76% of current Canadian postsecondary students report balancing work in addition to studying

Earlier this year, and for the second year, Studiosity partnered with Angus Reid to work on the 2022 Canadian Student Wellbeing Study, with the intent to understand current postsecondary student feelings toward study, stress, cheating, optimism for the future, and more. 

The study will be released in chapters throughout the summer of 2022, with Chapter 1: Student Commitment, Motivation, & Engagement now accessible for download. To set the stage for the rest of the study, Chapter 1 aims to provide a base understanding of the responsibilities students are faced with, their motivation to achieve high grades, and how engaged they feel with their institution.

According to the study, which was carried our independently by Angus Reid and surveyed over 1,000 post-secondary students across Canada:

• 76% of students report balancing work in addition to studying
• 49% of students aged 20-23 report working part-time, up from 36% in 2021
• Students in British Columbia (78%) and those enrolled in diploma/associate programs (80%) are significantly more likely to be working in addition to studying vs. 2021
• 40% of students say more access to financial aid & support would help them improve academic performance
• 86% of students are motivated to achieve high grades in their academic program, and students aged 26-29+ appear significantly more motivated than students aged 18-23
• 61% of students feel engaged with their college or university, with significant variance by area of study

On the topic of increasing engagement with their institution, open-ended responses from the survey include comments such as "Complete overhaul of my program. It's operating on outdated assumptions about course-load and student life, and clearly hasn't considered the student experience in the program planning." Another student wrote "I have kids. There is little support for parents, and little supported access to other parents. I feel very alone."

Professor Judyth Sachs, Academic Officer at Studiosity, says "It is comforting to see that a majority of students are feeling engaged with their university in some way. Despite the challenges of the past couple years, it is a testament to institutions in Canada making students feel supported and listened to throughout the challenges of the pandemic."

"However, it's also clear that some students have found it difficult to adjust amidst the loss of the 'student experience' and the usual connection and social opportunities that are part of learning on campus." This report offers actionable insights to improve student wellbeing and will be released in chapters in the coming weeks. 

This survey was conducted among 1,014 current postsecondary students in Canada. The sample frame was balanced to ensure representation and statistical significance of gender and region in proportion to their overall share of the Canadian postsecondary student population. For comparison purposes only, a sample of this size would yield a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The survey was conducted in English and French.

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