Education

The value of an education in B.C.

In the 2014 provincial budget, Premier Christy Clark promised a fundamental overhaul of B.C.'s post-secondary education system—with more emphasis on graduating students who meet the needs of the private sector. "I think we should be making sure we are providing programming in our post-secondary institutions that provides people, young and...

By Matt O'Grady /















 














An in-depth look at how B.C. graduates and employers feel about the province’s post-secondary institutions. From alumni engagement to fundraising to reputation, we tell you who and what ranks highest–and why 

Click here for the complete survey.

In the 2014 provincial budget, Premier Christy Clark promised a fundamental overhaul of B.C.’s post-secondary education system—with more emphasis on graduating students who meet the needs of the private sector. “I think we should be making sure we are providing programming in our post-secondary institutions that provides people, young and old, with the promise and prospect of prosperity when they graduate,” Premier Clark said at the time.

There’s no doubt that all across Canada, graduates and employers are more focused on the return on investment of a university or college education than ever before. For graduates, the focus is driven by a dramatic rise in tuition costs and an increasingly uncertain job market; for employers, it’s the need to hire workers who can quickly adapt to a rapidly changing business environment.

That’s why we at BCBusiness decided to take an in-depth look at the value of an education. Working with Mustel Group, we surveyed a random sample of 530 British Columbians who have graduated from a B.C.-based post-secondary institution and asked them for their thoughts. We also surveyed 380 business owners/employers in the province to ask how they perceived both the value of an education and the value of various programs.

Overall, most post-secondary grads see their education as being of high value and beneficial to their career—regardless of whether they have a diploma or degree. While there are few demographic differences in the findings, women on the whole tend to place more value or importance on a post-secondary education—a reflection, says Evi Mustel, principal at Mustel Group, of the demographic makeup of most post-secondary institutions and, more broadly, women’s overall engagement in education. “Generally girls do better at school,” she notes. “There’s been years of discussion about that, about some of the biases toward women, and that’s reflected in these findings too.”

Of course, all that education comes at a cost—especially for those who’ve exited the system recently. Fully 53 per cent of respondents said they graduated with some amount of debt—with the level of debt, not surprisingly, rising for younger graduates. Most respondents said going into debt was worth it—although many felt they had no choice, with those under 34 years of age being slightly more negative on the “value for money” question.

If there was any big surprise in the survey, says Mustel, it was in how graduates view their alma mater. Most are net promoters of their school, but relatively few stay in touch or give back. When asked if they feel particularly connected to their institution, on a scale of one to 10 (where 10 is “very connected” and 1 is “not connected at all”), the average response was a 4; the connection is only slightly stronger among recent graduates at 4.5. “I was surprised,” she says. “We screened only for people who graduated from B.C. institutions. I went to McMaster in Ontario, so it’s hard for me to feel connected, but I think if you’re in the same community as your alma mater, it should be a different situation.” In addition, only nine per cent of graduates are making a donation to their school, with only four in 10 of those givers giving more than $100.

And how do employers and business owners feel about the value of a post-secondary education? On the whole, they’re positive—although perhaps not as bullish as graduates themselves, with those making hiring decisions rating it a 6.3 out of 10—where 10 means “a very important factor” and 1 “not a factor at all.” As for how the institutions rank on reputation, BCIT comes out on top—with 86 per cent of business owners/hiring managers saying they have a favourable impression of the tech school; UBC, SFU and UVic track closely behind.

Methodology: Samples for our survey, completed between June 9 and 12, were obtained through Mustel Group’s Giving Opinions panel, which is entirely randomly recruited (versus opt-in), thus allowing for the quoting of tolerance limits on the sample.
The sample sizes and margin of error at the 95% level of confidence on the samples are:
• General population: 530 respondents with a margin of error +/-4.3%.
• Business owners/employers: 380 respondents with a margin of error +/-5.0%
* Due to rounding not all percentages add up to 100