Publications

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is an important component of the Canadian postsecondary system. There are numerous benefits to students who participate in WIL, such as learning about workplace culture, developing soft and hard skills, and earning more in the job market following graduation. To date, the WIL literature has focused predominantly on “traditional” postsecondary students who directly enter postsecondary studies after high school. Unfortunately, this focus does not explicitly consider transfer students, who have unique personal and academic backgrounds that may impact their eligibility to participate in WIL. Building on recent transfer research suggesting that transfer students can face challenges accessing WIL opportunities, in this report, we examine transfer and WIL information on college and university websites. Since institutional websites are often a starting point for students to learn about transfer, it is important to understand the information they provide students and identify areas of growth to better support transfer.

Research has identified numerous information sources that students use to learn more broadly about their possibilities for transfer and the transfer process. While studies have also begun to consider the interplay between information sources, almost all of the existing research is situated within the American transfer context, which focuses heavily on student transfer between community colleges and four-year universities. In Ontario, our postsecondary system is distinct, and postsecondary institutions offer numerous types of credentials with the possibility for students to transfer in myriad directions. For these institutions, knowing the information sources that students access and how they use this information is crucial for developing effective transfer policies and practices. To support the sector in this endeavour, in this report, we examine the process through which students gather information as they make decisions about transferring. Importantly, by focusing on the pre-transfer stage, we can identify not only the information sources students use but also how they combine and make sense of potentially conflicting information and fill information gaps.

Creating pathways for college students to enter university programs is a great way to enhance accessibility and promote diversity in competitive career paths, such as engineering programs. Queens University recently developed a pathway for students who have completed an engineering technology diploma at one of several participating Ontario colleges.  

To better understand how to support students following such a pathway, the authors of this study conducted a series of interviews with staff and faculty at postsecondary institutions across Canada.  

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