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Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT have exploded into our cultural awareness this year. Across post-secondary institutions, it was immediately apparent that faculty were eager to explore and discuss what this potentially disruptive technology might mean for them, their courses and their students. We wanted to create an opportunity for that discussion and to get a truer sense of initial faculty reactions than what sensational media headlines were offering. This working paper outlines the results of a facilitated online forum, open to faculty and staff from two institutions in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia in January 2023. Our session invited participants to test ChatGPT, reflecting on its strengths and limitations, and then talk through the potential impacts on instructors, our students, and post-secondary education in general of different approaches: ignore it, fight it, and embrace it. Analysis of participant contributions to polls, group discussions and a highly active chat space provide a snapshot of how faculty and staff were feeling and what they were doing in response to ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms. While the data seems to indicate a relatively optimistic take at this early point in the AI revolution, excerpts from discussions and debates do indicate a range of emotions and reactions--a range that will likely only continue to widen with the continuing release of ever more capable AI.

While international alliances among research universities are relatively well established, the challenges for the small liberal arts college to execute a meaningful global collaboration can be much more difficult, due both to the much smaller size of the institution, its more limited resources, and its smaller and more intimate culture centered on undergraduate teaching and learning. A new alliance of liberal arts colleges known as the Pacific Alliance of Liberal Arts Colleges (PALAC) was established in 2021 with the purpose to better articulate the global components of liberal arts education, and to collaborate on key projects that will build collective capacity for student-centered liberal arts education that engages with the world's most pressing problems. PALAC contains nine of the best liberal arts institutions from across the Pacific Region, including institutions in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Canada, and the United States. This essay describes the origins, motivations, and context of the creation of PALAC, its member institutions, and some of the initial projects planned by the new organization, and goals for global impact for PALAC.

Module A of the OECD Higher Education Policy Survey (HEPS) 2022 elicited information on policies to promote digitalisation of higher education in OECD member and accession countries. In total, 30 jurisdictions responded, providing comparative information on various areas of digitalisation policy, from regulation and governance to financial and human resources. The survey results provide insight into the role of public authorities in guiding, coordinating and resourcing the digital transformation of higher education institutions. The analysis and comparative tables in this working paper provide insights that can support the development of strategic digitalisation policies.

In 2020, the federal government implemented the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) to provide financial support to employees, self-employed individuals and students directly affected by COVID-19. The CERB was available for individuals who stopped working or were working reduced hours because of COVID-19, and who met various other eligibility criteria. CERB applicants received $2,000 for an initial four-week period and could reapply for additional periods, eventually extending to 28 weeks, for a maximum benefit of $14,000. The benefit covered the period from March 15 to September 26, 2020. The CESB was available to students enrolled in a postsecondary educational program leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate, who were ineligible for the CERB or EI benefits, but met various other eligibility criteria. The benefit was active between May 10 and August 29, 2020. The CESB addressed a gap left by the CERB, which excluded students who were not employed at the start of the pandemic but would typically be looking for work during the summer of 2020. This paper provides insights into the differences in the rate of receipt of CERB and CESB of postsecondary students who received emergency benefit payments in 2020. Emergency benefit receipt is examined along various educational and socio-demographic characteristics to highlight some of the key differences. The analysis is limited to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who were enrolled full-time or part-time in a public postsecondary institution in the fall of 2019 in a program leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate.

This paper examines how international education (IE) as a tool of government foreign policy is challenged in an era of new geopolitics, where China's growing ambitions have increased rivalry with the West. It compares U.S. and Canada as cases first, by examining rationales and approaches to IE in both countries, second, IE relations with China before conflict and third, current controversies and government policy responses to IE relations with China. The paper concludes identifying contextual factors that shape each country's engagement with IE, but suggests that moving forward, the future of IE in a world of new geopolitics is likely to be far more complex and conflictual.

This fact sheet explores the association between parental income and the pathways of young adults in postsecondary education for students who began their studies in the 2012/2013 academic year. Students from low-income families have previously been shown to have lower rates of educational access and attainment. This fact sheet focuses on persistence and graduation indicators, which are now released annually, and furthers the analysis of these indicators by adding a parental income quartile dimension. Overall, the findings provide the following insights: (1) Students in the highest parental income quartile remained enrolled (persisted) and graduated at higher rates than students from the lowest parental income quartile for all selected educational qualifications and groupings. The differences in indicators by the level of parental income were more notable for the graduation rates than for the persistence rates; and (2) For students who graduated, those in the highest parental income quartile graduated as fast or faster than students in the lowest parental income quartile for all selected educational qualifications and groupings, though these differences were generally small. These findings are consistent with similar studies regarding postsecondary experiences of students by socioeconomic status.

