Lifelong Learners in British Columbia: Outcomes of Students Who Had Previous Credentials. Information Paper. Volume 6, Number 2, Winter 2009

Every year a large percentage of the former students who respond to the Diploma, Associate Degree, and Certificate Student Outcomes (DACSO) Survey say they have taken previous post-secondary education, and more than half of those students report that they have completed a previous credential. The purpose of this paper is to look at these former students who had taken previous post-secondary education and, in particular, those who had previously earned a credential, to explore questions about who returns, why they return, and how they benefit in terms of employment and further education outcomes. Students who returned to learning after already completing a post-secondary credential did so primarily to advance their careers and achieve job-related goals. These students tended to enrol in relatively short, applied programs in Lower Mainland institutions and, when selecting their programs, placed a greater emphasis on institution reputation and the availability of unique programs than did respondents without previous post-secondary credentials. Survey respondents who had prior credentials tended to have better employment outcomes than respondents who had previous post-secondary experience without a credential or who had no previous post-secondary education. However, those who had taken previous post-secondary tended to be older, and after accounting for age, the main employment outcome that was significantly different was wage: those with previous credentials earned more. Students with prior credentials were the least likely to continue with further studies after completing their recent program. (Contains 5 endnotes.)