Student Pathways into Ontario Colleges’ Bachelor’s Degrees: Patterns of mobility, student characteristics, academic and labour market outcomes

Authors
Ursula McCloy
Gerardo Infante
Abstract

Ontario Colleges have been offering bachelor’s degrees since 2002, and they have grown steadily: in 2020 there were 3,896 graduates across the 12 colleges that offer college degrees.1 Associated with this expansion, colleges have been developing a variety of pathways into their degree programs, including course credit, bridges, preparatory pathways, and block transfer. However, a significant knowledge gap exists in terms of profile of students who take these pathways, the amount of advanced standing that has been provided, and whether their academic and labour market outcomes are comparable to non- transfers. This study addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing the sociodemographic profile, educational background, pathway to degree entry, and academic outcomes of baccalaureate students at five of Ontario’s colleges, who comprise 85% of degree enrolment.