Ten Measures of University Participation Released Today

The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission released a set of 10 measures of participation today, Feb. 19, that indicate why university participation in the Maritime provinces is considerably higher than the national average.

The measures are designed to provide decision-makers with a comprehensive and accurate analysis of university participation in the Maritimes. They take into account factors such as student origin, age, and gender, with statistics provided by province. The measures were developed under the Measures of Student Progress and Outcomes project.

"Historically, the Maritime region has recorded a high participation rate relative to the Canadian average," said Mireille Duguay, chief executive officer of the Commission. "These 10 measures explore the nature of this statistic and shed light on some interesting facets of participation, such as the fact that the influx of students from outside the region partly explains this high rate."

The measures also reveal that participation by Maritimers has plateaued in recent years.

The results are available on the commission's website at www.mphec.ca, and will be updated on an annual basis.

The Measures of Student Progress and Outcomes project is funded in part by the Canadian Council on Learning. A working group of institutional researchers from six universities in the region is assisting the commission to develop measures under the project, which will also include persistence, graduation rates, and course success.

The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission was established in 1974 to assist institutions and governments to enhance the post-secondary learning environment. The commission's 19 members are from the Maritime provinces and represent higher education institutions, provincial governments and the general public.