Statistics Canada Education, Culture and Tourism Division Postsecondary Education Section UNIVERSITY STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (USIS) USIS User Guide May, 1995 (Disponible en français) 81F0005GPE 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction 5 The University Student Information System 5 Data Dissemination 6 Publications 6 User-specified Requests 7 Databases 7 How to Obtain More Information 7 Enrolment File: Listing of Data Elements 8 Degrees File: Listing of Data Elements 9 Linkage File: 9 Appendices A Description of Data Elements: Enrolment File B Description of Data Elements: Degrees File 21 C Country Codes 25 D Field of Study Classifications 5 Introduction The University Student Information System (USIS) is a national database containing pertinent, up-to-date information on student participation in Canadian degree-granting institutions. This system is aimed at providing information to researchers, managers and policy makers interested in the Canadian university education system. USIS contains a large amount of information, only a portion of which is made available to the public in a published format. The aim of this guide is to make the entire USIS database more accessible to potential users. The University Student Information System The enrolment and graduation data available in the USIS databases are the products of the enrolment and degrees surveys conducted annually by Statistics Canada. Each of these surveys covers all degree-granting institutions. The information is obtained from the administrative records of Canadian degree-granting institutions, generally in an individual record format. All data are subject to validity and relationship edits by the universities, in some cases by the province and by Statistics Canada. Final summary tabulations are then approved by university administrations before publication or other forms of information dissemination. University enrolment statistics are available on students enrolled in Canadian degree- granting institutions in programs leading towards a degree, diploma or certificate. These statistics include students enrolled in courses and students who have completed their courses requirements and who are engaged in thesis writing or research. Also included are students taking courses eligible for credit; but who are not seeking a degree, diploma or certificate, e.g. auditors. The enrolment survey collects information on student counts as of December 1st in all provinces except Ontario, where the reference date is November 1st. This means that each student who attends university in the fall session is counted only once annually, even though the student may be enrolled in more than one program. This student count is used as a proxy for the total number of students enrolled during a complete academic year. The degrees survey collects information on all students who have received a degree, diploma or certificate during the calendar year ending in December. It is a count of the number of degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded, not the number of individual students who receive them. Enrolment data is available from the 1972-73 academic year to the present. Degree data is available from 1970 to the present. 6 Data Dissemination Currently, access to university student information is made available to users through publications and user-specified data requests. As well, data software presentation packages will soon be made available to the public. 1) Publications Published material provides a general overview of the most popular fields within the education sector. It also alerts users to the availability of current data. Publications currently available include: Statistics Canada Daily. Daily. E&F. #11-001 Education in Canada. Annual. Bil. #81-229. Education Quarterly Review. Quarterly. Bil. #81-003. International Student Participation in Canadian Education. Annual. Bil. #81-261. These Statistics Canada publications may be purchased from local authorized agents and other community bookstores, through the local Statistics Canada offices, by mail order to Marketing Division, Sales and Service, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, K1A OT6, phone 1(613) 951- 7277, facsimile 1(613)951-1584, or by phoning the Toll-Free Order Only Line (Canada and United States) 1-800-267-6677. Following is a listing of regional Statistics Canada offices including toll-free telephone numbers for users who reside outside the local dialling area: Halifax 1-902-426-5331 Newfoundland, Labrador, 1-800-565-7192 Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Montreal 1-514-283-5725 Quebec 1-800-361-2831 Ottawa 1-613-951-8116 Ontario 1-800-263-1136 Toronto 1-416-973-6586 Winnipeg 1-204-983-4020 Manitoba 1-800-661-7828 Regina 1-306-780-5405 Saskatchewan 1-800-667-7164 Calgary 1-403-292-6717 Southern Alberta 1-800-882-5616 Edmonton 1-403-495-3027 Alberta and Northwest 1-800-563-7828 Territories Vancouver 1-604-666-3691 British Columbia and Yukon 1-800-663-1551 7 2) User-specified Requests Any information contained in the USIS databases which cannot be found in a publication can be requested by contacting the Education Subdivision of Statistics Canada. Through special requests, we are able to provide access to every element of information included in the databases. We are also able to provide flexibility in the content and presentation of the information and in the medium of presentation. For example, information can be provided in a tabular format on paper or diskette. Diskettes containing databases, for processing with the user's software, can also be provided for users requiring large datasets. Information can be purchased by contacting the Analytic Outputs and Marketing Section: telephone (613) 951-7474, FAX (613) 951-9040, or Internet at [email protected]. 