Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS)

Detailed information for 2023/2024

The Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) is a national survey that enables Statistics Canada to provide detailed information on enrolments and graduates of Canadian public postsecondary institutions to meet policy and planning needs in the field of postsecondary education.

Data release - Scheduled for November 2025 (Canadian postsecondary enrolments and graduates)

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

PSIS collects information pertaining to the programs and courses offered at an institution, as well as information regarding the students themselves and the program(s) and course(s) in which they were registered, or from which they have graduated. PSIS is also designed to collect continuing education data. This information is available from the PSIS cross-sectional files. Longitudinal PSIS files could be produced for further research purposes. Please see Technical Reference Guides for the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (ELMLP) at the following address: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/37200001.

Reference period: The start date for the PSIS report is the day after the end of the institution's previous winter term, which is usually a date in April, May or June. The reference period is one year from this start date.

Collection period: December through February

Subjects

• Educational attainment
• Education, training and learning
• Fields of study

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The frame used is the list of Canadian public and private - not for profit postsecondary institutions (universities, community colleges and trade and vocational training centres) compiled by the Centre for Education Statistics of Statistics Canada. The collection unit is the Canadian postsecondary institution. Each institution sends data pertaining to their programs and their students.

As of 2009, PSIS only collects information from public and private (not for profit) institutions funded by a Ministry of Education.

Instrument design

The content of the current record layout was developed in close cooperation with provincial education ministries, federal government departments, various national organizations and professional associations. Extensive consultations were done both at the national and provincial levels.

The current record layout content is aimed at addressing the main data requirements of those various data users for purposes such as: planning, policy making and labour force supply analysis. Consultations were also done with the personnel of the different postsecondary institutions of each province and territory across Canada to ensure that the data elements included were or potentially would be available from their administrative database.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

No sampling is done.

Levels of enrolment presented are not meant to represent a complete enumeration of all students at postsecondary institutions during the academic year of 2023/2024. Rather, they are based on students enrolled in postsecondary institutions at the time of the fall snapshot date, that is, a single date chosen by the institution that falls between September 30 and December 1. Therefore, students who are not enrolled during this time period are excluded. This has a greater impact on colleges as they have a continuous intake of students and offer shorter programs.

Enrolments are based on program counts and not on student counts. If a student is enrolled in more than one program as of the snapshot date, then all of his/her programs are included in the count.

The count excludes students enrolled in apprenticeship programs.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2024-12-02 to 2025-02-03

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

The initial contact consists of a written data request via e-mail. Subsequent contacts are made via telephone, e-mail and possibly via an on-site visit with the respondent(s) at the institution(s).

The collection method used is electronic. It consists of institutions and coordinating bodies sending electronic flat files compiled and validated by Statistics Canada's Data Verification System (DVS). The DVS is an application that is used to verify data and identify problems within an institution's input files before they are sent to Statistics Canada.

The files are then returned to Statistics Canada via the Electronic File Transfer (EFT) facility. This software encrypts the files and sends them to a specified Internet address (to ensure that there is no error in destination).

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

Error detection is done at the responding institution or coordinating body and at Statistics Canada at the macro and micro level.

At the responding institution or coordinating body, edits are run on input flat files to correct data type, code set and coherence errors using the Data Verification System (DVS). The DVS is an application that is used to verify data and identify problems within an institution's input files before they are sent to Statistics Canada.

At Statistics Canada, error detection covering data type, code set validity, outlier and coherence between data elements are also performed.

Imputation

PSIS uses methodologies, systems, applications, tools and processing procedures allowing manual and automated editing and imputation of microdata. Historical, deterministic, donor or a minimum change "cold deck" imputation method is used.

Estimation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Quality evaluation

(1) Producing electronic extracts containing published variables and a set of verification tables which consist of basic tabulations for the majority of variables in the database by institution, province or territory;

(2) Sending the corresponding electronic extracts and certification tables to each responding institution or coordinating body for their review and approval to ensure that Statistics Canada and their registry obtain the same (or similar) results;

(3) Checking for internal consistencies, e.g., executing frequency tables and examining outliers for certain data elements;

(4) Comparing the most recent data year with past data years to detect any unusual or unexpected changes. Comparisons of tabulated data are made with the postsecondary education institution and student data published by the institution, provinces and territories, where available; and

(5) Comparing trends with other data sources.

After Statistics Canada creates the publication data file, the availability of statistics on students and postsecondary institutions is announced in The Daily.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

PSIS produces a wide range of outputs that contain estimates for various student or postsecondary institution characteristics. Results are published for institutions from which we have received written consent.

For data covering the student population, the following rules are applied: only aggregate data are released and no microdata file is available. For tabular data, cells are random rounded to base 3.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Data are subject to annual revisions.

Data accuracy

The target population of PSIS is very stable and the survey is mandatory, therefore minimizing under coverage. The maintenance of close relations with respondents is also an important factor in minimizing non-response. However, there is an exception, enrolments from 2000/2001 to 2008/2009 and qualifications awarded from 1999 to 2009 are not available for the Justice Institute of British Columbia.

Other important accuracy factors to consider are the quality control measures implemented in PSIS such as the error detection that is completed at both the responding institution (or coordinating body) and at Statistics Canada (at the macro and micro level), the certification tables to be approved by each responding institution (or coordinating body), and the internal data audits.

The response rate was XX% in 2023/2024.