Bachelor of Commerce (Digital Marketing) - Postsecondary ...

Industry experts in the External Focus Group and Program Advisory Committee clearly corroborated the
evidence of concern by employers about labour market shortages.
13.2 Student Economic Need Considerations
The Academica research established that a significant proportion (74%) of graduating students from the
Business – Marketing diploma and Business Administration – Marketing advanced diploma programs in
the Lawrence Kinlin School of Business are considering transferring into a business degree program
following graduation (Appendix A, p. 112). College diploma graduates clearly are eager to pursue
degree completion opportunities, and transferring to an affiliated college degree program provides
these students the most efficient and most accessible option for doing so. The relative ease and
efficiency for transfer into this Bachelor of Commerce (Digital Marketing) program is just one example of
how Fanshawe is addressing this economic need. This program will be readily accessible to a broad
range of applicants for direct entry, for transfer from several Fanshawe diploma programs, and for
advanced standing by graduates and students from other diploma and degree institutions.
Accessibility to bachelor programs in commerce/management/business administration is a huge
concern for applicants. Access to university programs is limited by high entrance requirements and
limited capacity within Southwestern Ontario universities. For the nine universities listed in Figure 13.1,
showing application and registration data for the 2010 enrolment year, only 2060 first choice applicants
were registered from 7542 applicants. This represents a 27% acceptance rate, leaving almost 5500
applicants to be accepted at another university or not registered in a program of their choice. A total of
5352 applicants ended up registering to a university program, whether their first choice or not, leaving
2190 applicants not registered at all. This data does not allow tracking of individual students, making it
impossible to draw specific reliable conclusions, but does point to the general conclusion that many
applicants to university commerce/management/business administration programs in Southwestern
Ontario are unable to access the programs of their choice, and perhaps any university program in the
subject area of their choice. For many of these programs a direct entrant requires grades well over 80%
average from their secondary school courses, illustrating the shortage of capacity that has created
accessibility concerns for applicants.
13.3 Community Development Considerations
From a macro community perspective, this proposed Bachelor of Commerce offering will be beneficial
to the community as a whole as communities in Southwestern Ontario are working to transform their
economies from the traditional manufacturing and agricultural base to a more diverse economy. Many
London‐based employers were enthusiastic about the idea of Fanshawe producing business graduates
who would remain in the London area. The economic cost of students passing through London has been
a continuing issue for London and the University of Western Ontario (Appendix A, p. 22).
138 Bachelor of Commerce (Digital Marketing)