News

Join us on Wed., Aug. 4, 2021 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. for a special, hour-long presentation from Dr. David Walters and Dylan Reynolds (University of Guelph), who will be offering a commentary on and summary of their recent, two-part, ONCAT-funded research project, Postsecondary Borrowing Patterns and Graduation among Transfer Students in Ontario: The Role of High School Academic Performance!

Postsecondary Borrowing Patterns and Graduation among Transfer Students in Ontario: The Role of High School Academic Performance

by Dr. David Walters (University of Guelph), Dr. Rob Brown (York University), Dr. Gillian Parekh (York University), Dylan Reynolds (University of Guelph), and Trisha Einmann (University of Guelph)

This new study examines the impact of transfer and high school performance on Ontario postsecondary students’ graduation rates and student loan borrowing patterns. In fact, it’s the first population-based study in Canada to use administrative data linkages to track student debt and the graduation outcomes of transfer students.

The research combines data from the TDSB’s Grade 9 Cohort dataset, Statistics Canada’s Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), and the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP). The authors use logistic regression models to assess the impact of student pathways on borrowing patterns and graduation rates.

Results of this work (Part II, specifically) reveal that, among other insights, transfer students were more likely to borrow to fund their postsecondary education than students who remained at the same institution for the duration of their studies; however, they were also less likely to graduate from their programs.

As the authors assert, “In terms of policy implications, this work suggests that transferring institutions is, in and of itself, an obstacle to graduation from PSE.”

For more information, please contact Dr. Roger Pizarro Milian, at rpizarromilian@oncat.ca.