We study the effects of the unionization of faculty at Canadian universities from 1970-2022 using an event-study design. Using administrative data which covers the full universe of faculty salaries, we find strong evidence that unionization leads to both average salary gains and compression of the distribution of salaries. Our estimates indicate that salaries increase on average by 2 to over 5 percent over the first 6 years post unionization. These effects are driven largely by gains in the bottom half of the wage distribution with little evidence of any impact at the top end. Our evidence indicates that the wage effects are primarily concentrated in the first half of our sample period. We do not find any evidence of an impact on employment.

The EU Working Group on Learning for Sustainability (LfS) is currently exploring how policy action can assist in the development and introduction of school curricula and appropriate pedagogies to improve opportunities for learning for sustainability in Europe's schools. This paper brings forward input on how learning for environmental sustainability can be strengthened by policy actions to develop a framework and relevant resources and capabilities across the Member States. It also summarises some of the key challenges that need to be addressed for any LfS curriculum activity to have an impact. The paper considers: (1) the challenges of curriculum work in the LfS space and what lessons may be taken from examples of well-regarded practice in this area; and (2) sets out some key considerations relating to the specification, resourcing, and capacity-building necessary to develop this area of curriculum practice. It closes with a consideration of the main policy barriers and opportunities for those involved in shaping, designing, and introducing LfS curriculum policy. The purpose of this paper is to encourage better understanding of the challenges of curriculum action in an area of policy work where countries vary considerably in readiness and current practice. [This paper was prepared with assistance from Louise O'Reilly. Paper prepared for the EU Working Group on schools: Learning for Sustainability (Sep 15-16, 2022).]

When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into fruition in the early 1990s, there were high hopes and expectations on what this emerging economic block could achieve. Although the agreement involved extensive conversations that led to regulations that facilitated trade across the region--the main intent of NAFTA--the same was not true for the higher education environment. Critics have argued that NAFTA's heavy focus on trade left little room for similar harmonization on issues like higher education. From this perspective, it is evident that if efforts to improve higher education are to gain traction in the trilateral relationship, they must be linked with regional trade and competitiveness. Yet even though NAFTA was not the vehicle for further cooperation on higher education, colleges and universities across Canada, Mexico, and the United States did embrace the opportunity and enthusiastically engaged in conversations that prompted trilateral collaboration. This article follows the key agreements that influenced and guided the early stages of NAFTA collaboration among higher education institutions, as well as developments that kept engagement across the three countries active. It also provides an initial list of areas in which future collaboration might focus. [The report was published in partnership with the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. This working paper will be published as a chapter in the forthcoming book, "North America 2.0: Forging a Continental Future."]

Several concurrent trends are increasing the likelihood that short courses, microcredentials, and flexible learning pathways will become a regular and even dominant feature of education and training globally. This policy paper reflects on these trends with special reference to the post-secondary education sector, and explores ways to organize short courses and micro-credentials as effective tools for offering up-to-date, quality learning to much larger segments of the population, creating flexible learning pathways, fostering learner autonomy, and formally acknowledging competencies. The paper discusses existing definitions and proposes a universal working definition for micro-credentials developed by UNESCO. It also describes 10 challenges that potentially threaten the successful roll-out of microcredentials. Challenges range from concerns -- some justified, others less so -- about the quality of pedagogy to doubts about level, credit points, progression, coherence, assessment, certification, and labour market value. The paper assesses each challenge and identifies actions that could contribute to the successful roll-out of short courses and micro-credentials. These include a functioning national qualifications framework, transparent recognition procedures, internal and external quality assurance, reliable assessment, facilities for digital storage, funding for learners and providers, and stakeholder engagement. Lastly, success also requires the development of easily accessible digital registers of learners' achievements, micro-credential qualifications, short courses, providers, assessors, awarders, quality assurance agencies, credential evaluators, employers, and job and promotion opportunities. The paper draws on country experiences, studies, and projects from all world regions, and highlights good practices. It concludes with seven recommendations targeted at public policy-makers to foster coordinated action, including further research to better understand short-course provision at country level and obstacles to the development of micro-credentials, as well as their added value for individual learners, the economy, and society at large.

