SaultCollege

Supplied by Sault College… (Sault Ste. Marie, ON April 15, 2015) For the second consecutive year, Sault College in Sault Ste. Marie has been ranked as the number one college out of 24 publicly-funded colleges in the province of Ontario for student satisfaction.  Newest Key Performance Indicators (KPI) survey results released today identify Sault College with a rating of 88.6 percent satisfaction.

“This is a proud day for our College and indeed cause for celebration,” stated Dr. Ron Common, President of Sault College, upon being notified of the ranking results.

“With the ambitious mission to be the pre-eminent student-centred post-secondary institution in the province, I am proud to see us having achieved this goal. Sault College faculty and staff continue to foster a top-notch learning environment here that embraces both our invitational practices and penchant for excellence. It is in large part due to their efforts that we have consecutively shown best-in-class results for the province year after year.”

Sault College led the way in all four capstone questions in the survey, receiving the highest scores in the province in each category, including the overall program of study giving students the knowledge and skills useful in their future career at an enviable 93.5 percent.  Sault College also held its lead with an extremely high overall quality of the learning experience in the students’ programs, scoring 90.8 percent, well above the provincial average of 79.8 percent.  With its first-place ranking, the College has received the highest score in this capstone for the third consecutive year.

“We strive to maintain a relevant program portfolio that fills distinctive educational niches, fosters creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and reflects our regional uniqueness, giving students the education they want and more,” states Leo Tiberi, Vice-President Academic and Research at Sault College. “Guided by our strategic plan over the past five years, we have created a quality learning experience that has positioned Sault College as best-in-class for the programs we offer. Not only are our current students attesting to the high standards of teaching and learning here, but the alumni we send out into the workplace and the employers hiring these grads are also recognizing the value of a Sault College education and seeing the quantifiable reasons why our organization is a preferred educator leading the way in the post-secondary sector.”

Sault College also saw a three percent increase in graduate satisfaction as well as an increase in employer and employment rate, further evidence that Sault College not only provides a premier experience for students enrolled at the College, but that these achievements are reflected through the alumni embarking on the job market.

“It is clear that students and alumni enjoy their College experience here at Sault and feel fully prepared to meet the opportunities and challenges of their future careers. Nothing speaks more directly to how well we are doing our job than the alumni we send out into the world,” adds Common.

In addition to measuring students’ satisfaction with their in-class and experiential learning, the KPI survey asks students how satisfied they are with the overall quality of the facilities and resources in the College. For the second consecutive year, Sault College has also ranked number one in this category with its highest ranking ever at 88.7 percent.

Additionally, Sault College gained top scores relating to overall quality of the services in the College, claiming a number one position of 81.3 percent. Developing progressive and high-impact practices in mental health that incorporates traditional Aboriginal approaches, where the College was recently commended in a specific visit by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and recognized for their efforts in this important student support area, is partially credited for the increase.

A celebration of Sault College’s newest Key Performance Indicator achievements will take place with students, staff, faculty, board and community members on Friday, April 17 at 10:30 a.m. in Sault College’s Essar Hall. All are welcome to come and share in this notable achievement.

About Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) Since 1998, colleges have been mandated by the Ontario government to collect and report performance data in five areas known as key performance indicators including graduate satisfaction, student satisfaction, employer satisfaction, employment rate, and graduation rate. Known as KPIs, these reports allow colleges to gauge their success and determine opportunities to better their delivery of post-secondary education. Gathered by an independent research company provincially, the KPI results show that Ontario’s colleges achieve consistently high results when students, graduates and employers measure their performance. The complete list of KPI results is now available online at www.collegesontario.org.