10 Reasons to be Optimistic About Higher Education in Canada in 2024

A Contact North | Contact Nord Upbeat Perspective

Higher education in Canada has both strengths and weaknesses. It has developments that bode well for its future. It also has trends that pose risks and uncertainty.

Here are 10 reasons to be optimistic this year!

1. Demand continues to grow

1. Canada is a major destination for international students. In 2022-2023, Canada attracted 900,000 students from around the world, just shy of the 1,057,188 studying in the US and just ahead of the 896,860 studying in Australia. India is the major sending country, followed by African nations[1].

Though recent changes in financial requirements for visa entry into Canada[2] may impact the growth rate of international student enrolments, the reputation of Canadian institutions is strong. It is worth noting that in 2010, just 142,170 international students were enrolled in Canadian post-secondary institutions.

2. New enrolments in higher education and the skilled trade apprenticeship programs continue to rise, especially for colleges and career related programs. There is also an increase in the number of post-graduate students.

In all, Canada has over 2.2 million students (2022 data), with Ontario having 920,000[3]. The recovery in apprenticeship registrations, which fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, is especially welcome to see[4]. We expect these enrolments to continue to rise[5].

3. The number of Francophone students enrolled and completing higher education programs has been growing for some time. Between 2005 and 2018 (the last year data was assessed), registrations increased by 356%[6].

Canada has 75 colleges and 30 universities, which offer programs and courses in French, with most of these located in Quebec[7]. Francophones outside Quebec have access to 21 colleges and universities. Ontario’s colleges offer some 223 programs in French, and its universities offer 160 programs.

Between the colleges and universities, these programs attract approximately 32,000 students.

4. Indigenous participation in post-secondary education increased substantially from 2010-2011 to 2022-2023, based on educational attainment, college and university-reported demographics, and other metrics.

The share and number of Indigenous students pursuing higher education rose rapidly over the past decade, although gaps remain when compared to non-Indigenous enrolment and attainment rates[8].

5. The private college and university sector is growing, in part because of public-private partnerships in Ontario and Alberta but also because of their flexibility and entrepreneurial mindset. There are over 2,400 private career colleges in Canada, 25% of these in Ontario, and they serve 11% of Canada’s higher education student population[9].

Private degree-granting institutions in Canada are few , approximately 21[10], but are expanding their programming and continue to attract students. A significant number of new programs are planned for 2024, triggered by growing investment in the sector.

2. Online, Hybrid and Micro-Credentials Are Helping to Drive Growth and Flexibility

6. Online and hybrid learning course registrations continue to grow faster than face-to-face registrations, especially for mature students. The Canadian Digital Learning Research Association annual analysis shows that both the number of programs and courses available online grows and spurs increased online registrations[11].

There are strong indications that hybrid courses are seen as a significant response by colleges and universities to the growing student demand for flexibility[12].

7. Micro-credentials have become a significant force in Canada’s higher education landscape, with Ontario leading the way in investment and support for colleges, universities and Indigenous institutes.

A 2021 survey showed that 76% of all higher education institutions offered one or more micro-credentials[13] and a separate market analysis showed that 74% of working-age Canadians expressed an interest in these courses[14]. With new investments made by several provinces, the number and variety of micro-credentials are sure to increase.

3. Innovation is Everywhere

8. Artificial intelligence significantly impacts teaching, learning and assessment in higher education and will continue to do so. Canada has a leadership role in the future of AI, thanks to the pioneering work of three “grandfathers” of AI who work in Canada – Yoshua Bengio (based at the University of Montreal and winner of the Turing prize in 2019), Geoffrey Hinton (University of Toronto) and Richard Sutton (University of Alberta).

Across Canada, $2.57 billion was invested in Canadian AI research in 2022-2023[15] and investments are rising. While there are concerns that appropriate policies are in place[16], others are pioneering new approaches to teaching, learning and assessment[17]. Contact North | Contact Nord recently launched four ground-breaking generative AI-enabled higher education Apps:

Study Online Quick Tips

www.studyonlinequicktips.ca

Digital Skills Toolkit

www.digitalskillstoolkit.ca

AI Tutor Pro

www.aitutorpro.ca

AI Teaching Assistant Pro

www.aiteachingassistantpro.ca

9. Teaching and learning centres at colleges and universities as well as individual faculty, instructors and learning designers continue to pioneer new approaches to teaching, learning and assessment and are embracing AI and other technologies to enable both personalized, differentiated instruction and adaptive assessment.

There are over fifty such centres across Canada[18], with many offering continuing professional development, induction for new faculty and instructors, and substantial instructional design resources to support innovative teaching. They have also pioneered and supported open education resources (OER)[19] development across Canada.

10. The Canadian EdTech market was valued at $1.7 billion in 2021 and is forecast to reach $4.28 billion by 2026, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.3%[20].

Though small compared to other EdTech centres – China, India and the US are market leaders – Canada has significant presence with products like D2L’s Brightspace, Top Hat, Kritik, Paper and ApplyBoard’s services. New partnerships between higher education institutions and EdTech are emerging, which bodes well for the future and for innovative teaching and learning.