Environmental scan
The StrongerBC: Future Ready Plan published by the Government of British Columbia in 2023 states that “over the next ten years, BC will need to fill more than one million job openings. Eighty per cent of these jobs will require workers to have some kind of post-secondary education and training” (p.2). This is a bold statement, and one that post-secondary institutions must pay close attention to when identifying how to support the educational requirements of all learners. The Plan further identifies five priority areas:
- making post-secondary more affordable, accessible and relevant
- providing the innovation and skills needed to fill the jobs of tomorrow faster
- breaking down barriers so everyone can find a job that works for them
- addressing Indigenous People’s workforce priorities, and
- making it easier for people new to Canada to find a job in the field in which they are trained.
It is imperative that VIU’s planning continues to align with the goals of the StrongerBC: Future Ready Plan. The goals of SEM Plan, articulated below, demonstrate that alignment.
As the educational landscape in Canada continues to change, VIU will be required to shift accordingly to keep pace. VIU will need to become more efficient and agile to meet the needs and expectations of stakeholders in response to:
- increased competition for students
- negative population growth
- increasing student diversity
- generational differences in learning
- the use of technology
VIU will have to look internally at the programming offered and assess relevance to today’s economy while increasingly looking to external sources of funding, partnerships and resource sharing to grow.
Despite the best planning undertaken, the post-secondary environment is always susceptible to external factors that impact enrolment and program planning. Of significant note in the Canadian post-secondary institutional context is the recent announcement by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to impose an intake cap on international study permit applications for two years. This will result in a 35% decrease in study permits from 2023. International students contribute significantly to the University community. While staying in Canada, they enhance the labour market and bring opportunities for Canadian students to learn about other cultures and customs. The cap to international permits will have a significant impact on VIU, Vancouver Island and Canada as a whole. Directly, by having a cap, the enrolment projections for international recruitment at VIU may fluctuate greatly.
A decline in domestic student enrolment is being felt by post-secondary institutions across Canada. In the mid-island region, the percentage of high school graduates that immediately transitioned to post-secondary decreased from 48% in 2016-17 to 40% in 2020-21 (Student Transitions Project: Transitions of BC High School Graduates into BC Public Post-Secondary Education, 2023). Over the last 10 years (2013-14 to 2023-24), VIU has seen a student headcount decline of 26%. Our biggest competitors such as University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria are responding to the situation with strategies such as lowering their entrance GPA requirements to attract more students. So the competition for students will continue to grow. VIU must continue to implement a robust recruitment plan to attract more students and deploy strategic retention strategies to ensure they stay at VIU until they reach their desired goal.
Both domestic and international enrolments have declined from 2013-14 levels. VIU has seen a 26% decline in domestic and 25% decline in international.
The table below compares the enrolment landscape of the last complete fiscal year by student category to 2013-14 enrolments. Developmental programs are pre-university programs that prepare students for entry into additional programming, achieve high school equivalency, or provide essential workplace training. Skills programs are aimed at professional development or personal enrichment. Trades are programs that prepare students for entry-level and apprenticeship positions in a variety of skilled occupations. Vocational programs are skills-related training programs that prepare students for specific occupations.
Table 1: All Semester Distinct Headcount in Fiscal Years 2013-14 and 2022-23 for Domestic and International Student Categories (source Office of University Planning and Analysis Enrolment Snapshot, March 1, 2024).
Note: Total is the unique number of students. Students may be included in more than one row, there fore the sum of the rows may not be the same as the total.
| Student and program type | Fiscal year 2013-14 | Fiscal year 2022-23 | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic - Developmental | 1748 | 1221 | -527 | -30% |
| Domestic - Graduate | 303 | 556 | 253 | 83% |
| Domestic - Skills | 6360 | 2274 | -4086 | -64% |
| Domestic - Trades | 1690 | 1317 | -373 | -22% |
| Domestic - Undergraduate | 6256 | 6479 | 223 | 4% |
| Domestic - Vocational | 714 | 357 | 357 | 50% |
| Total domestic enrolment | 15641 | 11574 | -4067 | -26% |
| International - Developmental | 880 | 349 | -531 | -60% |
| International - Graduate | 353 | 572 | 219 | 62% |
| International - Skills | 43 | 9 | -34 | -79% |
| International - Trades | 33 | 11 | -22 | -67% |
| International - Undergraduate | 866 | 824 | -42 | -5% |
| International - Vocational | 1 | 2 | 1 | 100% |
| Total international enrolment | 1928 | 1656 | -272 | -14% |
| Total all student enrolment | 17566 | 13227 | -4339 | -25% |
Domestic student population can be further examined to note how many Indigenous students were enrolled at VIU in fiscal year 2022-23. The percentage of Indigenous students at VIU has remained stable (10% of students in 2013-14 identified as Indigenous).
