Remedying the “Digital Divide”: Examining Transparency and Accessibility of Information for International Students on College Websites

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Meritocracy, Marginality, and Digital Inclusion: Global Perspectives on Equity in and Access to Higher Education

Proposal

Canada has been a popular destination for international students (IS), with a record-high number of study permits issued in 2023 (Government of Canada, 2024). This IS enrolment spike has benefitted all higher education institutions including private career colleges (PCCs) There are over 1,500 registered PCCs in Canada and more than half are in Ontario, typically privately-owned and run as commercial enterprises, sans government funding (Li & Jones, 2015). 291 of the 780 PCCs in Ontario are designated learning institutions (DLIs) (DLI-designated institutions are eligible to admit international students). PCCs offer vocationally oriented diplomas in healthcare, technology, community support, business, and transportation. Traditionally, the PCC sector served older, less academically prepared and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, women, first-generation immigrants and/or students whose first language is not English/French (Environics Research, 2017; Pizarro Milian & Hicks, 2014); however, this sector has begun to enrol larger numbers of IS, amounting to an increase of 420% between 2015 and 2019 (OAGO, 2019). This unusual growth is interesting, especially as PCC credentials do not translate to work permits and permanent residency.
Since the PCC sector serves a significant number of IS, we argue that it is important for PCCs to provide relevant information to prospective IS in a transparent and accessible way to enable them to make informed decisions about their future (Buckner, Brown, & Morales, 2022). Given that institutional websites are usually the prime source of information for IS, our study seeks to understand how PCCs in Ontario provide transparency and accessibility to information through their websites to serve their most important stakeholder. This intention is driven by the need to use educational research as a way examine the existing information flow between PCCs and IS and use our findings to remedy the digital divide that may occur in the absence of appropriate and contextual information.
This study is grounded in Principal-Agent Theory, which analyses contractual relationships between two parties, of which, one must be the ‘principal’ and the other the ‘agent’; the two must have occasionally conflicting goals; and, there must be an existence of information asymmetry, wherein the principal does not fully know about the actions or capabilities of the agent (Yallew, Juusola, Ahmad, & Törmälä, 2018). The agent's interest is to provide the most efficient service possible, and the principal must undertake due diligence to monitor the agent’s progress. In our study, the government is conceptualized as the principal, responsible for granting registration and mandating certain requirements for PCC websites. The PCCs are conceptualized as agents that must fulfill specific criteria to operate, including providing mandated information on their websites.
To examine if the websites of PCCs are transparent in terms of making information available to potential IS, this study conducts an audit of PCC websites. Only PCCs listed as DLIs in Ontario and covered under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 were included as our population, leading to a final data set of 174 PCCs. Data was analyzed using theoretical thematic analysis to obtain two emergent themes.
The findings highlight certain practices of the PCCs including specific outliers in the context of transparency for IS. It was observed that more than half (57%) of the PCCs do not provide any fee information. In contrast, in compliance with the Act that outlines minimum admission requirements for PCCs, 85% of the PCCs but surprisingly not all provided admission requirement details on their website. A concerning finding was that an alarming 22% of PCCs did not have a stand-alone policy to address sexual violence involving students on their website. The Act mandates PCCs to state the aforementioned policy either in the enrolment contract, the website and/or at a conspicuous location on campus. Most institutions were transparent about their student support services, but there were elements of ambiguity about some services, such as charging of a ‘placement fee’. We also found that only 15% of colleges clearly stated that graduates from PCCs were not eligible for Post-Graduate Work Permits (PGWP). Moreover, it was problematic to note that 6% of PCCs gave misleading and/or ambiguous information about attaining eligibility for PGWP after graduation. Limitations and ambiguity also persisted for work-related information, with 82% PCCs not providing any information on policies related to working as a full-time student on their websites.
IS are more likely to be unaware of the nuances of international education systems and as such they often rely on the information provided by the postsecondary institutions to help them make decisions and navigate their educational journey abroad. While there exist multiple ways in which colleges can provide information to students, websites are often a key source of information as IS explore educational opportunities. Thus, it is not only the provision of informational content that matters but also the way it is presented, in short, what is missing or misleading. The findings of this study throw light on whether the institutional websites of PCCs in Ontario provided transparent information on tuition, tuition policies, potential employment, and student services and supports for IS. It is found that most colleges fulfill government-mandated requirements (for example, reference to sexual violence policies, admission requirements) but alarmingly not all. Further, there are surprising gaps in information that are vital for IS who are making educational pathway-related decisions. Findings reveal that IS needs are addressed by some but not all institutions and when addressed, colleges often provide only partial information, leading to a “digital divide”, which manifests in the form of inequality around access to information and resources. This inconsistency in information dissemination amongst PCCs in Ontario indicates that there is considerable scope for PCCs to increase transparency and accountability of the information they provide their IS. These findings make important contributions to policy, particularly at a time when the Government is reviewing its international education-related policies. It also makes an important contribution to the scant Canadian PCC sector scholarship through by bringing into focus the ideals of transparency and accountability that are integral to the success of IS.

Authors

• Seerat Kaur Gill, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto

• Alison DCruz, OISE - University of Toronto

• Elizabeth Buckner, University of Toronto OISE