Developed as one of the resources within the context of the OECD /Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI)ERI project entitled "Fostering and assessing students' creative and critical thinking skills in higher education", this paper focuses on ways in which students' creativity and critical thinking can be fostered in higher education by contextualising such efforts within the broader framework of academics' professional learning. Intended for system or institution-level stakeholders, the paper draws on the empirical literature, review articles, and meta-analyses, reports, institutional websites, and input from project participants to: (a) highlight models and best practices of academics' professional learning as well as institutional and individual factors which render professional learning desirable, valued, and effective, and (b) elaborate key elements in professional learning which institutions can introduce and/or strengthen to promote instruction that fosters cognitive, social and emotional processes associated with students' creativity and critical thinking.

This article looks at the labour market outcomes of 2015 postsecondary graduates three years after graduation. Specifically, it examines their employment status, job permanency, relatedness of their job or business to their 2015 educational program, the degree to which graduates feel qualified for their job, their employment income and their job satisfaction. This article answers the question: How are graduates of 2015 faring in terms of their integration into the labour market?

This study uses longitudinal data combining information from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) with data from personal income tax (T1 Family File) to analyze the impact of short-duration credentials (certificates and diplomas from colleges and universities), completed after an undergraduate degree, on the outcomes on the labour market of graduates from Canadian public universities.

In Canada, immigrants represented more than half of the population in the prime working ages with at least a bachelor's degree in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields of study in 2016. They accounted for three-quarters of engineering and computer science graduates with a master's or doctorate degree. This paper examines the skill utilization and earnings of employed STEM-educated immigrants by field of study and degree level. Compared with the Canadian-born with similar levels of education and in similar fields of study, immigrants with a bachelor's degree had considerably lower skill utilization rates and earnings outcomes than those of doctoral degree holders. This is mostly because immigrant doctoral graduates are more likely to be educated in a Western country. By field of study, immigrant engineering graduates, particularly at the bachelor's level, had relatively weaker skill utilization rates and earnings outcomes; immigrant computer science graduates did somewhat better. The slightly more than half of STEM-educated immigrants who did not find a STEM job had the weakest skill utilization rates and earnings outcomes. Much of the gap between the earnings of immigrant and Canadian-born graduates was associated with differences in country of education. STEM immigrants educated in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom or France had outcomes similar to the Canadian-born.

The rapidly growing supply of university-educated workers from both immigration and domestic educational institutions, coupled with relatively slack demand for educated labour, has raised concerns about skill use in the Canadian economy. This study uses census data from 2001 to 2016 to compare trends in over-education among recent immigrants and Canadian-born youth. The study showed that only about one-half of the growth in university-educated workers over this 15-year period was matched with growth in jobs requiring a university education. University-educated recent immigrants became more concentrated in jobs requiring less than a university education. In comparison, Canadian-born youth with a university degree became less likely to work in jobs requiring high school or less education.

This study compares the differences in the mismatch between the education and occupations of immigrants in Canada and the United States, operationalized by over-education. It further explores how the cross-country differences may be related to the supply of and demand for university-educated immigrants and the way they are selected. Using comparable data and three measures of over-education, this study found that university-educated recent immigrants in Canada were much more likely to be overeducated than their U.S. peers. The over-education rate gap between recent immigrants and the native-born was much more pronounced in Canada than in the United States. In addition, while labour market demand was associated with a lower level of over-education in both countries, a greater supply of university-educated recent immigrants was positively associated with a likelihood of over-education among recent immigrants in Canada, but not in the United States. Furthermore, in Canada, the over-education rate was significantly lower among immigrants who were admitted through some form of employer selection (e.g., immigrants who worked in skilled jobs in Canada before immigration) than those who were admitted directly from abroad. Overall, this study provides insight into how the immigration system interacts with broader aspects of the labour market to shape the labour market outcomes of immigrants.

