Report confirms that students with high debt are more likely to leave

For Immediate Release: April 29, 2010

(Halifax) – A report released today confirms a long suspected trend: students with high debt are the least likely to remain in their province of study after graduation. The report: “The Canadian Student Survey: Next Steps - Upper Year Canadian PSE Students’ Future Plans and Debt” examines the intentions of upper year students and how debt is affecting their future career and study plans.

“This is very concerning, not only for students, but also for our province and the local economy,” explains Mark Coffin, Executive Director of the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations (ANSSA). “The government needs to be doing everything it can to curb student debt and keep young graduates here; especially given the shortage of skilled workers our province is expected to face over the next five years.”

The report also noted that students who graduate from high school in the Maritime Provinces have the highest incidence of debt. According to a report released by the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation in 2009, 69% of all students in Nova Scotia have an average of $31, 900 in debt upon graduation from an undergraduate degree.

Students studying in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were also the least likely to remain in their province of study following graduation.

“This information speaks to the need for a greater investment in up-front grants for students by government,” says Emma Cullen, Chair of ANSSA. “We have one of the worst student financial aid programs in North America, and this data suggests it’s not helping us keep young people here.”

The “Canadian Student Survey” was a bilingual, multi-institutional survey conducted on university campuses across the country in the fall term of the 2009-10 academic year. It was commissioned by the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations (ANSSA), the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), and the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS).

The full report can be accessed here.

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