The pathway to graduation from a postsecondary education (PSE) program is not always a linear one for Canadian students. While existing research has investigated those nonlinearities extensively in the Canadian context, analyses of the impact of non-linear pathways to graduation from a first PSE program on further credential accumulation remains limited.
This report presents results from the second phase of a project on non-linear PSE pathways and credential accumulations. The first phase focused exclusively on PSE credential accumulation (vertical/linear, horizontal, and reverse), and on the pathways of individuals who obtain more than one PSE certificate, diploma, or degree in their life course. In this second phase, the authors leverage a survey-administrative data linkage to provide a unique perspective on how non-linearities in pathways leading to the obtention of a first PSE certificate, diploma, or degree may influence the likelihood of obtaining a second PSE credential.