The number of temporary residents that hold a postsecondary study permit in Canada has increased rapidly in recent years, going from 201,186 in 2009 to 294,020 in 2015--a 46.1% increase. The purpose of this study is to describe the postsecondary experience and early labour market outcomes of study permit holders (international students). The study found that about two-thirds of postsecondary study permit holders actually enrolled in postsecondary programs in 2015 (up from about half in 2009). International students were somewhat more likely to graduate from their postsecondary program than Canadian students within five years of initial registration. However, international postsecondary students were less likely than Canadian students to combine school and work. Furthermore, only about one-third of international students who graduated from a postsecondary program remained and worked in Canada six years after graduation. Among those who remained and worked in the country after graduation, former international students earned slightly more than Canadian students (and slightly less than permanent residents). However, international students generally possess more characteristics associated with higher earnings than Canadian students. When international and Canadian students with similar demographics, educational qualifications and pre-graduation work experience were compared, it was shown that international students earned less than Canadian students six years after graduation.

Occupations related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are generally associated with high pay and contribute to the development of new technology. Continued growth is expected for STEM occupations, which would provide STEM-educated workers with additional labour market opportunities. However, less is known about the extent to which STEM graduates enter into and remain in STEM occupations in Canada. This study uses data from the 2006 and 2016 longitudinal census files to examine the occupational pathways of women and men with postsecondary credentials in STEM fields. Generally, male STEM graduates were more likely than female STEM graduates to be employed in a STEM occupation. The occupational pathways of male and female STEM graduates also differed. Among STEM graduates who were employed in a STEM occupation in 2006, women were more likely than men to have moved to a non-STEM occupation by 2016. Younger STEM graduates were more likely to exit a STEM occupation than older graduates, and men and women with college-level STEM credentials were more likely to leave a STEM occupation than their counterparts with a bachelor's degree. Some differences in the occupational mobility of men and women with STEM credentials were associated with their field of study. For example, men who studied mathematics or computer and information sciences were less likely than their counterparts who studied engineering or engineering technology to exit a STEM occupation between 2006 and 2016. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the likelihood of leaving a STEM occupation among women who had studied in these two fields. Lastly, the wage growth of male and female STEM graduates who persisted in a STEM occupation between 2006 and 2016 was not significantly different from the wage growth of their counterparts who had moved from a STEM occupation to a non-STEM occupation. [This study was funded by the Department for Women and Gender Equality.]

Traditionally, four-year bachelor's degree programs have been available only at universities. More recently, they have been offered at some community colleges--particularly in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Using linked administrative postsecondary graduate and personal income tax data, this study finds that college bachelor's degree (CBD) holders earn about 12% more per year, on average, than university bachelor's degree (UBD) holders two years after graduation. Almost all of this gap can be explained by the different field of study choices made by the two groups of students. Compared with their university counterparts, CBD holders were more likely to take programs in business, management and public administration or health and related fields (fields generally associated with higher-than-average earnings), and less likely to take education, humanities or social and behavioural sciences and non-professional law programs (fields generally associated with lower-than-average earnings). The remainder of the earnings gap could be explained by the fact that CBD holders were more than two years older than UBD holders, on average. The study also showed that UBD holders registered faster earnings growth between two and five years after graduation and were more likely to enroll in graduate studies than their counterparts from colleges. Moreover, CBD programs were generally concentrated in colleges that were situated near a university and associated with above-average earnings (compared with other colleges) among their diploma holders.

It has been well-documented that postsecondary graduates, on average, earn considerably more than others. Consequently, increasing postsecondary enrollment among youth from lower-income families--through targeted student aid or community outreach programs--may constitute an effective mechanism for promoting upward income mobility. However, there currently exists no evidence of the benefits of a postsecondary education (PSE) for youth from lower-income families per se. Using postsecondary administrative records and income tax records, this study bridges this information gap by estimating the association between earnings and PSE by level of parental income among a cohort of Ontario postsecondary graduates and a comparison group of Ontario youth who did not enroll in a postsecondary institution. The results suggest that the estimated earnings premiums associated with PSE are large and positive for youth from families across the income distribution. In relative terms, the premium is considerably larger for youth from the bottom income quintile than for their counterparts from the top income quintile. Supplementary analyses suggest that these results are not likely due to biases arising from omitted cognitive and noncognitive skills, or to differences in the choice of field of study between youth from different levels of parental income. [This project was funded by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO).]

