2015-16 reporting year OSAP Performance Indicators operating procedure

Purpose and application

Prospective students need to have as much information as possible about postsecondary education programs to assist them in choosing the program in which they will enrol. All Ontario postsecondary education institutions, including Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology that offer the Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan (COISL) as part of the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), are required to make available the following performance indicator data for each COISL-eligible postsecondary education program:

• Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan (COISL) default rates
• Graduate employment rates
• Graduation rates

This reporting requirement was announced in a ministry memorandum to postsecondary institutions dated February 13, 1998, and is supported by the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002, which stipulates that colleges are to provide the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities with any financial or other information that may be requested.

This operating procedure, which applies to all colleges, sets out the requirements for preparing and posting the OSAP Performance Indicators.

Glossary

Approved Program Sequence (APS) number: A unique five-digit number assigned to an approved program of instruction delivered by a college and used for reporting enrolment to the ministry. The Credentials Validation Service assigns APS numbers for programs resulting in an Ontario College Certificate, Ontario College Diploma, Ontario College Advanced Diploma or Ontario College Graduate Certificate (or their French-language equivalents). The ministry also assigns APS numbers for programs resulting in a baccalaureate degree in an applied area of study.

Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Load (COISL) default rate (2015-16): The percentage of 2012-2013 Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan (COISL) recipients who did not receive 2013-2014 OSAP funding (loan/grant) and were in default of their COISL repayment obligations as of July 2015.

Graduate employment rate: The percentage of college graduates in the labour force who were employed.

Graduation rate: The number of students who graduated within approximately 200 per cent of their program’s regular duration (or seven years, for students enrolled in a Baccalaureate Degree in Applied Area of Study program), shown as a percentage of program entrants.

Requirements

Indicator data

Colleges are to use the following data to prepare the OSAP Performance Indicators for each OSAP-eligible postsecondary program they offer:

• COISL default rates provided to the colleges each year (subject to ministry approval) by the ministry’s Student Financial Assistance Branch.
• Graduate employment rates provided to the colleges in March of each year by the third party provider performing the Graduate Outcomes and Employer Satisfaction Survey.
• Graduation rates calculated by the colleges each year using a ministry prescribed method outlined in the operating procedure Graduation Rate KPI Calculation and Reporting. Please note that the graduation rate is to be calculated for each OSAP-eligible program, including the preparatory and "pre" programs of instruction.

Formatting and posting indicator data

Colleges are to use the format and specifications shown below to prepare an OSAP Performance Indicators web page with the most recent reporting year’s data.

• The OSAP Performance Indicators web page is to be posted in an easy-to-find location on the college’s web site.
• A lead page is to precede the graduation, employment, and COISL default rate data and provide the following explanatory information:
  • A common methodology has been used for the calculations for all program-related information provided by all colleges.
  • The data are updated annually.
  • The approved program sequence (APS) number is assigned to each approved program by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development.
• The lead page is to be hyperlinked to the 2015-2016 data and to data from the two previous years.
• The three indicators are to be reported together in one table similar to that shown below, identifying the reporting year, i.e., 2015-2016.

• The program names used are to correspond to those used in the college calendar.
• Confidentiality is to be maintained by not publishing information for indicators for which the total number of individuals is less than five, as is consistent with the direction in the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
• COISL Default, employment, and graduation rates are to be rounded to 1/10 of 1 per cent.
• A hyperlink to the OSAP web site is to be established to provide more details on COISL default rates.
• A hyperlink to the Employment Profile on the ministry’s web site is to be established to provide provincial information on the employment experiences of college graduates.

Publication and confirmation

Colleges are to post their OSAP Performance Indicators on the college’s web site within 30 days after the KPI data and the COISL default rate data having been released each year.

Colleges are to confirm the publication of the OSAP Performance Indicator data on their college web site by e-mailing or faxing a completed certification form (see Appendix A) that has been signed by the college president to the Director, Postsecondary Accountability Branch, Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development at PostsecondaryAccountability@Ontario.ca or fax: 416-325-2245 by April 30, 2017 after the KPI data and the COISL default rate data having been released each year. Colleges are to provide on the certification form the OSAP Performance Indicators web page address and the name of the contact at the college responsible for coordinating and posting this information so that the ministry can hyperlink the college’s web page to the ministry web site.

Change of web page address

Colleges are to notify the ministry of any change in the web page address within 10 business days of the change.

Optional information

Colleges may choose to include additional information to provide the context of how the data were collected and how the results can be interpreted. For example:

• State to which year or years the data used to calculate the indicators pertain (e.g., 2015-16 graduate employment rate based on graduates from 2014-15).
• Show a breakdown of the results for each indicator.
• Include useful data supplementary to the graduation rates, such as early leaver survey data.
• Provide additional contextual information with the graduate employment rates by citing the regional labour market profile based on Human Resources Development Canada data and the youth unemployment rates published by Statistics Canada.

Summary of Responsibilities

Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology

The college is responsible for the following:

• Posting on its web site accurate and up-to-date OSAP Performance Indicator data in the prescribed format by the due date.
• Submitting a completed certification form by the due date.
• Notifying the ministry of any change in the web page address within 10 business days of the change.

Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development

The ministry is responsible for the following:

• Providing colleges with COISL default rate data.
• Maintaining a web page that provides hyperlinks to the colleges' OSAP Performance Indicators lead web page.
• Posting the employment profile of college graduates on its web site.

Further information

For further information regarding this operating procedure, please email PostsecondaryAccountability@Ontario.ca

Appendix A: Certification form

Download the certification form

You may fill in all the fields on your computer except the president’s signature. You should then print it out and have your president sign it before sending it to the ministry.

To request an alternative format, please contact PostsecondaryAccountability@Ontario.ca