3) Databases The Postsecondary Education Section is currently developing a series of data modules on a variety of educational categories related to university enrolment, degrees, staff and finance. Clients will soon be able to purchase data software packages on those subjects which most closely correspond to their needs. These packages will enable clients to browse through large datasets, to carry out simple statistical functions and to export data subsets to their preferred software for further manipulation. The first data software package will contain the following USIS modules: 1. Full-time university enrolment by level, discipline, gender, geographic source of student, Canada and provinces, 1972 to present. 2. Part-time university enrolment by level, discipline, gender, geographic source of student, Canada and provinces, 1972 to present. 3. Graduations by level, discipline, gender, Canada and provinces, 1970 to present. 4. Graduations by level, discipline, gender, Canada and institutions, 1970 to present. Modules can be ordered by contacting the Analytic Outputs and Marketing Section: telephone (613) 951-7474, FAX (613) 951-9040, or Internet at [email protected]. How to Obtain More Information Users who require assistance to determine whether their information needs can be met by through the USIS surveys are encouraged to discuss their requirements with the USIS survey manager at the Postsecondary Education Section (613) 951-8285. Information availability may be limited by confidentiality regulations and non-response rates. 8 Enrolment File: Listing of Data Elements Data elements marked with an asterisk (*) are the most frequently requested variables. Although data users will find some information on these variables in the publications listed on page 6, a greater level of detail may be available through special data requests. Element Number Element Description 030 Institution 031 Province of enrolment * 042 Year of enrolment * 080 Gender * 095 Years of age* 110 Mother tongue 120 Immigration status * 130 Country of current citizenship * 155 Geographic source of student/province 170 Current status 171 Educational activity of student last year 190 Registration status * 210 Type of qualification sought * 260 Field of study * 305 Year of study in program The information available from the following data elements may contain significant limitations. Users interested in these elements should contact the USIS survey manager at (613) 951-8285 to discuss their specific needs and the possible limitations which may apply. Element Number Element Description 150 Geographic source of student/country 160 Geographic source of student/county 220 Body awarding diplomas or certificates 240 Title of qualification sought 235 Second qualification sought 250 Honours indicator 270 Joint specialization - second field of study 340 Expected year of graduation For a detailed breakdown of the data elements in the enrolment file, please see Appendix A. 9 Degrees File: Listing of Data Elements Data elements marked with an asterisk (*) are the most frequently requested variables. Although data users will find some information on these variables in the publications listed on page 6, a greater level of detail may be available through special data requests. Element Number Element Description 900 Convocation date 901 Year of graduation * 905 Institution awarding degree, diploma or certificate 906 Province of graduation * 030 Institution of registration 080 Gender * 210 Type of qualification received * 260 Field of study * The information available from the following data elements may contain significant limitations. Users interested in these elements should contact the USIS survey manager at (613) 951-8285 to discuss their specific needs and the possible limitations which may apply. Element Number Element Description 240 Title of qualification received 270 Joint specialization - second field of study For a detailed breakdown of the data elements in the degrees file, please see Appendix B. Linkage File: Through record linkage with the enrolment file much information available on the enrolment file is also available on the degrees file. For example, it is possible to obtain information on the age, immigration status and citizenship of graduates. Currently linkage is possible for most institutions, accounting for approximately 70% of the student records for the 1993 survey year. Users interested in obtaining degrees information involving linkage with the enrolment file should contact the USIS survey manager at (613) 951-8285.