University of Guelph Performance Indicators General

In response to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities' 1998-1999 OSAP policy, the University of Guelph is posting performance indicators for the students on employment rates, graduation rates and student loan default rates. Graduation and default rates have been calculated by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities using existing data sources. Employment rate data were collected through a graduate survey conducted by the Ontario Universities Application Centre (OUAC).

These are the 2001 MTCU OSAP Performance Indicators, posted January, 2002.

Employment Rates

To determine employment rates of recent graduates, OUAC conducted a survey of all 1998 graduates of undergraduate degree programs. Graduates were asked 11 questions regarding their employment situation six months and two years after graduation. Between December 11, 2000, and January 19, 2001, a total of 48,878 surveys were mailed out to these graduates. Guelph graduates had a overall survey response rate of 29.2%. We would like to thank those graduates  who participated in this very important exercise.

Table 1 indicates the employment rates for 1998 graduates of Guelph's undergraduate programs by program category. The employment rate is defined as the number of graduates who are gainfully employed expressed as a percentage of graduates in the labour force. The overall employment rates for 1998 Guelph graduates of undergraduate degree programs is 94.0% six months after graduation and 97.7% two years after graduation.  Two years after graduation, Guelph graduates were on average more successful in securing employment than students from the rest of the Ontario University system.

Graduation Rates

The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities has calculated graduation rates using a single entering cohort of students and determining whether or not they graduated within seven years. The methodology employed involves the selection of all new, full-time, year-one undergraduate students who were registered at the institution on the official 1992 count date and were seeking either a bachelor's or first professional degree. The subset is then matched against the records for students who received a degree (in any program) from the same institution during the period 1993-1999.

Table 2 indicates that the overall graduation rate for all programs at the University of Guelph is 81.9%. This is significantly higher than the system average of 73.7% for all programs.

The University of Guelph is the only tri-semester university in Ontario. At the end of each of the University's fall, winter and summer sessions, Guelph students write a series of final examinations and may be disallowed from returning to complete the next semester for academic reasons. In many other universities in Ontario, students are only tested at the end of the fall-winter session. As a result, the methodology used in determining graduation rates disadvantages the University of Guelph. If graduation rates were based on year two enrolment, as in the Maclean's measurement, Guelph's graduation rate would be even higher at 87.8% for this cohort. This percentage places the University of Guelph as number 1 in graduation rates among comprehensive universities in Canada.

Default Rates

The 2000 default rates reflect the repayment status of students (undergraduate and graduate) who were issued Ontario student loans in the 1997-98 academic year,  exited their studies in 1997-98, and who defaulted on their repayment obligations approximately two years later. Student loan recipients/defaulters are, for purposes of calculating default rates, assigned to the last institution/program they attended in 1997-1998. The status of these loans was assessed as of July 2000 or about two years after entering into repayment.

An Ontario student loan is in default when the Ontario government has paid the bank's claim for an inactive loan. A loan is inactive when no payments were made by the student for at least 90 days. Responsibility for recovery of defaulted accounts was transferred to private collection agencies in January 1999.

Table 3 indicates the 2000 default rate for all programs at the University of Guelph is 4.5%. This is 3.3% lower than the 1999 rate and is significantly lower than the provincial rate of 7.1% for all programs at Ontario universities.