When Collège Boréal president Pierre Riopel retires Aug. 31, it'll be on a high note.
That's because the college announced April 20 it had strong results 2015-16 on the key performance indicators (KPI) collected by Colleges Ontario.
Specifically, the francophone post-secondary institution now holds the top position among the province's 24 community colleges in four of the five areas surveyed as part of the KPIs. Boréal is in first place in graduate satisfaction, graduation rate, student satisfaction and employment rate.
Receiving such good results on the KPIs — which are used by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to make decisions — is a “slap on the back,” he said.
“It's basically like our report card,” Riopel said. “It's really the students that are saying to us 'We appreciate the job that you do and we notice the effort we're making to make ours a very positive and very constructive educational experience.'”
He attributes the results to the work of Boréal's quality improvement office, as well as the hard work of the college's employees across the province. Boréal has seven campuses in Ontario.
“There's always room for improvement, but this is going to be hard to beat, I have to say,” Riopel said.
Boréal ranks seventh in the province in employer satisfaction. And there's more good news for Sudbury — Cambrian College is first in this area of the KPIs.
In fact, 100 percent of employers who participated in the KPI survey responded that they were “satisfied or very satisfied” with their new hires when asked about the performance of 2014-15 Cambrian College graduates.
“We are proud of our graduates for earning this endorsement from employers across all industries,” said Cambrian College president Bill Best, in a press release.
“We’d like to thank all of the employers for hiring our grads, for contributing to the success of our programs, and for partnering to ensure a powerful economic presence as key suppliers of a job-ready work force.”
Best also recognized faculty and staff, who he said, are “tremendously focused on all aspects of career preparation. They teach and mentor students so that they graduate with the right mix of skills, experience and knowledge and are ready to make a positive contribution to global workplaces.”
Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger issued a press release yesterday, praising the colleges for their achievements.
“An educated community is a key component of a happy community,” said Bigger, in the press release.
“These outstanding results are testaments to the high levels of service and education our post-secondary institutions demand and provide. On behalf of council, I want to congratulate everyone involved in making these results possible and in setting consistently high standards for their institutions.”
The numbers:
-89.8 per cent of Boréal graduates and 83.1 per cent of Cambrian graduates are satisfied or very satisfied with their college experience.
-75.3 per cent of Boréal students and 62.2 per cent of Cambrian students obtained their degree.
-87.4 per cent of Boréal students are satisfied or very satisfied. That number is 76.7 per cent for Cambrian students.
-97 per cent of Boréal graduates and 81.7 per cent of Cambrian graduates found a job.
-93.8 per cent of surveyed employers who hired Boréal graduates are satisfied or very satisfied with their employees. That number increases to 100 per cent for Cambrian.
The full KPI results are available at collegesontario.ca.
