Education Outlook: The Next Ten Years

For Immediate Release: March 1, 2001

Editorial Feature

Victoria- Like many facets of our lives, post-secondary education is changing rapidly, responding to demographic pressures, new technology and societal demands. These changes will bring some new challenges and opportunities to the post-secondary system.

Demographic Challenges for Post-Secondary Education

The baby boomers are retiring in ever-increasing numbers, leading to a widening shortage of faculty, education administrators and planners. At the same time, the "boom echo" - children of the boomers - are moving through the post-secondary system, increasing the demand for student spaces.

A recent study by the Centre for Education Information projects that half of the 5,500 regular faculty at BC's public colleges and post-secondary institutions will retire over the next ten years. BC universities anticipate one in three faculty members will retire in the same period.

At the same time, the demand for post-secondary education will continue to rise dramatically this decade. A recent study by the Advanced Education Council of BC outlines the growing demand in the college and institute sector:

• Between 1990-1998, enrolment in the College and Institute sector rose by 45.2%.
• Some form of post-secondary education or training will be required for 72% of the 1.3 million Canadian jobs expected to be created between 1999-2004.
• Projections show the 18-29 years age group, historically the age of most post-secondary students, will grow by at least 11.5% over the next six years.

In summary, these trends suggest there will be increasing pressure on the post-secondary system to deliver more education, while facing a significant loss of existing faculty. These pressures are encouraging educators to consider alternative delivery mechanisms such as the Internet, new faculty recruitment and retention strategies, and other creative approaches to address these challenges.

A New Kind of Student - A New Kind of Learning

Historically, the majority of students in post-secondary education have been between the ages of 18 to 29. While many students will continue to be in this age group, a growing number of older students are entering or returning to post-secondary education.

According to BC's Ministry of Advanced Education, "skills are relevant for a limited period of approximately seven years. The Canadian Labour Market Productivity Centre concluded that students leaving school today will need to be retrained at least five times in their working lives." In response to this need for lifelong learning and job training, the public post-secondary system has been rapidly expanding its short-term, job-focused programs.

Another significant change occurring in post secondary education is the dramatic increase in online learning. Many students now hold full time jobs, and complete course work in the evenings and weekends, "going to school" in their own home.

More courses are offered online every week. For example, the University College of the Fraser Valley (UCFV) recently announced it is developing 45 on-line courses. There are also a growing number of partnerships among post secondary institutions to deliver "e-learning" programs. The recently formed Canadian Virtual University is a partnership of six Canadian universities, including BC's Open Learning Agency and Victoria's Royal Roads University. Virtual U offers access to over 100 different university degree, certificate and diploma programs, and is available around the clock and around the globe.

More Educational Choices

In the next ten years, the number of program options facing students will continue to grow. Already in British Columbia, public post-secondary colleges, institutes and universities offer 1,395 undergraduate programs and 302 graduate programs.

Fortunately for students, detailed program information from all of them has been assembled in one place. The Centre for Education Information's Opening Doors Web site (www.openingdoorsbc.com) is a free searchable database that allows students to compare programs, costs, admission requirements, length of program and much more, from the comfort of their home, school or library.

Opening Doors also contains information about the experiences of students after they graduate, taken from surveys of former students conducted annually by the Centre for Education Information. These surveys demonstrate that students are getting training-related jobs and are generally very satisfied with the services provided by post-secondary institutions.

The knowledge economy, a changing student body, the requirement for education and training throughout our careers, and the emergence of "e-learning", have all served to encourage an ongoing review of the educational courses and programs. The inevitable result will be more educational choices for tomorrow's students.

The Next Ten Years

There is no doubt that there are significant challenges facing post-secondary education over the next ten years. There are however, many encouraging signs that suggest our public system will rise to these challenges, and that there will be many new exciting opportunities for learners.

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