Context
This indicator presents tertiary graduation rates by sex. These rates give an idea of the pace at which education systems are producing advanced knowledge. Countries in which tertiary graduation rates are high are more likely either to have or to develop a highly educated labour force. In a knowledge-based economy, leading edge knowledge is a main source of innovation and growth and is therefore especially valuable.
Tertiary graduation rates depend on access to programmes and their structure, the different requirements for graduation, and the level of qualification required in the labour market. Graduation rates may also be influenced by economic conditions when secondary graduates choose to defer postsecondary education to take advantage of employment opportunities. Tertiary graduation rates are also affected by the flow of foreign students.
Observations
In Canada, the tertiary-type A graduation rate, which includes only individuals graduating at this ISCED level for the first time, was 31% in 2006,6 lower than the average registered in the 24 OECD countries with comparable data (39%) (Table A.3.1, column 4, and Chart A.3.1). With just under one-third of individuals (in relation to the population in the typical age cohort of 22 to 25) being such graduates, Canada ranked 20th among OECD countries, along with Switzerland. Only Hungary (29%), Germany (23%), Austria (22%) and Greece (18%) posted rates lower than Canada’s.
The tertiary-type A graduation rate varied greatly from one province to another (Chart A.3.1). With 51%, Nova Scotia had the highest such rate among the provinces, behind Iceland (63%) and similar to Australia (50%). Nova Scotia receives many students from out of province, which accounts for its especially high tertiary-type A graduation rate. According to Statistics Canada’s National Graduates Survey (NGS) for the class of 2005, the total number of university graduates in Nova Scotia was 20% higher than the number of these graduates who resided in the province one year before the start of their programme. Apart from Alberta, where the net in-migration of graduates moving out of their own province to pursue a programme in Alberta was sizable at 4%, there was little or no variation in this regard in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. On the other hand, Prince Edward Island (36%),
6. When the data were sent to the OECD, the most recent Canadian data available were for the 2006 reference year. These data are therefore compared with those of other countries, most of which represent the 2007 reference year.
Education Indicators in Canada: An International Perspective, 2009
Newfoundland and Labrador (12%), Saskatchewan (10%) and British Columbia (3%) all registered net out-migration of students who graduated outside their province of residence. The tertiary-type A graduation rate in New Brunswick (43%) exceeded the average rate observed in OECD countries (39%), while Newfoundland and Labrador ranked alongside the United States with a rate of 37%. Among the remaining provinces, only Ontario exceeded the rate for Canada as a whole with 36%. Figures recorded for Manitoba, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan were all below the Canadian average, with rates ranging from 30%
to 18%.
Les deux sexes Hommes Femmes Chart A.3.1
Tertiary-type A graduation rates (first-time graduation), by sex, 2007
Note:International codes (e.g., AUS for Australia) are used here to label OECD member countries. See the “Notes to readers” for a complete list of these abbreviations and the corresponding country names.
Source: Table A.3.1.
As shown in Table A.3.1 (columns 5 and 6), tertiary-type A graduation rates for females were higher than those for males in 22 of the 24 OECD countries for which comparable data were available. Japan and Switzerland, which both recorded more male than female graduates at this level, were exceptions. In Canada, the tertiary-type A graduation rates were 39% for females and 23% for males. Canada ranked 19th in female graduation rates at this level, below the 47% average for OECD countries and the 40% rate observed in the Czech Republic, Spain, and Hungary.
Provincially, the tertiary-type A graduation rate for females was above the national average in Nova Scotia (62%), New Brunswick (56%), Newfoundland and Labrador (48%) and Ontario (44%), while it was below the national average in Quebec (38%), Alberta (31%), British Columbia (31%) and Saskatchewan (23%). Manitoba and Prince Edward Island had rates that paralleled the national average of 39%.
An analysis of the distribution of graduates by sex in Canada reveals a rather sizable gender gap. The difference between the rate for females (39%) and that for males (23%) is 16 percentage points, which means that Canada had the 13th largest gender gap for tertiary-type A graduation rates in the OECD countries (Table A.3.1, columns 5 and 6). The difference in favour of females was also apparent in all provinces in 2006, where gaps ranged from 9 percentage points in Saskatchewan to 26 in New Brunswick.
Tertiary graduation A3
At this time, the analysis must be limited to tertiary-type A, since Canada cannot yet report data for tertiary-type B, which essentially covers programmes in community colleges and CEGEPs. However, this type of analysis can be performed for advanced research programmes. The rate of graduation from advanced research programmes was 1.0% in Canada in 2006, slightly below the average rate (1.5%) for the OECD countries (Table A.3.1, (column 10). With this rate, Canada was in 23st place among the OECD countries, along with Poland. Only Spain, Hungary, Turkey, Iceland, and Mexico, with rates of graduation from such programmes of less than 1.0%, were behind Canada.
Rates of graduation from such programmes ranged between 0.5% in Saskatchewan and 1.2% in Quebec. Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador, with 0.6%, all posted an identical rate, very close to that of New Brunswick (0.7%). The rates for Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario were very similar to the national average of 1.0%.
Definitions, sources and methodology
This indicator presents tertiary graduation rates by programme destination, duration, and sex. For the calculation of graduation rates, the OECD prefers to use the net method, which basically amounts to summing age-specific graduation rates. For countries that cannot report in this way because they are unable to provide such detailed data, including Canada, the OECD uses the gross method. This calculation divides the number of graduates, regardless of their age, by the total population at the typical age of graduation. An individual who obtains a degree in tertiary education during the reference year is considered a graduate.
Data are presented for the 2007 calendar year (2006 for Canada) and were obtained from the UOE exercise in which the OECD collected statistical data on education in 2008. Statistics Canada has determined the typical age at tertiary-type A graduation to be between 22 and 25, and the age for obtaining a degree in advanced research programmes as between 27 and 29. The values used in the denominator for calculating graduation rates are based on the average of demographic estimates for these different age groups, based on the most recent census.
OECD graduation rates are based on the first degree and therefore exclude individuals for whom the degree just obtained is a second degree within a given ISCED level. To meet the OECD’s standard definition, the number of first bachelor’s degrees was estimated by subtracting from the total number of bachelor’s degrees granted during the reference year an estimate of the number of students for whom the bachelor’s degree obtained was a second degree within this ISCED level. This estimate was developed on the basis of the cohort of graduates interviewed in Statistics Canada’s 2002 National Graduates Survey (NGS) (class of 2000). The estimation is done only for tertiary-type A programmes.
The Canadian data are from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), a census that collects data for all units in the target population, without sampling. The target population consists of Canadian public postsecondary educational institutions (universities, community colleges and vocational centres). Each institution provides Statistics Canada with data on its programmes, its students and the degrees granted.7
Note: The corresponding OECD indicator is A3, How many students finish tertiary education?.
7. Since 2005/2006, graduates from the University of Regina, in Saskatchewan, are not available through PSIS, which, of course, affects the tertiary graduation rates for Saskatchewan.