Affordability Considerations for Post-Secondary Access - Exploring BC Context and Post-Secondary Professionals’ Perspectives - Prepared for BCCAT

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake

Students’ ability to afford postsecondary education strongly shapes access and persistence in higher education, while government subsidies make affordability a major societal concern. This study examines what information and data are available for British Columbia prospective domestic students and how postsecondary professionals perceive these students navigating a financial filter. Using literature review, BC institutional website scans, practitioner and expert interviews, and a survey of aid administrators, it identifies barriers caused by hard-to-use or incomplete cost and aid information, especially for vulnerable sub-groups.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages71

Reading Time2 h 59 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

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Affordability Considerations for Post-Secondary Access: Exploring BC Context and Post-Secondary Professionals’ Perspectives Prepared for BCCAT by Ted James & Murray Baker March 2026 Affordability Considerations for Post-Secondary Access: Exploring BC Context and Post-Secondary Professionals’ Perspectives Prepared by Ted James and Murray Baker © BCCAT March 2026 This report is available at: www.bccat.ca/publication/Affordability BC COUNCIL ON ADMISSIONS & TRANSFER TEL: 604.412-7700 EMAIL: info@bccat.ca WEBSITES: bccat.ca | [bctransferguide.ca](bctransferguide.ca) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Students’ ability to afford the costs of pursuing postsecondary education is a major determinant of their access and persistence in higher education and the financial legacy it creates for them. In addition, governments and society are significant stakeholders because the provision of post-secondary education is heavily subsidized by governments at all levels. The resulting economic return to society is substantial. Therefore, there is much at stake for society in enabling students to access and complete post-secondary education and in providing assistance to help them manage the affordability of that education. This study (i) explored what types of information and data are available for British Columbia (BC) prospective domestic post-secondary students to help their decisions to go into post-secondary education, and (ii) examined perceptions of post-secondary professionals how these students navigate the decision-making process through a financial filter. Thereport contains the results from a review of relevant literature, a scan of institutional websites in BC to extract published costs and financial aid information, interviews of a cross-section of practitioners and experts in student finance and assistance, and a survey of BC financial aid administrators. Exploring prospective students’ perceptions on affordability and financial aspects of post-secondary was outside the scope of this study. The research revealed that multiple financial factors go into a potential student’s decision to pursue post-secondary education. Although the average domestic tuition fees as a percentage of median family income have stayed relatively stable between 2006 and 2020, the dramatic inflationary environment that has occurred since COVID has eroded some of the post 2020 wage increases, making the gap between tuition and wages more pronounced. This is causing prospective students to approach their post-secondary path through a more critical lens which questions the value of post-secondary education and its return-on-investment given the costs and the potential earnings that a credential will yield. Information about the various costs associated with pursuing post-secondary education is generally hard for potential students to access and/or interpret. Our study found institutional websites are often difficult to navigate and frequently present incomplete or confusing information. The budget estimators available from various institutional and commercial websites are often inadequate tools with loan repayment projections and estimates of future income difficult to determine. Some sub-groups of students can be especially affected by lack of information or its complexity, such as Indigenous students qualifying for financial assistance, students with disabilities navigating how to meet their special needs, and students in rural areas deciding between studying locally or moving to urban areas. In addition, students that can be negatively impacted include those from low-income backgrounds facing particularly acute budgets and students pursuing developmental education before entering vocational programs after periods away from the workforce. Affordability Considerations BCCAT 1 Today’s students face a much tougher environment assessing affordability than a generation ago because the complexity of the financial variables has broadened with student

FAQs

What does the report say about why affordability matters for postsecondary access?

It explains that students’ ability to afford postsecondary costs is a major determinant of access and persistence. Governments and society are also significant stakeholders because postsecondary education is heavily subsidized.

How did the study investigate affordability information and perceptions in British Columbia?

It reviewed relevant literature, scanned BC institutional websites for published costs and aid information, interviewed practitioners and experts in student finance and assistance, and surveyed BC financial aid administrators.

What information barriers did the study identify for prospective students?

Institutional websites were often difficult to navigate and provided incomplete or confusing information. Budget estimators were frequently inadequate, and future income or loan repayment projections were hard to determine.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake