New Brunswick heavily invests in educating post-secondary students, but how many of these qualified graduates stay and work in New Brunswick after graduation? Using matched administrative data from the University and Community College Registrar Databases and the Citizen Database, Dr. Ted McDonald will share research results highlighting graduate retention rates in the province and on New Brunswick’s return on its investments.
2. 2
Research Objective
Why It Matters to Understand Graduate Retention in New Brunswick
Inform the economic return of NB’s
investments in post-secondary
education
Inform targeted policies that
encourage grads to stay and
contribute to the local economy
3. Highlight of Findings and Comparison with Previous Work
Retention Rates for University Graduates in NB
68%
after 1 year
61%
after 3
years
In comparison, college graduates
have a
1-year retention rate of 91%
A Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC) 2018 graduate survey
found:
2 years after
graduation
60%of NB graduates are in NB
70%of Maritime students are in their home
province
Less than10%of non-Maritime students are in their province of
study
3
4. Highlight of Findings and Comparison with Previous Work
4
3-year
retention
rates
Domestic University Graduates
International University Graduates
67%
24%
1-year
retention
rates
Domestic University
Graduates
International University Graduates
International College Graduates
Domestic College Graduates
73
%
32%
95%
50%
5. • Community colleges (mostly comprised of NB residents) have higher
college graduate retention rates, relative to university graduates.
• Université de Moncton (UdeM) is a French-language university mostly
comprised of NB residents. Francophones are generally less likely to
out-migrate compared to Anglophones, and this may impact UdeM’s
retention rates.
• Mount Allison University (MTA) graduates have the lowest retention
rates among all NB universities. A significant portion of MTA students
are from out of province.
5
Highlight of Findings and Comparison with Previous Work
Higher retention rates of NB resident graduates implies the significant
indicator for retention is previous residence
7. Data & Methodology
7
Post-Secondary
Data
Graduates from NB
Institutions
Medicare Data
Medicare
Registry
Matched Data
Graduates from NB Institutions in NB Medicare
Registry
Matching &
De-Identifying
the Data
8. Who is a Retained Graduate?
8
A “Retained Graduate” is a matched individual with an
in NB 1 year or 3 years after
the date of graduation
Medicare covers almost all NB residents and individuals moving to NB to live. International students
enrolled in postsecondary education full-time were eligible for Medicare as of 2017. However,
Canadian students who are residents of other provinces and studying in NB are not eligible for NB
Medicare.
9. What About UNMATCHED Data?
Unmatched individuals are assumed to have left the province.
9
They don’t have NB Medicare
because they are not NB
residents
Technical errors that prevent
matching between the data
sets
Jon Smith
Male
Nov. 18,
1930
Unmatched
Citizen
Database
Post-
Secondary
Jon Smith
Male
Nov. 18,
1930
Jonathan
Smith
Male
Nov. 18, 1930
Unmatche
d
Individuals can be “unmatched” for various reasons:
10. Distribution of Unmatched Graduates
10
By Previous Residence
12%
55%
33% New Brunswick
Out of Province
(Domestic)
Counts
All Graduates 43,958
Matched 33,513
Unmatched 10,445
Proportion Unmatched 24%
11. Retention Rates of Graduates – by Previous Residence
11
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
New Brunswick
Out of Province(Domestic)
Out of Country(International)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
110%
2017 2018
New Brunswick
Out of Province (Domestic)
Out of Country (International)
1-Year Retention Rates (University) 1-Year Retention Rates (College)
12. Retention Rates of Graduates – by Previous Residence
12
3-Year Retention Rates (University)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
New Brunswick Out of Province (Domestic) Out of Country (International)
13. 1-Year Retention Rates of Graduates – by Field of Study
13
Field of Study 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Education 73% 69% 64% 67% 65% 66% 67% 66% 62%
Social sciences & law 72% 75% 71% 74% 66% 68% 70% 68% 68%
Business, management & public admin 67% 74% 70% 70% 65% 67% 66% 70% 70%
Physical & life sciences & tech 77% 76% 74% 68% 67% 71% 68% 71% 77%
Architecture, engineering, & related tech 66% 64% 59% 57% 60% 63% 66% 67% 71%
Health & related fields 77% 79% 77% 75% 79% 81% 80% 86% 86%
Other 74% 79% 76% 77% 68% 70% 68% 70% 66%
a) Physical & life sciences & tech: this field also includes Mathematics, computer & information sciences
b) Other includes: 1) Humanities, 2) Visual and performing arts, and communications tech,
3) Agriculture, natural resources and conservation
1-Year Retention Rates (University)
14. 1-Year Retention Rates of Graduates – by Field of Study
14
Field of Study 2017 2018
Education 94% 97%
Social sciences & law 93% 92%
Business, management & public admin 88% 89%
Physical & life sciences & tech 67% 71%
Architecture, engineering, & related tech 96% 95%
Health & related fields 93% 95%
Other 92% 91%
a) Physical & life sciences & tech: this field also includes Mathematics, computer & information sciences
b) Other includes: 1) Humanities, 2) Visual and performing arts, and communications tech,
3) Agriculture, natural resources and conservation
