April 27, 1998
(Education)

The following statement was issued today by Roger Grimes, Minister of Education. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Release of Comprehensive Report on Post-Secondary Education

Today I am pleased to release the second Indicators Report on post-secondary education in Newfoundland and Labrador, the most comprehensive review of higher education ever produced by government. The first such report was released in February of 1996. Newfoundland continues to lead the way in Canada by being the only province to regularly publish performance and accountability information at the post-secondary level and it is our intention to continue this practice.

This 140-page document covers key aspects of higher education, graduate outcomes, educational attainment, labour market success, student satisfaction and cost of education. Where possible, the results of certain follow-up surveys of some aspects, such as labour market success are intended to be released as they become available. The following are some of the highlights:

- The proportion of adults with a high school education and above nearly doubled between 1976 and 1996, while the proportion with less than grade 9 decreased by more than 50 per cent and the rate of improvement was higher than in the rest of Canada.

- In 1995-96 there were 32,275 students enrolled in some form of post-secondary education program in this province, an increase of 59.1 per cent since 1986-87.

- Sixteen months after graduation two-thirds of the 1995 graduates of post-secondary programs had obtained full or part-time employment, and

- A majority of those who graduated from post-secondary programs in 1995 were satisfied with both the institution and the program they had chosen.

Post-secondary Indicators `98 is part of the department's response to the auditor general's observation in 1995 that monitoring and reporting mechanisms were inadequate. Since that time, the department has become a recognized leader in educational accountability, both at the post-secondary and K-12 levels.

While we have made encouraging gains in both the numbers attending post-secondary institutions and the education levels attained, particularly among female students, there are still some concerns. Over the next 10 to 15 years, for example, the extreme enrolment decline seen in the K-12 system will carry over to the post-secondary sector. A projected 44 per cent decline in the number of K-12 graduates by 2010 is expected to have a significant effect on post-secondary enrolment, particularly at the university level. The Department of Education is committed to tracking these indicators over time to ensure that any areas of concern identified are monitored and addressed accordingly.

Two issues, student loan default and labour market success have received much attention in recent weeks.

In this province, default ratios are lower than the Canadian average. As well, there is no significant difference between graduation at public and private colleges in comparable programs when it comes to obtaining employment.

Due to the unprecedented growth and expansion of private sector training and to ensure that student interests are properly served, I am announcing today that government will undertake a review of the current act, regulations and policies governing private training institutions in the province. The review will cover all aspects, but will pay particular attention to such issues as bonding of private institutions, wind-up provisions for institutes that encounter difficulties, and access to student loans. As well, additional staff will be put in place immediately to enhance the department's monitoring capabilities of the private, post-secondary institutions in the province. These additional staff were requested by both students and the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Career Colleges.