October 27, 2003 For Immediate Release

A province-wide survey of BC university graduates is showing that UNBC alumni are more satisfied with their education, generally make more money, and are more likely to be living in northern BC than the graduates of BC's other universities.

The survey measured the class of 2000, two years after graduation. In total, about 7400 graduates participated, including nearly 300 from UNBC.

Some results:
- The survey clearly demonstrates that graduates tend to stay and work in the region where they receive their education. For example, 81% of graduates from UBC reside in the Lower Mainland and more graduates from UVic live on Vancouver Island than in any other region. More than half of UNBC's grads from the year 2000 live in northern BC, including nearly 80% of Nursing graduates.

- 39% of UNBC graduates rated the quality of their education as "very good", compared to a BC average of 30%. In this category, UNBC scored the top mark among all BC universities.

- 91% of UNBC grads in the labour force were employed at the time of the survey and their median annual income was $42,950 - 6% higher than the BC average. For example, the $72,000 income earned by UNBC Computer Science grads was a full 30% higher than the BC average for graduates from Computer Science.

- UNBC grads gave the University top marks for helping them develop both writing and verbal communication skills. In both of these categories, UNBC performed better than UBC, SFU, or UVic.

- About two-thirds of UNBC grads from 2000 incurred financial debt to finance their education, compared to the BC average of 47%. The actual level of debt was also higher - about $20,000 for UNBC grads compared to $16,000 for the rest of the Province.

"The success and satisfaction of alumni is one of the most important benchmarks for any university, and this survey indicates that UNBC is doing well on both counts," says UNBC Alumni Association President Mark Stafford (BComm 1996), who is a Bank of Montreal branch manager in Prince George. "For UNBC in particular, an ultimate measure of success is educating people who will continue to live and apply their skills in the North. This is happening."