Atlantic Canada. Dropout Rates among College Students are Overstated : StatsCan

Dropout rates in Atlantic Canada's colleges and universities are overstated unless students who switch institutions, or who leave briefly and return, are taken into account, according to Statistics Canada.

When switchers and students who left and then returned were removed from the count, the dropout rate among Atlantic universities during this period dropped from 33% to about 18%.

Not all postsecondary students in Atlantic Canada remained at the same university or college until they graduated. Many of these students moved between institutions, and many others appeared to have temporarily suspended their postsecondary education for short periods.

Among students aged 17 to 20 who had enrolled in a university in the four Atlantic provinces during the fall of either 2002 or 2003, one-third (33%) had left their university within two years.

Of all the students who left, about 25% in fact switched to another institution to pursue their postsecondary studies. Of the remaining students who left, about one-quarter subsequently returned to school.

For college students, the two-year institutional dropout rate was close to 35% among students aged 17 to 20 during this time period. However, once students who switched, or who returned later, were taken into account, the rate fell to about 29%.

The rate at which university students leave their studies is somewhat different by gender, with 28% of men leaving their studies compared with 22% for women. Among college students, the rates were almost identical for both genders, although higher than for universities.

Among bachelor students who left their studies during their first two years, 25% returned to postsecondary education. Of those who returned, half went back to the same institution. Another 5.8% stayed at the bachelor level, but returned to a different institution. A final 7.4% returned, but changed their level of study to the college level.

Among college students, 11.5% of those who left returned to postsecondary studies. Most of these students returned to the same institution at the college level. The remainder returned to their postsecondary studies, but entered university at the bachelor's level.

Many students who graduated from a postsecondary institution returned to school later. In fact, within three years of completing their first degree or diploma, 36.5% of those with a bachelor's degree and 30.3% of college graduates had enrolled in another postsecondary program.

Source Statistics Canada, Febr. 12, 2009

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