BCCAT has published a new report on “summer melt,” a phenomenon where students who received and accepted an institution for the Fall semester, but fail to enrol and appear on campus. Report author Dr Anna Tikina describes the conditions that contribute to this phenomenon, such as unexpected fees, financial constraints, and the loss of mentors such as high school counselors and teachers. She then highlights the interventions that can be used to reduce summer melt, including increasing access to key contacts like counsellors and using targeted communications methods like text messages and chatbots. Noting the dearth of research on the topic in Canada, Tikina calls for improved data tracking and collection in Canada to help support additional studies examining summer melt.
