REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 1 REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATE AND DIPLOMA PROGRAMS AT RED RIVER COLLEGE I. PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to review the entrance requirements for certificate and diploma programs at RRC. This report: 1. outlines current entrance requirements for RRC programs; 2. reviews the Statistics Canada definition of a post-secondary program; 3. presents some information on the educational attainment of entering students at RRC; and 4. proposes a revision in entrance requirements. II. CURRENT ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS Currently there are three broad categories of requirements for entrance to RRC certificate and diploma programs. Academic requirements include secondary school completion at the Senior 2, Senior 3, Senior 4, or Other level. The Other category includes programs where more than Senior 4 is required, for example, in Advanced Diploma programs, and programs with no secondary school requirements, for example Health Care Aide. In addition, many programs require secondary school preparation in specific subjects. Some programs have other requirements beyond the academic secondary school preparation, for example, a specified portfolio of artwork for Advertising Art, and a category 1 medical clearance to commercial pilot standards for the Aviation Management program. Another major category of entry is through Mature Student status. For most programs the requirement is 18 years of age on or before Sept. 30 of the registration year, as well as attainment of the specific subject requirements for the specific program.
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 2 RRC offers certificate and diploma programs with a variety of entry prerequisites. Figure 1 in the Appendix illustrates the distribution of programs by academic entrance requirement. Fifty-five percent of programs require Senior 4, ten percent require Senior 3, twenty percent require Senior 3 and fifteen percent have other academic requirements. III. STATISTICS CANADA POST-SECONDARY DEFINITION Annually Statistics Canada reports on enrolments in post-secondary programs of study across Canada, including enrolments in colleges. The definition of a postsecondary program has several criteria, including: the program is career technical, that is, prepares students to enter occupations between that of the university trained professional and the skilled tradesperson; the program requires at least one school year of 24 weeks or more for completion; it leads to a certificate or diploma; and secondary school completion or equivalent is a normal prerequisite for entry. The most important criterion, according to Statistics Canada, is secondary school completion. This definition results in at least thirty percent of RRC s certificate and diploma programs not being counted as post-secondary. Figure 2 in the Appendix to this report compares Canada and provincial participation rates for 1987-88 and 1997-98 in college education and training. There are two conclusions from the chart affecting Manitoba. Canada and eight provinces and one territory experienced an increase in participation over 10 years; Manitoba did not see an increase. Secondly, Manitoba has one of the lowest participation rates in Canada. IV. MANITOBA COLLEGE EXPANSION The Province of Manitoba has recognized this low participation and implemented initiatives to improve enrolments in community colleges. The College Expansion Initiative will invest $6 million in Manitoba colleges in each of the four years 2000-2004 to expand and introduce new programs. The funding will go to Assinboine Community College, École Technique et Professionnelle, Keewatin Community College, and Red River College. The aim of CEI is to improve enrolment rates significantly. In addition, the Province of Manitoba is investing $31.5 Million in a new downtown campus for RRC on Princess Street.
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 3 These expansion initiatives will result in increased enrolments at RRC and across the community college system. RRC has already expanded and introduced new programs in 2000-2001 through CEI. A four-year plan, Academic Programming Expansion Strategy 2000-2004 has been developed to guide the expansion. Over the next three years RRC will continue to expand programs and to introduce more new programs, leading to increased enrolments. V. RRC S ENROLMENT GROWTH There has been growth in enrolments at RRC from 1994-1995 through 2000-2001 (projected) as Figure 3 in the Appendix to this report illustrates. Since 1994-1995 overall enrolments have increased eighteen percent. Regular full-time program enrolments (including certificate, diploma and other award programs) have increased thirty-one percent. The most significant growth in regular full-time program enrolments began in 1998-99. VI. DISTRIBUTIONS OF ENTERING RRC STUDENTS BY ACADEMIC ATTAINMENT As part of this review of entrance requirements a study was undertaken of the education attainment of entering RRC students in the July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year. In general, most entering students have Senior 4 or higher previously attained education. Figure 4 in the Appendix provides an overall profile of the distribution of students by categories of previous education. Seventy percent of students have Senior 4 or more while twelve percent have under Senior 4; the remaining eighteen percent are in one of the Mature, Undeclared, Out of Province and Other categories. In addition, there are also four other charts in the Appendix illustrating a profile of entering students by previously attained education by programs with the various secondary school academic prerequisites. In programs requiring Senior 4, Senior 3 or Senior 2, most students have attained Senior 4 or more in their previous education. There is an increasing percentage of students with under Senior 4 previous education for the Senior 3 and Senior 2 entrance requirement programs. In reviewing the age of students, it was found that only 12 students were under eighteen and all of these students were in the high school based Health Care Aide program. Table 1 in the Appendix to this report provides these data.