Figure 1: Distinct Headcount by Demographic Group for Fiscal Year 2022-23 (source Office of University Planning and Analysis Enrolment Snapshot, March 1, 2024).
Table 2: Distinct Headcount Trends in BA, BBA, and BSc Between 2014-15 and 2022-23 Academic Years (source Office of University Planning and Analysis Enrolment Snapshot, March 1, 2024)
| Student Groups | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2022-23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA new to VIU | 524 | 501 | 419 | 414 | 547 | 478 | 434 | 505 |
| BA continuing | 1671 | 1480 | 1434 | 1390 | 1381 | 1471 | 1539 | 1439 |
| Total BA | 2195 | 1981 | 1853 | 1804 | 1928 | 1949 | 1973 | 1944 |
| BBA new to VIU | 186 | 203 | 233 | 224 | 177 | 156 | 113 | 198 |
| BBA continuing | 662 | 676 | 729 | 645 | 587 | 543 | 544 | 450 |
| Total BBA | 848 | 879 | 962 | 869 | 764 | 699 | 657 | 648 |
| BSc new to VIU | 165 | 157 | 155 | 145 | 154 | 174 | 163 | 131 |
| BSc continuing | 403 | 415 | 408 | 426 | 406 | 439 | 467 | 372 |
| Total BSc | 568 | 572 | 563 | 571 | 560 | 613 | 630 | 503 |
Goal two aims to establish VIU as being a choice for students who aim to transfer to another institution. It is challenging to determine where students go after leaving (see retention data below). However, data around how many students transfer into VIU from other institutions can provide information about how many students choose to transfer between institutions. Data from 2022-23 admissions indicate that approximately 20% of students who enter the BA, BBA or BSc start their program with transfer credit.
The average amount of transfer credit that students bring to VIU is 30 credits, which is approximately one year of coursework.
VIU has developed several different retention baseline measures to track student persistence. The measures that will be used in the SEM Plan are those that are strong indicators for the three open enrolment programs (BA, BBA and BSc). The measures are
- Retention Term 1 to Term 7 (first Fall to third Fall)
- Graduation at Term 18 (six years after Fall enrolment)
See Appendix 3 for full reporting on retention baseline measures at VIU.
Table 3 below summarizes retention performance (Term 1 to Term 7) for students who began their BA, BBA or BSc in 2021-22. For comparison, the retention for all other bachelor programs is also provided. These programs include direct entry and primarily cohort-based programs.
Table 3: Term 1 to Term 7 Retention Performance for Bachelor Programs (reported in Spring 2024 for students who started in Fall 2021). (Source: Appendix 3 – Retention Baseline Report)
| Program type | Retention | Performance | number of returning students | total students in program |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA programs | 52% | within range | 282 | 546 |
| BBA programs | 66% | within range | 93 | 141 |
| BSc programs | 67% | above target | 94 | 141 |
| All other bachelor programs | 83% | above target | 444 | 538 |
Table 4 below summarizes graduation at term 18 (after six years of enrolment) for BA, BBA, and BSc students who began their program in 2017-18.
Table 4: Graduation at Term 18 (reported in Spring 2024 six years after enrolment in 2017-18) for Bachelor Programs.
| Program type | Retention | Performance | number of returning students | total students in program |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA programs | 36% | within range | 182 | 499 |
| BBA programs | 54% | within range | 89 | 166 |
| BSc programs | 43% | within range | 81 | 188 |
| All other bachelor programs | 74% | within range | 399 | 538 |
VIU is committed to creating meaningful work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for students. By aligning WIL types and their typical attributes as identified by Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada and the Association for Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning BC/Yukon, VIU has identified well over 100 courses that provide WIL experiences. WIL types commonly used at VIU include
- internships/co-ops
- work experience
- apprenticeships
- mandatory professional practicums or clinical placements
- field placements
To further enrich the experiential learning journey of VIU students, VIU remains steadfast in its dedication to enhancing the Co-Curricular Record (CCR). The CCR provides a platform for acknowledging formalized learning beyond traditional classrooms. The CCR is a tool to capture and professionally communicate learned competencies from student experiences. In the 2022-23 academic cycle, over 450 CCR submissions were validated. These comprised a spectrum of paid and unpaid opportunities. These initiatives focus on
- fostering VIU’s Graduate Attributes
- nurturing essential professional competencies
- offering skill-building experiences crucial for career readiness
Opportunities for students to engage in scholarship, research and creative activity have increased by 48 % in the last five years culminating in more than 3000 student research engagement experiences in 2022-23. These experiences include projects funded by external and internal research grants, course-based research projects, and conference presentations.