What is CUSC?
th
This is the 18 cooperative study
undertaken by the Canadian
University Survey Consortium (CUSC)
which conducts surveys in a threeyear cycle, selectively targeting
particular types of undergraduate
students: first-year undergraduate
students, all undergraduate
students, and graduating students.
The last survey of Graduating
Students was conducted in 2009.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS: CUSC 2010 FIRST-YEAR SURVEY
SUMMARY OF RESULTS: CUSC 2010 FIRST-YEAR SURVEY
CUSC 2012: Survey of Graduating Students
University of Saskatchewan Results Summary
Profile of Our Graduating Students

The typical graduating student was a studying full-time, 23-year-old, English
speaking, single female with no children.

17% of students self-identified as a visible minority compared to 35% from the
peer group1. 8% reported being Aboriginal and 8% having a disability.
Purpose of Survey

The survey is designed to track
students’ experiences and
satisfaction with many aspects of
university and gain a better
understanding of the Canadian
undergraduate student population.
60% of U of S students lived in rented accommodations off-campus (46% peer
group), 27% lived with parents or relatives (45% peer group), and only 3% lived in
on-campus housing (2% peer group).
Academic Profile
Who participated?
In March 2012, 2,000 undergraduate
students from the U of S were
invited to complete an online
questionnaire with a response rate
of 30.2%.
Contact

The majority of U of S students were completing a four-year degree (83%) with an
average grade of B or higher.

About half of graduating students will receive a degree in a professional discipline
which includes Business (17%), Engineering (16%), Education (<1%) and other
professional programs (4%).

About 1 in 4 students at the U of S will receive a degree in science either from a
Biological (18%) or Physical Science (6%) program.

Slightly more than 1 in 4 graduating students were enrolled in generalist
disciplines, which included Social Science (16%) and Arts and Humanities (10%).
This is lower than our peer group where nearly half of graduating students were
from Social Sciences (26%) and Arts and Humanities (19%).
For more information contact the
Office of Institutional Planning
and Assessment at:
ipa_assessment@usask.ca
1
CUSC categorizes the participating universities into three groups. Our peer group consists of universities
offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees, with most having professional schools. In 2012, our
peer group was comprised of eight participating universities: Dalhousie, Manitoba, McGill, Montreal,
Ottawa, Sherbrooke, York, and Saskatchewan.
♦
SUMMARYofOF
RESULTS:
CUSC 2010 FIRST-YEAR SURVEY
Overall, 1 in 3 students (33%) said something delayed the completion
their
program.
SUMMARY
OF
RESULTS:
2010 FIRST-YEAR
o The most common delay appeared to be due to required (13%) or electiveCUSC
(5%) courses
not being SURVEY
available.
o About 1 in 10 students delayed their program because of their grades (11%).
♦
About 7 in 10 students experienced writing an undergraduate thesis or taking a self-directed study course,
compared to the peer group (53%).
Experience and Satisfaction
♦
Over 9 students in 10 (94%) were satisfied with their decision to attend this university (including 33% who
were very satisfied) and would recommend their university to others (93%). In comparison, 83% of students in
the peer group reported satisfaction with their decision to attend their university, including 27% who were
very satisfied. No major change in satisfaction for U of S students since the last survey in 2009.
♦
1 in 4 students said the U of S exceeded their expectations. Over half (64%) indicated that the university met
their expectations and 11% said that it fell short of their expectations. These are consistent with the 2009
results. In the peer group, only 48% of students reported that their university met their expectations and 23%
reported that it fell short.
♦
About 7 in 10 of our students (71%) agreed that they received good value for their money, compared to 58%
in our peer group. In 2012 more U of S students strongly agreed (16%) to this statement as compared to
2009 (7%).
♦
90% of our students agreed that generally, I am satisfied with the quality of teaching I have received
(including 28% who strongly agreed), compared to 84% in the peer group. In 2012 more U of S students
strongly agreed with this statement than in 2009 (20%).
♦
8 in 10 students were satisfied or very satisfied with opportunities to enhance education through activities
beyond the classroom and with opportunities to become involved in campus life. Also, 8 in 10 students agreed
with the statement: I feel as if I am part of the university, including 23% who strongly agreed as compared to
10% of students who strongly agreed in 2009.
66-97% of students who used U of S general facilities/services were satisfied with each. Among these general
facilities and services, students were most satisfied with athletic facilities (97%) and least satisfied with
university residences (66%).
Financing Education
♦

More than half of U of S students (55% compared to 60% in the peer group) reported at least some educationrelated debt – a decrease from 64% in 2009.
o
SUMMARY
OF RESULTS:
CUSC
2010 FIRST-YEAR
The most common source of debt was government student
loans, reported
by 1 in
3 students.
About 1 in SURVEY
SUMMARY
OF
RESULTS:
CUSC
2010
FIRST-YEAR
SURVEY
5 students reported debt from loans from financial institutions or parents or family.

The average amount of debt per U of S student was $28,340 with the median of $24,500 compared to the
average of $22,312 and median of $17,000 in the peer group.
o About 1 in 10 of our graduating students reported debt of $12,000 or less, while 1 in 3 students had debt
of $20,000 or more.

About 3 in 5 students indicated that they used money from parents and other family members to help finance
their current year of education, followed by about half of students who used earnings from summer work
(53%) and personal savings (47%).

Over half of our students (56%, compared to 50% in the peer group) reported receiving an academic
scholarship at some point during their studies, of which 87% were granted for academic merit and 18% were
based on financial need compared to 81%, and 29% respectively in the peer group.
Employment and Future Plans

More than half of U of S students reported that they were currently employed, either off-campus (40%), on
campus (11%), or both (5%). This employment distribution did not change from 2009.

43% of our graduating students planned to continue their education in the first year after graduation by
attending graduate school (43%), professional school (23%) or further undergraduate studies (21%) compared
to 52% in the peer group.

When asked about employment after graduation, other than a summer job, about 40% of students (37% in the
peer group) reported having a job arranged after graduation, including 26% who had a full-time job (19% in
the peer group).
o Almost 9 out of 10 (88%) graduating students reported being satisfied with the employment they secured
(86% in the peer group), including 43% who were very satisfied as compared to 32% in the peer group.

70% of our students believed that there were many or at least some jobs in their field of study compared to
57% in the peer group.

On average, students reported gross annual earnings (before taxes and other deductions) of about $42,300,
with a median of $41,000, as compared to $32,200 (average) and $30,000 (median) in the peer group.