sustainable university system A new report from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) finds that the province’s 20 universities could be organized into at least three distinct clusters based on a set of variables that other jurisdictions have used to differentiate their university systems, setting […]
Research Summary: Graduates with disabilities take longer to complete their programs Persons with disabilities face considerable barriers in accessing postsecondary education, but a new study from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario shows that once enrolled, they also face obstacles in completing their degrees. Credential type, program area, type of disability and Grade Point […]