Participation rates
As of 2007, participation in post-secondary education in the Maritimes was higher than the national average, with approximately a 28% participation rate in New Brunswick (NB), while Canada as a whole hovered around 20-26%; this could be partly attributed to the high enrolment of out-of-province students who chose to attend postsecondary studies in New Brunswick. The university participation rate in New Brunswick continued to increase between 2005/06 and 2006/07; but this change could mainly be attributed to the Francophone population of New Brunswick. While participation rates were higher than the national average, the population of 18- to 24-year-olds in NB and the rest of the Maritime provinces were predicted to decline greater than the rest of Canada; undergraduate participation peaked in New Brunswick in 2003/04 and in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia during the 2004/05 academic session. Between 1990 and 2000, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds dropped 13% in the Maritimes while the rest of Canada dropped less than 1%. Some of the factors leading to a decline in postsecondary participation in NB included: a strong economy that encouraged students to enter the labor force early; and an out-migration of students from the Maritime Provinces (NB, NS, PEI).
As of October 1, 2011, enrolment has increased in all but one of the four public universities compared to the same time in 2010. Mount Allison University, St. Thomas University, and the University of New Brunswick experienced an increase of enrolment by 1.9%, 1.7% and 1.8 respectively. The Université de Moncton experienced an enrolment decline of 1.6%.
Mobility patterns
Over the past number of years (1997-2007), approximately one in seven New Brunswickers have left their home province to go to university in another province. A 2002 report, by the Maritimes Province Higher Education Commission has shown that "after graduation, while male residents do tend to leave at greater rates than female residents from New Brunswick, the gap is not statistically significant one year after graduation." It has been shown that the majority of those leaving the province are leaving to find a job.
Mechanisms to facilitate transfer and articulation
In the past, New Brunswick had an on-line transfer system that focused on transfers between New Brunswick's two public postsecondary systems (community colleges and public universities). The New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) has had a "policy in place since 1994 to allow, where academically appropriate, credit transferability of courses, programs, or units of instruction that have been taken at approved public and private postsecondary institutions." "The two public postsecondary systems have also developed articulation agreements for applied degree programs. There are a number of agreements for block transfer of credits within different programs of these institutions." In order to support students through this process, each institution has appointed a representative to assist in their transfer of credits. In the articulated applied degree programs, coursework is completed in at least one college or university, there are one or more exit points at two or more institutions, and there are components consisting of academic program and occupational content with labour market linkages.
In 2011, the New Brunswick Council on Articulations and Transfer (NBCAT) implemented the Credit Transfer Portal, through which New Brunswickers and institutions can assess transfer credit and prior learning. The Credit Transfer Portal helps identify possible equivalencies or credit transfers for students when transferring between post-secondary institutions in New Brunswick.
Student Financial Support
Millennium Access Bursaries in New Brunswick
The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation was established in 1998 to provide support to students with demonstrated financial need. The millennium access bursaries have been distributed in the form of grants to single, dependent, low-income students. There are two groups of eligible students: those who began post-secondary studies during the 2005/06 academic year, and those who began studies in 2006/07. Millennium access bursaries are not available to students who have enrolled after the end of the 2006/07 academic year. Eligible students were able to receive a $1,000 grant in their first year of study, $2,200 in the second year, and $1,800 in the third. Students must have been enrolled full-time in undergraduate studies that lead to a degree, certificate or diploma in a program of at least two years in length. Those students who applied for financial assistance from New Brunswick Student Financial Services were considered automatically for the grant. Since the discontinuance of the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation (CMSF) Millennium Bursary, a federal transition grant was created for eligible students.
Canada Student Loan and New Brunswick Student Loan
The Canada Student Loan and New Brunswick Student Loan is an integrated student loan for which the federal government provides 60% (up to $210 per week of study) and the provincial government provides the other 40% (up to $140 per week of study) of the student's assessed need.
New Brunswick Tuition Rebate
The New Brunswick Tuition Rebate provides to graduates of eligible post-secondary institutions a non-taxable rebate of 50% of the cost of tuition. Graduates must pay New Brunswick personal income tax, and live and work in New Brunswick. The benefit is available up to a lifetime maximum of $20,000.
New Brunswick Timely Completion Benefit
The New Brunswick Timely Completion Benefit was designed to help students accumulate less student loan debt by encouraging them to complete their education within the minimum timeline established for their post-secondary program. Students who meet the criteria may have a portion of their student loans above a specific amount forgiven for the post-secondary credential that they were awarded.
Repayment Assistance Plan
The Repayment Assistance Plan was established to help reduce post-secondary student loan debt by basing monthly student loan payments on the total of all federal and provincial student loan amounts owed, wage earnings and family size.
Distance higher education
All universities and colleges in New Brunswick are currently offering distance education courses using various methods. One private degree-granting institution operates completely online and there is substantial focus on the development of Internet-based postsecondary education.