Institutional Report: 2005 Canadian College Student Survey
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www.pra.ca [email protected] INSTITUTIONAL REPORT: 2005 CANADIAN COLLEGE STUDENT SURVEY Langara College June 30, 2005 Prepared for: The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation and The Canadian College Student Survey Consortium Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation Institutional Report: 2005 Canadian College Student Survey⎯June 30, 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Objectives ............................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Acknowledgments................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Methodology........................................................................................................... 4 2.0 Student profile..................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Personal profile....................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Dependents/children ............................................................................................. 11 2.3 Activities prior to enrolling................................................................................... 13 2.4 Academic profile................................................................................................... 15 2.5 Post-graduation activities...................................................................................... 17 3.0 Financing college education............................................................................................. 18 3.1 Sources of financial support.................................................................................. 18 4.0 Expenditures ..................................................................................................................... 24 4.1 Education-related expenses................................................................................... 24 4.2 Overview of living expenses................................................................................. 25 5.0 Student debt...................................................................................................................... 31 5.1 Budgeting.............................................................................................................. 31 5.2 Financial problems................................................................................................ 31 5.3 Anticipated student debt levels ............................................................................. 32 5.4 Perceptions of debt................................................................................................ 34 6.0 Student use of time............................................................................................................ 35 6.1 Time use................................................................................................................ 35 6.2 Summer work........................................................................................................ 39 APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE APPENDIX B FIELD GUIDE APPENDIX C DATA CLEANING DECISIONS Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation 1 Institutional Report: 2005 Canadian College Student Survey⎯June 30, 2005 1.0 Introduction The Canadian College Student Survey Consortium (CCSSC) involves the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC), individual participating colleges, and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation (the Foundation). Established in late 2001, the Consortium conducted its first survey of college students in the spring of 2002. This is the fourth survey of Canadian college students, involving 23 colleges and more than 8,200 students. This report summarizes the findings of the fourth annual survey. 1.1 Objectives While this research is funded by the Foundation, it is a joint effort involving all participating colleges. The research collects data on college students’ academic and sociodemographic profile, income, expenditures, and use of time. The survey is unique in that it provides national-level information on the challenges faced by Canadian college students in terms of financial and access issues. The objectives of the research are to: • provide national-level data on student access, time use, and financing for Canadian college students • identify issues particular to certain learner groups and/or regions • provide each institution with top-line survey results (based on representative samples of their students), which may then be compared against the “national average.”1 1 This “national average’” is based on the participating colleges and therefore may not be representative of the population of students attending colleges in Canada. Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation 2 Institutional Report: 2005 Canadian College Student Survey⎯June 30, 2005 1.2 Acknowledgments This research would not have been possible without the participation of over 8,200 college students who completed questionnaires and their instructors, both of whom gave up class time to allow for the completion of the survey. As mentioned, this research is the result of collaboration among colleges in the CCSSC and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation. At each college, individuals must be acknowledged for their assistance in coordinating the research. These individuals are listed in Table 1 on the next page. In particular, PRA Inc. would like to recognize Mr. Sean Junor and Ms. Anna Toneguzzo for coordinating the research and working with us to address issues as they arose. Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation 3 Institutional Report: 2005 Canadian College Student Survey⎯June 30, 2005 Table 1: Coordinators for 2005 CCSSC Representative Title College or organization Location Gladys Rangaratnam Dean, Research and Advanced Cambrian College Sudbury, ON Learning James Cooke Dean, Student Services and Capilano College North Vancouver, BC Instructional Services Eva Aboagye Research Officer Centennial College Scarborough, ON John Bowman Director, Student Services College of New Caledonia Prince George, BC Ian Pye Policy, Planning and Research College of the North Atlantic Stephenville, NF Analyst Dianne Teslak Manager, Financial Operations College of the Rockies Cranbrook, BC and Institutional Accountability Brenda Pander-Scott Director, Institutional Research Fleming College Peterborough, ON Marjorie McColm Director of Academic George Brown College Toronto, ON Excellence Alan Vladicka Executive Director, Strategic Grant MacEwan College Edmonton, AB Planning Lucie Boisvert Chef, Appui stratégique et La Cité Collégiale Ottawa, ON logistique Larry Xiong Coordinator, Institutional Langara College Vancouver, BC Research Karen O’Dwyer Director, Centre for Teaching Lethbridge Community Lethbridge, AB and Learning College Hélène Martin Consultant, Development New Brunswick Community Fredericton, NB Branch College/ Collége Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick Jeff Donnelly Manager Northern Alberta Institute of Edmonton, AB Technology Bryon Zanyk Coordinator of Institutional North West Regional North Battleford, SK Development College Stephanie Forsyth President Northwest Community Terrace, BC College Sue Drapeau Director, Institutional Research Nova Scotia Community Halifax, NS College Julius Salegio Institutional Research Officer Olds College Olds, AB Gerlinde Sarkar Director, Planning, Research Saskatchewan Institute of Saskatoon, SK and Development Applied Sciences and Technology (SIAST) Harry Decock Chair, GAS Strategic Planning Seneca College Willowdale, ON Cheryl Dahl Director, Student Services University College of the Abbotsford, BC Fraser Valley Dawn Macdonald Institutional Research and Yukon College Whitehorse, YK Planning Officer Anna Toneguzzo Senior Program Officer Association of Canadian Ottawa, ON Community Colleges Sean Junor Policy and Research Officer Canada Millennium Montréal, QC Scholarship Foundation Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation 4 Institutional Report: 2005 Canadian College Student Survey⎯June 30, 2005 1.3 Methodology In late 2001, Consortium members met to develop a survey and to establish a methodological approach. The Consortium then recruited a consultant to finalize the survey instrument, coordinate the data collection, analyze the data, and report on the survey findings. This year, Consortium members reviewed the questionnaire and made a number of modifications to simplify question wording. Since the questionnaire has been tested previously, a pre-test was not conducted. Based on student responses, it does not appear that students had particular difficulty with any of the questions. A copy of the questionnaire appears in Appendix A. Some 23 colleges participated in this year’s survey. Each participating college provided PRA with an estimate of its population of students, distributed by program type. PRA then constructed a sampling strategy for each college based on its current enrolment. This care strategy was based on a target sample of 450 completes among larger institutions (with 1,500 students or more) and 300 among smaller institutions (with fewer than 1,500 students). PRA modified the field guide (see Appendix B) to reflect slight changes in this year’s survey. As well, the guide was modified for each participating college to reflect its particular sampling needs. The guide provided the colleges with instructions