Research on pathway-based disparities in postsecondary education (PSE) has mounted in recent decades, indicating that nonlinear pathways may hamper students’ academic success. In Ontario, Canada, research on this topic remains largely inconclusive given the historically low quality of available data sources, with researchers commonly relying on small and unrepresentative samples, short observation windows, and a restricted range of academic and demographic controls. Through this study we reexamine pathway-based disparities in graduation rates using a custom administrative linkage that constitutes the best available evidence to study this topic in the province of Ontario. Our statistical analyses confirm the existence of a statistically significant relationship between the PSE pathways traveled by students and their odds of graduation, particularly among community college-to-university transfers. We conclude by considering the implications of these findings for both policymakers and future research in this space in Ontario and comparable jurisdictions.

中文翻译：

---

成功之路，还是未实现的梦想？对基于途径的毕业率差异的检查

近几十年来，关于高等教育（PSE）中基于路径的差异的研究不断增多，表明非线性路径可能会阻碍学生的学业成功。在加拿大安大略省，由于历史上可用数据源的质量较低，研究人员通常依赖于小且不具代表性的样本、较短的观察窗口以及有限的学术和人口控制范围，因此该主题的研究在很大程度上仍然没有定论。通过这项研究，我们使用定制的行政联系重新审视基于途径的毕业率差异，该联系构成了在安大略省研究该主题的最佳可用证据。我们的统计分析证实，学生的 PSE 路径与其毕业几率之间存在统计显着关系，特别是在社区学院到大学的转学中。最后，我们考虑了这些发现对安大略省和类似司法管辖区的政策制定者和该领域未来研究的影响。