York University Graduates Get Jobs, Provincial Survey Confirms

TORONTO, May 14, 1999 -- More than 96 per cent (96.2) of York University 1996 graduates got jobs two years after graduation, according to results of a recent survey conducted by Ontario universities.

York University graduates find employment at a high rate in all fields. For instance, 96 per cent in Arts, 98 per cent in Business; 99 per cent in Computer Science, 97 per cent in Fine Arts and 98 per cent in Law. This information confirms, in particular, that there is a high employment rate for liberal arts graduates. The survey was conducted last winter through mailed surveys and follow-up telephone contact. More than 25,000 surveys were completed, which represents 54 per cent of the Class of 1996.

"This is good news for students now attending or applying to York University. We are very pleased the survey results show York graduates doing so well in the job market," said York University President Dr. Lorna Marsden. "Our students want to graduate on a competitive basis and get the best jobs going. The new realities of post-secondary education are that universities need to be more and more responsive to students' needs and to produce employable students. University graduates have the highest employment rates of any post-secondary education," she said.

York University's Institute for Social Research (ISR) has been surveying its students' experiences, attitudes and successes on a wide variety of issues since 1992. This provincial survey corroborates ISR's leading-edge research on graduates and job placement. In two separate surveys, "Who Gets Full-time Jobs"(http://www.isr.yorku.ca/isr/bulletins/bullet22.asp) and "Art Graduates Get Jobs" (http://www.isr.yorku.ca/isr/bulletins/bullet30.asp), the percentage of York University graduates who secured employment was very high.

York University has made it a priority to be responsive to students' needs, and its innovative program offerings reflect that. For example, York has introduced bachelor's degrees in Information Technology offered through the Faculty of Arts, Atkinson, and Glendon, a joint Bachelor of Design degree with York's Faculty of Fine Arts and Sheridan College, and several agreements with community colleges such as Seneca and Durham College to meet the educational needs of a burgeoning number of students in Ontario, especially in the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding communities.

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For more information, please contact:

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor, Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087
YU/055/99