Trends in Higher Education Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada 2002

Enrolment

Undergraduates:- –General arts and sciences, and social sciences – 100,000 each –Education, commerce, humanities, engineering – 50,000 each Postgraduates:- –Health professions, social sciences –Proportionately more students enrolled in health, mathematics, physical & biological science continue to graduate level.

Enrolment Over last 3 years, full-time university enrolment increased by almost 45,000 students to reach 645,000. Part-time enrolment rebounding Women account for 75% of full-time enrolment growth since 1981 and more than 90% over last decade Heightened demand for university education fuelled by population surge and increase in participation rates. Increase in participation rates triggered by growing number of university educated parents, student response to labour market demands, and heightened recognition of the economic & social returns of education Full-time enrolment to increase 20-30% by 2011.

Enrolment International perspective:- –Women driving enrolment throughout the OCED. –Many nations have surpassed Canada’s level of university participation. –Full-time enrolment growing most rapidly in Australia and UK –Canada on par with France, Germany, Japan, and far ahead of US.

Faculty

Hiring requirements of universities over the coming decade are growing because of:- –The unprecedented retirement of aging faculty; –The attrition rates of increasingly mobile faculty; –The increasing enrolment of both traditional and non- traditional students; –The growing demands for research and development which leads to innovation; and –The need to improve the quality of the educational and research experiences offered.