The University of Alberta Class of 1985 Study

The Province of Alberta High School Class of 1996 Study

The University of Alberta Class of 1985 Study ran in parallel to the ETS until 1999. Five hundred and eighty-nine graduates from the University of Alberta’s five largest faculties (Arts, Business, Education, Engineering, and Science) were surveyed in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1992, and 1999. By the end of the 20th century, the young adults who had first participated in this study in the mid-1980s as (approximately) 23-year-olds were now adults, averaging about 37 years old. Across fourteen years, the University of Alberta Class of 1985 Study focused on the social and psychological effects of unemployment among university graduates. 

The Province of Alberta High School Class of 1996 Study was undertaken to compare the school to work transitions of Generation Y (Canadians who left high school in the mid-1990s) and Generation X (ETS participants who left high school in the mid-1980s). A total of 2,681 Grade 12 students in 58 urban and rural high schools across Alberta provided baseline information about their school and work experiences and aspirations. Seven years later, in 2003, 1,967 of these young adults participated in a follow-up survey. The Province of Alberta High School Class of 1996 Study, in concert with with ETS, allowed for the examination of cohort similarities and differences in transition to adulthood experiences between Generation X and Generation Y.