The Canadian literature on postsecondary access has identified many of its key determinants including parental education and income, academic performance, and sex. However, relatively little work has investigated the independent role of disability in postsecondary enrollment. This study fills that gap by estimating the relationship between mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions diagnosed in childhood (available from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth [NLSCY]) and postsecondary enrollment during early adulthood (available from the tax credits on the T1 Family File [T1FF]). The study is possible as a result of the recent linkage between the NLSCY and T1FF. The findings suggest that 77% of youth who were not diagnosed with any long-term health condition in their school years (the comparison group) enrolled in postsecondary education (PSE) by their early 20s. In contrast, 60% of youth diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental condition (NDC) enrolled in PSE in the same time frame (a gap of 17 percentage points), while only 48% of youth diagnosed with a mental health condition (MHC) enrolled in PSE (a gap of 29 percentage points compared with youth in the comparison group). Youth diagnosed with both an NDC and an MHC were even less likely to enroll, with only 36% going on to PSE (41 percentage points behind youth in the comparison group). Differences in sex, academic performance and family background (e.g., parental income and education) explain only about one-third of these gaps. Among the MHCs, the most common diagnosis was Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Youth with an ADHD diagnosis were less likely to pursue PSE than youth diagnosed with other types of MHCs such as emotional, psychological or nervous difficulties. These findings suggest that youth diagnosed with NDCs and MHCs in their school years face barriers to enrolling in PSE that are distinct from those confronting other youth.

Given the time and money invested in higher education by students, parents and governments, there is considerable interest in the economic outcomes of postsecondary graduates. Most assessments of recent graduates have focused on their short-term, early labour market results. As new entrants to the labour force, recent postsecondary graduates may be particularly vulnerable to the economic cycle. Consequently, comparisons of short-term outcomes across graduating cohorts may be highly dependent on prevailing economic conditions and may not reflect the longer-term returns on investments. This is the first study to compare the long-term labour market outcomes of two cohorts of young postsecondary graduates using linked census and tax data. Specifically, graduates who were 26 to 35 years old in 1991 were followed from 1991 to 2005 (when they were 40 to 49 years old) and compared with a similarly aged 2001 cohort, which was followed from 2001 to 2015. The results suggest that median cumulative earnings were higher among members of the more recent cohort of male and female postsecondary graduates. Increases were observed across all postsecondary levels and across most major disciplines where sample sizes were large enough to permit analysis. Also, no discipline registered a decline in cumulative earnings. Although the economic conditions faced by the 2001 cohort over the 15-year study period were generally more favourable, this cohort also registered higher earnings than the 1991 cohort during the latter portion of the period (i.e., when the 2001 cohort was faced with an economic recession). Furthermore, the initial labour market conditions upon graduation (an important determinant of career earnings) were similar for both cohorts. The improvements in long-term earnings for postsecondary graduates are important in light of the significant increase in the number of graduates over the period. However, the results also indicate that the number of years of union membership declined or remained steady across cohorts of male and female postsecondary graduates. Furthermore, while women with postsecondary qualifications registered increases in the number of years of employer-sponsored pension plan coverage, their male counterparts experienced mixed results depending on their level of postsecondary studies.

While destination-country education provides many potential advantages for immigrants, empirical studies in Australia, Canada and the United States have produced mixed results on the labour outcomes of immigrants who are former international students. This study uses large national longitudinal datasets to examine cross-cohort trends and within-cohort changes in earnings among three groups of young university graduates: immigrants who are former international students in Canada (Canadian-educated immigrants), foreign-educated immigrants who had a university degree before immigrating to Canada and the Canadian-born population. The results show that Canadian-educated immigrants on average had much lower earnings than the Canadian-born population but higher earnings than foreign-educated immigrants both in the short term and in the long term. However, Canadian-educated immigrants are a highly heterogeneous group, and the key factor differentiating their post-immigration earnings from the earnings of the Canadian-born population and foreign-educated immigrants is whether they held a well-paid job in Canada before becoming permanent residents.

The increased migration of skilled workers globally has led to a focus in the immigration literature on the economic costs of unsuccessful labour market integration. Less attention has been given to the consequences of employment difficulties, such as those related to over-education, on aspects of immigrants' subjective well-being. Although a large proportion of immigrants experience over-education, studies examining the relationship between over-education and life satisfaction tend to concentrate on the general population. These studies find a negative relationship between over-education and life satisfaction. Since immigrant and Canadian-born (non-immigrant) workers may experience over-education differently, it is important to examine this relationship in both groups. This study examines how over-education is associated with life satisfaction among university-educated immigrant and non-immigrant workers in Canada, and accounts for differences in the degree of over-education in each group. Results indicate that overeducation was negatively associated with life satisfaction among immigrants and non-immigrants, although the effect was weaker in the immigrant population. Income was the main factor mediating the negative relationship between over-education and life satisfaction among immigrants. Furthermore, this relationship weakened with immigrants' increased residence in Canada. This may suggest that over-education is less influential in immigrants' assessment of life satisfaction over time, or the effect of over-education is weaker among earlier arrival cohorts. Results also indicated that the negative relationship between over-education and life satisfaction was weaker for immigrants from developing countries compared with those from developed countries.

