Overview

Abstract (English)

A flexible postsecondary education system provides college and university studentswith opportunities to transfer between programs and institutions when their aspirationsand circumstances change. There exists a large body of research that describesthe socio-demographic characteristics and academic trajectories of transfer studentsin Ontario as well as other Canadian jurisdictions, and more recent research has examinedthe labour market performance of transfer students following graduation (see, for example,Finnie, Dubois, and Miyairi 2017). Much less is known, however, about borrowing costs amongtransfer students. This study aims to fill gaps in the literature related to trends in studentborrowing among transfer and non-transfer students in Ontario’s postsecondary system.This research utilizes and links two datasets from Statistics Canada’s Educational LabourMarket Longitudinal Platform (ELMLP): Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) andCanada Student Loans Program (CSLP). The data linkages provide a unique opportunityto carry out a comprehensive system wide analyses of student debt among transfer studentsin Ontario. These datasets are used in this study to address the following research questions: 1. What are the characteristics of direct-entry and transfer students who enteredpostsecondary in Ontario in 2009? 2. What are the characteristics of student loan holders across transfer groupings? 3. Which educational pathways lead to the largest student debt burden upon graduation? 4. Are there significant differences in student debt across educational pathways? 5. Which variables are important predictors of post-secondary pathways and student debt? Highlights Transfer students were less likely to complete their programs than their direct-entry counterparts, and they were more likely to borrow government student loans. Transfer students were enrolled in their programs longer than non-transfer students, which resulted in a heftier financial burden—particularly among those whose transfer involved university. * Federal student loan holders enrolled for the longest period of time were those who entered university and transferred to college, as well as those entered into college and transferred to university. * The highest amount of student debt was incurred by students who transferred betweenuniversities and direct-entry university students; direct-entry college students incurred theleast amount of debt. Demographic (i.e., gender, age, country of birth, parental income), program-related factors (field of study, length of study), and transfer pathways were important predictors of reliance on government funding to subsidize the cost of postsecondary education. * Female students, on average, incurred more debt by the end of their studies than male students. * Students who entered PSE later (i.e., 19-year-olds) tended to borrow more money than younger students (i.e., 17- to 18-year-olds). * Students born outside of Canada were less likely to borrow a federal student loan than Canadian-born students; however, among borrowers, those who were born outside of Canada incurred more debt, on average, than students born in Canada. * Students who studied in the humanities and social sciences had, on average, the lowest amount of debt at the end of their programs, while those who studied the fine arts had the highest amount of debt.

Abstract (French)

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