Universities and colleges looking for goodwill and financial support from business have a challenge before them. Business leaders and CEOs give Canada’s post-secondary institutions poor grades for preparing students for the work world.

To add insult to injury, the COMPAS/Financial Post business panel gives colleges and universities their best grade, 58%, in respect of encouraging a commitment to life-long learning, which is not normally considered a core mission of post-secondary institutions. Meanwhile, the panel gives colleges and universities their worst grade, 50%, for two of their historical core missions, writing skills and work ethic.

These are the key findings from the weekly COMPAS/Financial Post survey of business leaders and CEOs under sponsorship of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

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