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The Price of Knowledge contains a wealth of information about access to post-secondary education and student finance at the national, provincial and local levels. Some notable findings of interest to British Columbia include:
Government aid
In 2002-03, the Government of British Columbia provided students with $222,998,000 in student aid, of which $84,335,496 came in the form of grants and $138,662,000 came in the form of loans.
In British Columbia (2002-03), 26,413 students received provincial grants, while 65,255 received loans.
The average amount of a provincial student loan in 2002-03 was $2,086, an increase of 27.1% since 1995-96.
The average amount of a provincial grant in 2002-03 was $3,193, an increase of 28.2% since 1995-96.
Cost of total government student aid
The Government of British Columbia spent $92,297,701 on student financial aid in 2002-03.
Government spending on institutions
Government spending on institutions in British Columbia in 2002 was $1,696,728,804 (in 2003-dollars).
Across Canada, total provincial spending on institutions increased by 2.7% in between 1990 and 2002; British Columbia experienced a much larger increase of 24.9% during the same period.
Attainment rates
British Columbia had a university attainment rate of 13.9% for its citizens between the ages of 20 and 24, which was slightly above the national rate of 13%.
The college attainment rate of 19.6% for the same age group falls short of the national figure of 26%.
In Canada, the combined (college and university) attainment rate in 2001 was 39% – slightly more than the combined rate of 33.5% in British Columbia.
Older British Columbians (25 to 44) had a combined post-secondary attainment rate of 58.3%, as compared to the national figure of 58%. The university attainment rate for this age group was 25.2% in 2001, while the corresponding national figure sat at 24%. These figures suggest that while B.C. has low participation rates, it still manages to import the trained workers it needs from other provinces.
Incidence and amount of student debt
The incidence of university student loan debt in British Columbia was 40.9% as compared to the national average of 42%. The average amount of student debt among British Columbia graduates was $20,100, which exceeds the national average of $18,900.
13.5% of British Columbia university graduates had student loan debt in excess of $25,000, compared to 13.4% at the national level.
The incidence of college student loan debt in British Columbia was 35.8% compared to the national average of 38%. Moreover, the average amount of student debt among British Columbia graduates was $11,400, which was slightly less than the national average debt of $12,700.
Only 3% of British Columbia college graduates had student loan debt in excess of $25,000, compared to 5% at the national level.
Repayment rates
In British Columbia, the average amount of student loan debt that was repaid within two years of university graduation was $4,900, slightly above the national average of $4,500. Among college graduates, the average repayment of $2,800 within two years of graduation fell short of the national average of $3,400.
On average, British Columbia university graduates repaid 24.7% of their student debt within two years of graduation, compared to the national average of 26.7%.
College graduates in British Columbia repaid 25.2% of their student loan debt within two years, compared to the Canadian norm of 27.4%.
Graduate employment rates
The full-time employment rate in British Columbia for university graduates from the class of 2000 two years after graduation was 68.5%. This was the weakest record of any province, and well below the national rate of 73%. The corresponding datum for college graduates was similar, with a provincial employment rate of 70.5% (second lowest in the country) compared to the national figure of 77%.
While the employment rate for university graduates has risen by six percentage points nationally between 1995 and 2000, in B.C. it increased by only 1.5 percentage points during the same period.
Canadian college graduates have experienced a rise in employment rates of seven percentage points between 1995 and 2000; college graduates in British Columbia experienced a 7.5 percentage point increase during the same period.
Graduate incomes
In 2003, the average university graduate salary in Western Canada, including British Columbia, was $45,000. The average graduate salary in Canada was $41,400.
In 2003, College graduates in Western Canada, including British Columbia, had an average salary of $31,100. The national average was $29,200.
Graduate migration
British Columbia experienced a 3.4% net out-flow of university graduates from the class of 2000, and a 1.7% net out-flow of college graduates. This was believed to be the first time B.C. has experienced an outflow of graduates; normally, B.C. is an importer, rather than an exporter, of skilled workers.
Aspirations
In all jurisdictions, among parents wishing their children to pursue post-secondary education, aspirations for university exceeded those for college. The percentage of British Columbia parents who indicated having aspirations for their children to attend university was 70.3%, slightly below the national average of 71.8%. 11.4% of B.C. parents had aspirations for their children to attend college, as compared to 16.5% of parents across Canada.
In British Columbia 49.7% of parents reported that they were saving for their children’s post-secondary education, just slightly below the national figure of 50%.
Enrolment
In 2002-03, British Columbia had a university enrolment of 122,672, a college enrolment of 130,525 and a total post-secondary enrolment of 253,197.
Nationally, there was a 20% increase in the number of university students in Canada between 1999-2000 and 2003-04. British Columbia led all provinces in enrolment growth in this period, with an enrolment increase of 33%.
The number of university students in British Columbia has increased by 99.4% since 1990-91, compared to the national increase of 13.3% during the same period.
British Columbia college enrolment has increased by 13.8% since 1990-91, compared to a national increase of 3.5%.
Total enrolment in post-secondary education in British Columbia has grown by 43.6% since 1990-91, compared to a Canada-wide increase of 9.1% during the same period. B.C.’s growth rate was the country’s highest over this period.
Participation rates
The university participation rate among 18- to 21-year-olds in British Columbia was 13.3% in 2002-03, the lowest in the country, while the Canadian rate was 19.7%. Despite very strong enrolment growth, the provincial participation rate increased by 2.9 percentage points between 1990-91 and 2002-03, as compared to an increase of 3.2 percentage points in Canada. High enrolment growth was offset by high population growth.
The college participation rate in British Columbia was 9.1%, which falls short of the 14.3% national figure. This participation rate increased by 0.5 percentage points between 1990-91 and 2002-03, slightly less than the national average increase of two percentage points during the same period.
British Columbia’s total post-secondary education participation rate among 18- to 21-year-olds has increased by 3.4 percentage points, compared to a Canadian average increase of 5.2 percentage points between 1990-91 and 2002-03.
British Columbia’s post-secondary participation rate of 22.4% in 2002-03 was the country’s lowest, well below the national figure of 33.9%.
Inflow /outflow
British Columbia was the country’s largest net exporter of students to other provinces. In the most recent year for which data are available 4,787 more students left the province than arrived in it to study.
Ease of access
Academic entrance requirements at B.C. universities are the highest in the country. In British Columbia, the 2002-03 average entering mark for first-year university students was 85.8%, and 97.8% of entrants had marks above 75%. The corresponding national figures are 83.6% and 88%, respectively.
Tuition
The average British Columbia university undergraduate tuition in 2003-04 of $4,140 was slightly more than the Canadian national average of $4,025. University tuition in British Columbia has increased by 77% in real dollars since 1990-91. The corresponding change at the national level was 112.4%.
In 2003-04 the average college tuition in British Columbia of $2,479 was above the average Canadian tuition (excluding Quebec) of $2,133.
College tuition in Canada (excluding Quebec) has increased by 118.2% (in real dollars) since 1990-91, while British Columbia has experienced a tuition increase of 80.6% during the same period.
Summer employment rates
B.C. students have the country’s lowest rates of summer employment. The 2003 summer employment rate for students (18 to 24) in British Columbia was 54.4%, which falls short of the national rate of 67.6%. This was a major change from fifteen years ago, when the summer employment rate was close to 75%.
Summer employment income
2001 summer employment income among students who had earnings in British Columbia was $3,800, as compared to $4,000 at the national level.
In-school employment rates
In British Columbia, 64% of students worked during the school year, as compared to the national average of 63%.
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