Andrew Ardizzi
News Reporter
After promising to increase available post-secondary spaces for students, the province now faces the challenge of improving student success rates, said Humber’s VP of academics, Michael Hatton.
College presidents recently met to discuss the need for a long-term plan which would enable the province to both increase post-secondary spaces and ensure student success rates are on the rise.
Hatton said Humber already puts significant resources towards improving student success and retention rates, believing that the government’s long-term plan will likely supplement what colleges already do.
“There isn’t an institution that isn’t concerned with that,” he said. “It isn’t clear to me what the ministry thinks is going to be an enhanced focus on that.”
Colleges Ontario, an advocacy association financed by its member colleges, said one of the recommendations made to the province in the last year focuses on ensuring first-year success rates.
“If students don’t succeed in their first year, they are unlikely to continue,” said Colleges Ontario spokesperson, Sally Ritchie. “The greatest threat is the first year.
About 79 per cent of students return after their first year of school, said Humber.
Ministry of Training, Colleges and University spokesperson Patrick O’Gorman said 70 per cent of jobs require post-secondary education, while only 62 per cent of Ontarians attend post-secondary schools.
“There’s an increasing need to have post-secondary education,” said Hatton. “It’s a knowledge based economy. If you have that education you increase your likelihood of economic success.”
There’s concern that unless more students complete their education, there will be a significant skills shortage after the recession ends, said a Colleges Ontario media release.
Ritchie said efforts aim to promote post-secondary education to students from the time they start school to Grade 12.
“We’re running out of people qualified to do the work that exists because they lack the skills for them,” said Ritchie. “There’s an economic reason for doing this, so we have a population that is more skilled.”
O’Gorman said the government is developing long-term plans to improve success rates, with details forthcoming as they’re made available.
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