Since its inception almost 30 years ago, BC Student Outcomes has looked at the outcomes of students who have taken associate degree, diploma, and certificate programs. Subsequent study or further education has always been considered an important outcome for the students who leave these programs. Each year for the last two decades, between 40 and 48 percent of respondents have taken some form of further studies. These studies range from continuing education courses for personal interest to credential programs in baccalaureate and postgraduate programs. The information for this paper comes from the Diploma, Associate Degree, and Certificate Student Outcomes Survey, which is conducted annually, approximately one and a half years after students leave their programs. Unless otherwise noted, the information comes from the 2016 survey. The paper looks at who took further education (demographics, program and credential, over time), what their pathways to continued learning were (previous education, location, destination studies, over time), and what their experience was (satisfaction with education, transfer credits, prepared for further studies). Lastly, it provides a portrait of those who were studying at the time they were surveyed. [The BC Student Outcomes surveys are conducted with funding from the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training, the participating British Columbia post-secondary institutions, and the Industry Training Authority.]

This study examines the relationship between occupational skill requirements and educational attainment (the highest level completed and the field of study). Using the 2011 National Household Survey matched to data from the Occupational Information Network (which contains information on occupational skill requirements), the study uncovers many new findings on the skill requirements of jobs held by Canadians aged 25 to 34 with different educational qualifications. First, skill-level requirements in all areas generally increase with higher educational levels. There are three notable exceptions to this trend, however: requirements for technical operation and maintenance skills do not generally increase with more schooling; doctoral graduates require considerably less resource management skills than other university graduates; and professional-degree holders have jobs that require lower mathematics skills than other university graduates, although this is entirely because of law graduates. Moreover, skill requirements are almost always higher among bachelor's degree holders and college graduates of specific disciplines, compared with high school graduates. Second, skill requirements vary considerably by field of study. For example, bachelor's degree holders in architecture, engineering, and related technologies generally work in multidimensional jobs requiring diverse, high-level skills. In fact, these graduates rank at the top or very close to the top in eight of the nine skills examined. In contrast, bachelor's degree holders in three fields (education; visual and performing arts, and communications technologies; and humanities) generally rank lower than other bachelor's degree holders in most skills examined. However, the skill requirements of college graduates and bachelor's degree holders are very different across fields of study. While skill requirements are almost always higher among bachelor's degree holders than among college graduates from the same discipline, the relative ranking of disciplines tends to differ for each level. Finally, there are considerably more gender differences among college graduates than among bachelor's degree holders with regard to skill requirements by field of study.

Research suggests which study strategies are effective but little descriptive research focuses on how undergraduate students study in real-world settings. Thus, the mechanisms of students' actual learning remain a black box for the field of higher education, with far more attention paid to inputs and outputs of the learning process. Using a situative theory of cognition and learning, we analyzed data from 22 focus groups (N = 60 students). Results indicate studying is a multi-faceted process that is initiated by instructor or self-generated cues, followed by marshaling resources and managing distractions (or not), and then study behaviors that include selecting time, setting, and specific strategies. Underlying these behaviors are contextual factors including course material and students' personal lives. The results highlight the importance of self-regulation skills, particularly managing digital distractions, and we suggest that the development of these skills should be more frequently incorporated into instructional design and student support services.

This systematic review investigates the relevance of general pedagogical knowledge for successful teaching. It synthesises the empirical evidence of 10 769 teaching professionals and 853 452 students from primary to tertiary education in 21 countries. The meta-analysis of 20 quantitative studies revealed significant effects for teaching quality and student outcomes (Cohen's d = 0.64 and 0.26), indicating that more knowledgeable teachers achieve a three-month additional progress for students. The three themes emerging from 31 qualitative studies underline that general pedagogical knowledge is a crucial resource for teaching. Results also show that teaching requires knowledge about a range of topics, specific skills and other competences to transform knowledge into practice. Teachers need training and practical experience to acquire knowledge, which they apply according to the pedagogical situation at hand. The results allow for important conclusions for policy, practice and research.