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 4 VII. OBSERVATIONS There is a variation in the secondary school entrance requirements for RRC certificate and diploma programs. RRC s certificate and diploma programs are post-secondary programs in content. Manitoba has one of the lowest community college participation rates in Canada according to the generally accepted Statistics Canada rates. Post-secondary programs are undercounted at RRC. The Province of Manitoba, through the College Expansion Initiative and the Princess Street Campus, is supporting significant college expansion. By far, most entering RRC students have at least Senior 4. There are very few under 18 years of age RRC students. The Mature admission category provides wide accessibility for Manitobans to enter post-secondary education at RRC. Entrance requirements can be changed and not create barriers to access. Entrance requirements for certificate and diploma programs should reflect the post-secondary nature of RRC programs. VIII. PROPOSAL After review, the Senior Academic Committee and the Deans and Chairs Committee recommend: 1. That the academic entrance requirements for RRC certificate and diploma programs (with the exception of college preparatory programs) be changed to Senior 4 (or equivalent), effective September 2002. 2. That the Mature admission category be highlighted and communicated directly in program entrance requirements listings. 3. That the specific subject entry requirements for individual programs continue to be reviewed routinely to ensure relevancy and currency.
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 5 IX. CONCLUSIONS RRC certificate and diploma programs are post-secondary programs and provide quality education and training for students. Changing the academic entrance requirements will: clarify the post-secondary nature of RRC programs; reflect RRC program activity more accurately for Statistics Canada and across Canada comparisons; and signal the clear indication that RRC encourages the completion of secondary school. Moreover, the Mature Student category for entrance ensures continued accessibility for students to RRC post-secondary programs.
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 6 X. APPENDIX: LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: Distribution of Red River College Certificate and Diploma Programs by Academic Entrance Requirement, 1999-2000. Figure 2: Full-time college enrolment as a percentage of the Population 18 to 21 Canada and jurisdictions, 1987-88 and 1997-98. Figure 3: RRC Enrolments 1994-1995 to 2000-2001 (Projected). Figure 4: Distribution of RRC Entering Students in Certificate and Diploma Programs by Attained Previous Education in the July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year Figure 5: Distribution of RRC Entering Students (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year) by Attained Previous Education enroled in Senior 4 Entrance Requirement Certificate and Diploma Programs Figure 6: Distribution of RRC Entering Students (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year) by Attained Previous Education enroled in Senior 3 Entrance Requirement Certificate and Diploma Programs Figure 7: Distribution of RRC Entering Students (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year) by Attained Previous Education enroled in Senior 2 Entrance Requirement Certificate and Diploma Programs Figure 8: Distribution of RRC Entering Students (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year) by Attained Previous Education enroled in Other Entrance Requirement Certificate and Diploma Programs Table 1: Distribution of RRC Entering Students (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year) in Certificate and Diploma Programs by Age group and Division
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 7 Figure 1 Distribution of Red River College certificate and diploma programs by Academic Entrance Requirement Senior 4 Senior 3 Senior 2 Other 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Number of Programs
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 8 Figure 2: Full-time college enrolment as a percentage of the Population 18 to 21 Canada and jurisdictions, 1987-88 and 1997-98. Source: Statistics Canada
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 9 Figure 3 RRC Enrolments 1994/1995 to 2000/2001 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 1994/1995 1995/1996 1996/1997 1997/1998 1998/1999 1999/2000 Projected 2000/2001 Apprenticeship Market Driven Training [Contract Training] Programs Regular Part-time Programs Regular Full-time Programs (includes certificate, diploma and other award programs)
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 10 Figure 4 Distribution of RRC Entering Students in Certificate and Diploma Programs by Attained Previous Education in the July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year College/Univ. Senior 4 (Equiv.) Under Senior 4 Mature Undeclared Out of Province Other 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 Number of Students
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 11 Figure 5 Distribution of RRC Entering Students (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year) by Attained Previous Education enroled in Senior 4 Entrance Requirement Certificate and Diploma Programs College/Univ. Senior 4 (Equiv.) Under Senior 4 Mature Undeclared Out of Province Other 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 Number of students
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 12 Figure 6 Distribution of RRC Entering Students (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year) by Attained Previous Education enroled in Senior 3 Entrance Requirement Certificate and Diploma Programs College/Univ. Senior 4 (Equiv.) Under Senior 4 Mature Undeclared Out of Province Other 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Number of students
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 13 Figure 7 Distribution of RRC Entering Students (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year) by Attained Previous Education enroled in Senior 2 Entrance Requirement Certificate and Diploma Programs College/Univ. Senior 4 (Equiv.) Under Senior 4 Mature Undeclared Out of Province Other 0 50 100 150 200 Number of students
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 14 Figure 8 Distribution of RRC Entering Students (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year) by Attained Previous Education enroled in Other Entrance Requirement Certificate and Diploma Programs College/Univ. Senior 4 (Equiv.) Under Senior 4 Mature Undeclared Out of Province Other 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Number of students
REVISING ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS, 18/5/01, PAGE 15 Table 1 Distribution of RRC Entering Students (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000 Academic Year) in Certificate and Diploma Programs by Age Group and Division Age Grouping Division 16 17 18-21 22 & Over Undeclared Age Total Aboriginal Education 35 145 1 181 Applied Sciences 9 3 310 349 17 688 Business & Applied Arts 734 558 9 1,301 Industrial Technologies 311 349 7 667 Student Services 4 8 12 Grand Total 9 3 1,394 1,409 34 2,849