Mr. Speaker,
This morning I am pleased to rise before this Honourable House to share the results of the Bermuda College’s 2019 Graduates’ Survey. The overall aim of this annual survey is to determine how well Bermuda College serviced its core clients which are its students, during the time they spent earning their qualifications at the College. As you know the Bermuda College is our only tertiary institution here on the Island. Thus, obtaining information from the graduates is critical and provides rich data to help drive informed decisions on how the operations at Bermuda College can be improved for servicing future cohorts of students.
Mr. Speaker,
The annual graduates survey also seeks to determine the following:
- what programmes students were enrolled in;
- whether or not they will continue their education abroad;
- whether they will enter the workforce immediately; and,
- whether or not students took longer than expected to graduate and why.
Mr. Speaker,
The annual survey is part of the graduation process in that once the Bermuda College Registrar has identified the graduates, students are notified and advised to complete the graduate survey online. This year, 109 of the 123 graduates completed the survey. This represented a response rate of 89% which is significantly higher than the response rate of 77% obtained in 2018. The demographics of those completing the survey are as follows:
- 54% were female and 46% were males;
- 66% or two thirds of the graduates were traditional age graduates, that is under the age of 25;
- The remaining 34% were non-traditional graduates or age 25 years and older; and,
- 65% of the graduates were full-time students while 35% were part-time.
Mr. Speaker,
It is always meaningful to know the reason graduates enroll in the Bermuda College. This information sends a clear message of the relevancy of the College’s programme offerings. Both this year and in 2018, the top three (3) reasons why the graduates enrolled in Bermuda College were consistent. They are:
- To obtain a Bermuda College credential;
- To improve professionally; and,
- The tuition was affordable.
Mr. Speaker,
This is most pleasing that Bermuda College is positioned to serve its clients with credentials, professional development programmes and at the same time be affordable. That’s why this Government, since 2017 has provided the Bermuda College with additional funding to financially support those persons desirous of pursuing academic, career and professional development.
Mr. Speaker,
Let me share a bit of the detailed results from the 2019 annual graduate survey. The highest number of graduates were from the Business Administration programme – 23%. This was followed by10% graduating from the Certificate in Applied Science Technology programme.
The average time that it took for the 2019 graduates to complete their programmes was 3.8 years. However, close to half or 49% of the graduates completed their programme of study in two years or less compared. This was up from the 39% in 2018.
Mr. Speaker,
Earlier I shared with you that 35% of the graduates were part-time. In 2019 and 2018, being a part-time student was the main reason students did not complete their programme of study on time. The second highest reason cited for not completing their programme on time was having to undertake preparatory-level courses prior to pursuing the actual course of study.
Mr. Speaker,
One significant decrease in the 2019 survey result was the number of students who planned to study abroad after graduation. After being on the rise for the past four (4) years, it fell to 33% from the 55% recorded last year. However, the results of the number of individuals continuing in their present job or seeking employment, increased to 44% up from the 30% in 2018. This is a direct reflection of the many College graduates who stated that they enrolled at the College to improve themselves professionally.
Of those students who intended to further their education overseas, 44% are doing so in Canada, 33% in the United States and 17% in the United Kingdom. The higher percent of student graduates studying in Canada is partly attributed to the Mount Saint Vincent University programme offered through Bermuda College. Students can now pursue majors in accounting, management, marketing and strategic human resource management. Additionally, the Bermuda College has increased its partnership agreements with Canadian institutions.
Mr. Speaker,
As stated previously, the main reason for the annual graduate survey is for Bermuda College to gauge how well it is servicing its students. Hence, the satisfaction ratings are a very important barometer for the College and are broken down by programme, academic policies/procedures, College services and overall satisfaction. These various factors in all areas increased this year. I will briefly mention them.
- The programme-related factors include: access to faculty, the quality of instruction, the academic programme, and the availability of courses. All factors were above 86% except for the availability of courses which was at 64% but higher than in 2018.
- The academic policies and procedures factors include: academic regulations, grading scale, registration, and admissions. The satisfaction ratings for these factors ranged from 77% to 84%.
- The College services include: Bookstore facility, Helpdesk Services, Moodle (a learning management system), Student Counselling, the Academic Resource Centre, the College Library, SmarThinking (an online tutorial system), and student life. The satisfaction ratings for these services ranged from 55% to 85%.
- The factors under College facilities included a satisfaction rating of 61% for the Applied Science (Tech Hall) facility; 59% - science laboratories, and 72% - computing facilities.
Mr. Speaker,
Our 2019 graduates have shared that they were generally satisfied with the services offered at the Bermuda College during their tenure. Now the goal of the Bermuda College is to use this data, and implement what is needed for improvement to shift all of the ratings above 80%; in line with its overall satisfaction rating which is 84% up from the 78% achieved in 2018.
Mr. Speaker,
The most significant question on the 2019 Graduates Survey asks graduates if they would recommend Bermuda College. I am pleased to report that 89% of the Bermuda College graduates indicated that they would recommend Bermuda College.
Mr. Speaker,
These are the results from the Bermuda College 2019 Annual Graduates Survey. I want to commend the hard work and commitment of the executive, the administration, and all faculty and staff at the Bermuda College, for “Delivering Success”, which is the title of their 2018 five-year strategic plan.
Thank you Mr. Speaker