RSSUniversity Enrolment in Canada Continues to Set Records
Capital spending to expand facilities by Canada’s universities has been on a tear over the past several years. The reason has been rapidly growing enrolments by the student population. Furthermore, this has come at a time when some analysts expected that classes offered over the Internet might seriously cut into the need for physical attendance.
Statistics Canada has just released university enrolment figures. The latest numbers available are for the 2005 to 2006 academic year. However, we can infer certain results from these up to the present. For the fifth year in a row, a new record level of enrolment was set in 2005/2006. Based on age demographics, another new record was most likely set in 2006/2007 and is again being established in 2007/2008.
Total university enrolment in Canada (full-time, part-time, undergraduate and graduate) first crossed the one-million mark in the 2004 to 2005 academic-year. This was shortly after the “double cohort” in Ontario. Grade 13 was eliminated in Ontario at the end of the 2002 to 2003 school year. As a result, the graduates of both grades 12 and 13 entered the level of higher education at the same time.
Another critical factor in raising enrolments has been the “echo boom”. These are the children of the post-war baby boom. Echo boomers were born between 1980 and 1995. They are currently aged 13 to 28. This encompasses the prime university-attending ages of 18 to 24.
Enrolments by foreign students are growing strongly. Foreign students now make up about 8% of the total student population. They primarily attend classes in Ontario, B.C. and Québec. Half of all foreign students are from Asia, with Chinese students comprising about one-quarter of the total foreign-student contingent.
The fastest growth in total enrolments is occurring in British Columbia, Ontario, Québec and Alberta.
At the undergraduate level, there are far more females than males. The ratio is 1.4 to 1.0. However, at the graduate level, there are slightly more males than females.
The federal government demonstrated that it is serious about supporting higher education in Canada in its latest budget. Included was a scholarship program for doctoral students, both domestic and foreign, who attend Canadian universities. This program will provide $50,000 in annual financial support for up to three years.
The wave of strong enrolments at Canada’s universities will continue out to 2013 at least. After that, population projections indicate declines in the critical university-going age group.
Alex Carrick
