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Survey says NIC students satisfied with their education

The Ministry of Advanced Education recently unveiled a new tool based on survey information gathered from students who have attended post-secondary institutions around the province.

The survey was aimed at finding out how satisfied past students were with the education they received.

According to the data collected, former North Island College students seem to be pretty happy with what they got out of their school.

The findings of the Student Outcomes Surveys have been made into a handy and easy-to-use online tool – called the BC Student Outcomes Dashboard – and is designed to give students “the best information available to make decisions about their education,” according to the ministry release.

The surveys were conducted by BC Stats, and asked students from 20 of B.C.’s public post-secondary institutions questions about their educational experience and how they felt it was of benefit to them (or not), their employment outcomes – current employment and how it relates (or doesn’t) to what they studied – and whether they had additional post-secondary education prior to or after their attendance at the school.

North Island College students responded with a 92 per cent or better “Satisfaction with Education” rating in each of the past three years of the Diploma, Associate Degree, and Certificate Student Outcomes Survey and 67 per cent of respondents said they were currently in a job that was “somewhat related” or “very related” to their program of study at NIC when they responded to the survey.

They also rated NIC’s “Quality of Instruction” at 82 per cent and 54 per cent of respondents said their education was “Very” useful in getting a job.

For comparison, while most colleges of similar size had similar overall “Satisfaction with Education” numbers in the low 90th percentile, only 48 per cent of respondents who attended Capilano University in North Vancouver said their education was “Very” useful in getting a job, and only 47 per cent said they were in a job either “Very related” or “Somewhat related” to their field of study.

Respondents who attended Langara College in Vancouver were even less thrilled about their education, with a mere 30 per cent saying their education was “Very” useful in getting a job, and only 44 per cent saying they were employed in a position related to their field of study.

The survey is not intended to give a complete view of how all students from any particular institution felt about their education.

Responding to a survey like this is voluntary and in this case, the questions and responses were subjective, according to the Ministry of Education.