Through a historical and comparative analysis of international education policy development in Canada and the U.S., this paper will map the similarities and differences in the two countries. It will highlight the contributions and challenges of the government's involvement in international education (IE) in the two federal states and in particular, explore the implications of the changing contexts, rationales and approaches for international education to the federal role in higher education. It will conclude with observations on the differential impact of the federal government's role in international/higher education on the higher education systems of the two countries and thus contribute to our understanding of how national specificities and characteristics outweigh the commonly stated policy rationales, approaches and outcomes for international education. [A bibliography is included.]

In 2011, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) founded the Center for Community College Advancement to provide training and resources to help community colleges build and sustain effective fundraising, alumni relations, and communications and marketing programs. A goal for the center is to collect data on best practices at community colleges. This white paper summarizes the results of a survey on foundation operations at community colleges across the United States and Canada. The purpose of the survey was to help community college staff benchmark their foundation experiences and programs with their peers. Participation in the survey was strong, with representatives from 122 foundations in the United States and Canada having contributed data (approximately 10 percent of the universe of institutions). Their responses revealed that foundations have evolved into significant contributors at community colleges through consistent positive results, service to a variety of stakeholders and leveraging of political capital--all while maintaining a low staff count and limited expenditures. Two appendices provide data tables and the survey questions.

Students often express surprise at their grades on papers. This gap between expectation and achievement may stem in part from lack of facility with revision strategies. How, then, can teachers work with their students to foster more effective revisions? This question in teaching and learning has inspired an interdisciplinary collaboration: one of us is a management and leadership professor (Sharen), and the other is an English/communication professor (Feltham). In this essay, we describe a research study from winter 2013 in which we explored how a series of interventions improved students' mindsets about the process of drafting and revising reports for a second-year-university course entitled "Women and Leadership." After outlining key aspects of this study that we feel are of general interest, we then present a series of reflective suggestions about how to teach revision derived from both our experiences and a selective survey of the literature on both revision and self-regulation.

Information from the BC Diploma, Associate Degree, and Certificate Student Outcomes (DACSO) Survey can be used to look at the impact of increasing post-secondary education costs on student borrowing and the use of other funding sources. For many years, the DACSO Survey has been asking former students about how they paid for their studies: what sources of funding they used, whether they borrowed, and how much they borrowed. The information for this paper came from the DACSO Survey, from the years 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2015. Some financial information was collected every year; however, every third year a more extensive set of questions was asked. Respondents were asked what sources of funding they used and if they borrowed for the program they just finished. There are a number of sources of funding that help students pay for their education, and the former students surveyed chose the two sources most important to them. The most important sources of funding have been consistent, with the exception of government student loans. They have declined as an important source, although remain among the top four sources reported. Personal savings, employment while studying, and support from family and friends were also among the most important sources of funding. In spite of some slight indication that more support is needed, it appears that most respondents were able to finance their education without borrowing at all or by borrowing moderate amounts. Over the last dozen years, those who borrowed relied less on the government student loan program as loans from other sources became more readily available. Regardless of the source, the amounts have increased, allowing borrowers to cover increased costs due to inflation. [The BC Student Outcomes surveys are conducted with funding from the Ministry of Advanced Education, the participating British Columbia post-secondary institutions, and the Industry Training Authority.]

A defining characteristic of current U.S. educational policy is the use of data to inform decisions about resource allocation, teacher hiring, and curriculum and instruction. Perhaps the biggest challenge to data-driven decision making (DDDM) is that data use alone does not automatically result in improved teaching and learning. Research indicates that translating raw data into useable information and actionable knowledge for teachers requires not only adequate technical and social supports, but also an awareness of how educators in real-world settings actually use information to make decisions. Yet, little is known about DDDM in higher education, in general, and how postsecondary faculty make sense of and use data in their instructional decision-making processes, in particular. In this paper, we use naturalistic decision-making theory to generate practice-based descriptions of how 59 STEM faculty at three large public research universities used data as part of their course planning. Interview transcripts and notes taken while observing planning meetings were analyzed using an inductive approach to content analysis. In practice, respondents used different types of data and other information obtained from, for example, student assessments, end-of-semester evaluations, and conversations with colleagues. Results indicate that faculty generally collect and analyze data in informal, ad hoc scenarios ungoverned by institutional policy. Exceptions include disciplines with accreditation pressures and team-taught courses where structured (and supported) opportunities exist for faculty to collect, analyze, and reflect upon data about student learning. Thus, while numeric data are clearly viewed by this population of faculty as the most rigorous, in practice, even those that use quantitative data also use other sources of information. These results suggest an opportunity for educational leaders to design policies and professional development initiatives that facilitate a more formal collection of and reflection on data by faculty. In pursuing such technical solutions, however, policymakers and educational leaders must carefully negotiate the tension between rigor and relevance, and learn from the challenges experienced in the K-12 sector regarding DDDM.

