OTTAWA (UPI) -- The economic recession has led to a 4.6 percent surge in full-time university enrollment in Canada, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada said.

In a release from Ottawa, the association said as of September, there were 870,000 full-time students enrolled in universities. Of them, 733,500 were in undergraduate programs and 136,500 in graduate programs, representing a respective gain of 29,000 and 9,000 students over last year.

That represents a 4.1 percent growth in undergraduate programs and a 7.2 percent increase in graduate programs.

"There is no question this is a reflection of what is going on in the economy," association spokesman Herb O'Heron told the Globe and Mail. "It is really a strong response to the shifts in demands that are taking place. Part of it is the economy and part of it is the increasing value of a degree."

In the last 12 months there have been more than 60,000 new jobs for university graduates, while there were 390,000 fewer jobs for those without higher education, the release said.



Copyright 2009 by United Press International

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