1-Year Retention Rates (College)
15. 3-Year Retention Rates of Graduates – by Field of Study
15
3-Year Retention (University)
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Education 67% 64% 61% 63% 61% 63% 65%
Social sciences & law 63% 63% 61% 64% 59% 59% 64%
Business, management & public admin 61% 67% 62% 62% 60% 61% 60%
Physical & life sciences & tech 66% 66% 67% 60% 61% 64% 60%
Architecture, engineering, & related tech 54% 52% 47% 47% 51% 56% 61%
Health & related fields 70% 72% 71% 70% 73% 76% 75%
Other 64% 70% 67% 69% 60% 63% 62%
a) Physical & life sciences & tech: this field also includes Mathematics, computer & information sciences
b)Other includes: 1) Humanities, 2)Visual and performing arts, and communications tech,
3) Agriculture, natural resources and conservation
16. 1-Year Retention Rates of Graduates – by Health-Related
Fields
16
GraduationYear Nursing Other
2010 69% 63%
2011 76% 71%
2012 65% 75%
2013 60% 71%
2014 71% 78%
2015 79% 69%
2016 79% 64%
2017 89% 75%
2018 85% 75%
1-Year Retention Rates (UNB)
GraduationYear Nursing Other
Pooled (2010 – 2018) 92% 87%
Pooled 1-Year Retention Rate (UdeM*)
*UdeM Data has been pooled across years as small counts preclude disclosure by year
17. 1-Year Retention Rates of Graduates - by Health-Related
Fields
17
1-Year Retention Rates (College)
96%
93%
91%
95%
89%
90%
91%
92%
93%
94%
95%
96%
97%
2017 2018
Nursing Other
1-year retention rates for graduates with nursing and other health-related diplomas are over 90%.This is likely
due to the high distribution of local students in colleges
18. 18
1-Year Retention Rates of Graduates by Educational
Institution
Undergraduate-Only* by Institution
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
UNB UdeM
Graduation Year
19. 19
1-Year Retention Rates of Graduates by Educational
Institution
All Graduates by Institution
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
UNB UdeM STU MTA NBCC + NBCCD CCNB
Graduation Year
20. 3-Year Retention Rates of Graduates by Educational
Institution
20
Undergraduate-Only* Students, by Institution
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
UNB UdeM STU MTA
21. 3-Year Retention Rates of Graduates by Educational
Institution
21
All Graduates, by Institution
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
UNB UDEM STU MTA
22. • Limited to those who file federal income tax returns
• Location is as of December 31 of the filing year
• Less up-to-date than Medicare Registry data
• Accessed through the Statistics Canada Research Data Centre at UNB
• Retention measured as of the end of the graduation year and in the second
year after graduation
22
Work in Progress – Other Linked Data Sources
Post-secondary information system data and CRA income tax data
24. • Analysis of the retention rates of students who have not
completed their degrees
• Labour market outcome of post-secondary education graduates
• The postsecondary enrollment decisions and mobility decisions of
NB high school graduates
• Inter- and Intra-provincial mobility of graduates
24
Looking Forward: The Next Phase of our Research
25. 25
Engage With Us
✉ tedmcdon@unb.ca
✉ nb-irdt@unb.ca
🌐 www.nbirdt.ca
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Notes de l'éditeur
There is no substantial difference in retention rates for undergrads and postgrads
Female grads have higher (71%) retention rates than male grads (69%)
There is no substantial difference in retention rates for undergrads and postgrads
Female grads have higher (71%) retention rates than male grads (69%)
University - Overall 1-year retention rate of NB Residents is 89%.
From 2017 onwards, there is a rise in retention of international students.
This could be due to international student eligibility for provincial Medicare at that time and targeted programs such as Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP).
College: 97% of NB residents are retained after 1 year.
These figures show that one’s Previous Residence is the biggest indicator of retention.
In other words, if you’re from NB, you’re far more likely to remain in NB.
From 2017 onwards, there is a rise in retention of international students.
This correlates with international student eligibility for provincial Medicare at that time.
In most categories, college graduates have higher retention rates (1-Year) than university graduates.
However, the category of “Physical and life sciences & technologies” exhibit similar rates for both university and college graduates, which could be likely due to higher representation of male and/or non-NB graduates in this category.
Graduates from UdeM have higher retention rates than grads from other NB universities.
UdeM is a French university, and Francophones have a lower likelihood of outmigration compared to others. UdeM also has higher composition of NB residents.
Retention rates are lowest for MTA, and many MTA students are from Out of Province.
Retention rates are highest for college graduates, and most college grads are NB residents.
Graduates from UdeM have higher retention rates than grads from other NB universities.
UdeM is a French university, and Francophones have a lower likelihood of outmigration compared to others. UdeM also has higher composition of NB residents.
Retention rates are lowest for MTA, and many MTA students are from Out of Province.
Retention rates are highest for college graduates, and most college grads are NB residents.