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Graduation data included in an influential blue-ribbon panel report last week may paint an inaccurate picture of Alberta post-secondary students’ success, said the head of one institution caught in its crosshairs.

The report stated many students who enrolled in publicly funded colleges and universities never finish their programs, and suggested completion rates are substantially lower at some institutions.

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The six-member panel, struck by the United Conservative government to dig into Alberta’s spending and chaired by former Saskatchewan finance minister Janice MacKinnon, made recommendations to change Alberta’s post-secondary system, including a review of which higher education institutions are financially viable.

It recommended concentrating public funding to some institutions, rather than spreading funding to institutes running similar programs.

The panel also pointed to data, compiled by KPMG, showing that at nine institutions, fewer than 60 per cent of students had completed their certificates, diplomas or degrees three years after they normally would have finished their programs.