This paper uses new administrative data with detailed borrower information and lengthy repayment histories from the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) to measure rates of return on undergraduate student loans. We document substantial heterogeneity in returns based on information available at the time loans were disbursed, including province of residence, field of study, and institution of attendance. Field of study is a particularly important determinant of rates of return, explaining 22% of the variation in predicted returns across borrowers. We explore the implications of this variation for CSLP cross-subsidization across borrowers and potential risk-based loan limits. Given the variation in ex ante predicted returns across borrowers, using all available information at the time of loan disbursement, we study the implications of potential cream-skimming of high-return borrowers by private lenders.

The opportunity to study abroad is broadly hailed as a route for young people to develop a wide range of knowledge and skills, including intercultural understanding, interpersonal skills, and language learning, among many others. Universities around the world are investing significant resources in developing a variety of study abroad programmes, ranging from short or long term in duration, and from guided to independent study. These may have a number of aims, including to promote individual student learning and development and to enhance student mobility and employability, particularly in the context of a rapid and changeable global employment market. The terms 'global citizen', 'global graduate', 'global skills' and 'global mindset' have all taken on increased significance within this context. Limited research has been conducted, however, to explore students' own perspectives of these terms. This small scale study therefore set out to explore the perspectives of students on UCL's BASc programme and especially to better understand where and how the learning they gained during study abroad resonates with UCL's global citizenship and student mobility strategies. [Funding was provided by the UCL Global Engagement Office (GEO).]

In 2011, CASE founded the Center for Community College Advancement to provide training and resources to help community colleges build and sustain effective fundraising, alumni relations and communications and marketing programs. This white paper summarizes the results of a groundbreaking survey on alumni relations programs at community colleges across the United States and Canada. The purpose of the survey was to help community college staff members benchmark their experiences and programs in alumni relations with their peers. The survey was conducted by the CASE research office in conjunction with CASE's Center for Community College Advancement. Survey questions are appended. [For the follow up White Paper, "Benchmarking Alumni Relations in Community Colleges: Findings from a 2015 CASE Survey. CASE White Paper," see ED571307.]

Every year, former post-secondary students who left diploma, associate degree, or certificate programs in B.C. are asked to participate in a province-wide survey. Respondents are asked a number of questions about their employment outcomes, and those who are employed are asked to describe their occupations. The information they provide is used to code their jobs using the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system, which is used to describe occupations and to aggregate them into occupational categories and to assign a skill level. Data for this paper came from the Diploma, Associate Degree, and Certificate Student Outcomes (DACSO) surveys, 2009 to 2013. Throughout these years, 76 percent of respondents had graduated from their programs, and of these graduates, 80 percent were employed at the time of the survey, 9 to 20 months after they left their programs. Of the employed graduates, 98 percent (45,760) gave enough information on their jobs to allow them to be coded using the NOC system. In 2013, 15,853 former students responded to the survey; there were 9,850 employed graduates. Unless otherwise noted, the percentages in this paper are based on employed graduates who submitted occupational information. The survey revealed the following: (1) Graduates were skilled in occupations; (2) There were differences by age, gender, and credential; (3) Education graduates were in high-skilled positions; (4) Labour market conditions influenced results; (5) There were trends for older respondents and Education graduates; and (6) Differences in occupation skill level were related to program and labour market.

An emerging literature documents the many challenges faced by college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known, however, about how students responded to the adversity. Focusing on two large Canadian universities, we provide some of the first evidence on the coping strategies students reported and the relationships between their endorsement of specific coping strategies and their subsequent well-being. Students focused on compensating for a lack of structure by creating new routines, maintaining social connections, and trying new activities. Conditional on baseline problems indexes, students who initially endorsed social connectedness as a strategy score significantly higher on a comprehensive well-being index five to twelve weeks later. [Additional funding for this research was provided by the Jamal Poverty Action Lab.]