Post-secondary institutions in British Columbia and elsewhere were forced to react quickly and boldly when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in early 2020. The pandemic had unforeseen consequences, but it also created opportunities for new approaches to institutional systems and service delivery. This study evaluates the impact of the pandemic on…

Stranded credit is credit that students have earned at a postsecondary institution, but cannot use or transfer because they have unpaid debts at the institution. Institutions will usually not issue official transcripts to students with debt, which results in the student being unable to formally document the credits they have acquired. This can…

This project reviews data collection practices regarding race, ethnicity and ancestry (REA) in post-secondary institutions (PSIs) in Canada, as well as in other relevant sectors (e.g., health, K-12 education, government agencies). The goal of the project was to identify promising practices and to develop recommendations to guide REA data…

This report summarizes a comprehensive environmental scan of thirty-eight BC Transfer System post-secondary institutions' admissions processes and presents both current best practices in the system and opportunities to advance equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization (EDID) supports attached to institutional admissions policies and…

This project undertook an analysis of the evolving nature of online, hybrid, and multi-access learning within the British Columbia (BC) post-secondary education system. The project objectives included assessing potential changes in the scope and nature of online learning in BC, understanding stakeholder insights on learner preferences towards…

Students with lived experience in government care can face significant challenges in their lives and their educational journeys. Students entering higher education may be simultaneously transitioning out of government care and grappling with the complexities of a new educational system. Students formerly in care are more likely than the general…

Reverse transfer has been part of the United States post-secondary landscape for more than a decade, in the form of statewide, system-wide, regional, and institutional transfer agreements. Reverse transfer agreements, as structured in the US, allow a college student in an associate degree program who transfers to a university before completing the…

This report focuses on data governance at post-secondary institutions and related organizations. Data governance is defined as the formal execution and enforcement of authority over the management of data and data-related assets (Seiner, 2014). An overview of data governance at higher education institutions provides detail on elements of data…

The goal of this study was to explore current practices that help support and enhance Indigenous students' experiences in post-secondary education. Through the use of Indigenous ways of knowing and storytelling, those supporting students at IAHLA and public post-secondary institutions gathered to weave together their stories of success, struggle,…

Building on earlier quantitative BCCAT [British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer] research assessing number of credits required for graduation (2010, 2020), this study sought to use a qualitative analysis to explore the reasons why students collect more credits than required for their credential(s) and their general feelings towards…

A plethora of micro-credentialing research and pilots are underway across Canada and around the world led by academic researchers, government, and industry. The intensity is creating a perfect storm of opportunity that is reframing assessment practices. Exploring their utility for admission and transfer into higher education, the focus of this…

The main purposes of this research are to describe the volume, features and trends characterizing block transfer and degree partnership pathways in the British Columbia (BC) Transfer System (BCTS); to determine existing business practices that may impact data on degree pathways; and to identify successful practices that may assist institutions in…

Within the BC Transfer System (BCTS), decisions to award transfer credit are important to the overall success of the system. When courses are deemed to be equivalent, the ability to transfer credits from those courses facilitates students' mobility and academic success, in addition to creating cost efficiencies at the participating institutions.…

This project focuses on the student practice of "stepping out" to earn transfer credits at a second or additional ("host") institution, while continuing in a program at their first ("home") institution. It is based on data from a cohort of students who graduated in 2015/2016 from any of the 21 public institutions in…

Permitting students to transfer credits earned in one program towards another program lies at the heart of the BC post-secondary transfer system, maximizing student mobility through credit portability. This study focused on situations where students seek to apply credits to multiple credentials that are "lateral" (for example, where a…