The Facts About Post-Secondary Education in B.C.

September 4, 2007

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s public post-secondary education system is preparing students to take their place in the province’s knowledge economy. Here are some of the numbers showing the extent of higher learning in the province, as students return this fall:

More students

  • About 433,000 – the number of students enrolled in public post-secondary institutions in B.C. in 2006-07. This is the highest number ever and is up 8,000 from 2005-06 – an increase of 3,000 at B.C. universities, and 5,000 at colleges, university colleges and institutes. It includes part-time, full-time and continuing education students, as well as apprentices.
  • More than 17,250 – the preliminary number of public post-secondary students who identified themselves as Aboriginal in 2006-07 – an increase of 16 per cent since 2002-03.
  • 10,558 – the number of international students who came to B.C. in the third quarter of 2006, an increase of 11.4 per cent from the same time period the previous year.

More choices

  • 25,000 – the number of new full-time spaces for students being added to B.C.’s six universities, three university colleges, 12 community colleges, and four provincial institutes, starting in 2004-05. So far, government has funded 15,574 of the 25,000 seats.
  • 2,500 – the number of graduate student spaces being added to B.C.’s four research-intensive universities over the next four years.
  • 17,668 – the number of new student spaces put in place between 2001-02 and 2006-07, with 4,170 more being added this academic year, for a total of 21,838 new seats funded to date.
  • 190,474 student spaces – the total number of full-time equivalent seats being funded by the provincial government this academic year.
  • More than 201,000 – the total number of full-time equivalent seats that will be funded by 2010-11.
  • About 2,000 – the number of online courses students can enrol in through BCcampus. Last year, 15,538 registrations took place through BCcampus, which is increasing online learning options at B.C.’s public post-secondary institutions.
  • 144 – the number of new degree programs approved by the Minister of Advanced Education, giving students more choices.

Record investment in campus facilities

  • More than $1.2 billion – amount committed to capital expansion at post-secondary institutions since 2001.
  • Nineteen – new buildings or major expansions under construction.
  • Seven – number of new campuses completed or under construction.

Concrete results

  • 48,618 – the average number of degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded by B.C.’s public post-secondary institutions over three academic years ending in 2006 – a 16.7 per cent increase over the three academic years ending in 2002. This does not include credentials awarded by the Industry Training Authority.
  • Between 93.7 and 96.1 – the percentage of graduates from B.C.’s universities, colleges, university colleges and institutes who were employed when surveyed between nine months and two years after graduation. This is less than half the unemployment rate for British Columbians in the same age range with high school diplomas or less.
  • 82.5 – the percentage of university graduates who say their education helped them develop crucial skills to a “high” or “very high” extent.
  • More than 5,000 – the number of adult British Columbians who learned reading, writing and numeracy skills through the Community Adult Literacy Program last year.

Affordability

  • Fourth-lowest tuition in Canada – the $4,636 average tuition undergraduate students paid in 2006-07 at B.C.’s public universities.
  • Less than one third – the proportion of the cost of a post-secondary education students pay through their tuition.
  • Two per cent – the limit on tuition fee increases again this year at B.C.’s public universities, colleges, university-colleges and institutes.
  • $1.46 billion – student financial assistance provided by government since 2001.
  • 8,000 – the number of low-income British Columbians given a break from repaying their student loans last year to help them improve their financial position.
  • $72 million – the amount of loan reduction funding provided, together with the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, in 2006-07.
  • 54 per cent of college-level students and about 52 per cent of B.C.’s university students – the proportion who graduate with no debt.

More doctors and nurses being trained

  • Double – the number of doctors who will graduate in B.C. – 256 per year by 2011.
  • Nearly double – the number of new nurses who graduated in 2005-06 compared with 2001-02 (1,469 compared with 761).

Increased research investment

  • More than $1.5 billion – amount committed to support research and innovation initiatives by the Province since 2001 and improve the quality of life for British Columbians. Research funding supports everything from Project NEPTUNE, which will be the world’s largest cable-linked seafloor observatory, to the Leading Edge Endowment Fund, which supports recruitment of the world’s top researchers to British Columbia, to projects that investigate mental health, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer prevention.
  • At least $900 million – the additional research activity resulting from these investments.
  • $52.5 million – amount committed to establish the Leading Edge Endowment Fund. This funding is matched by the private sector, which provides up to $4.5 million each for 20 B.C. leadership chairs and $2.5 million for each of nine regional innovation chairs.
  • $20 million – to triple the size of an internship program that pairs graduate students with B.C. businesses to help increase the province’s competitiveness, and to introduce a graduate scholarship program to attract the best and brightest students to B.C.’s research universities.