In pursuing this interest he obtained a Ph.D. in Higher Education/Measurement & Evaluation from the University of Toronto. With a strong research bias, Dr. Dietsche has examined the impact of policies and practices on student educational outcomes in Canadian and U.S. colleges for the past twenty years. This has resulted in journal articles, conference presentations and a computer software system, used in colleges internationally, designed to improve student success, student retention and institutional effectiveness.
In 1994, Peter and colleagues in a number of Canadian universities collaborated with John Gardner and the Center for the Freshman Year Experience at the University of South Carolina on a national survey of Canadian colleges and universities. The resulting monograph, From Best Intentions to Best Practices, summarized research and practice related to student success/persistence in Canadian postsecondary institutions.
In 1996, Peter was appointed to the Task Force on Student Success and Retention organized under the auspices of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges. The final report, Just say yes to student success, was released in 1997 and has been widely used in the college community.
During his tenure with the public sector, Peter has worked as a consultant both nationally and internationally. Countries have included Canada, the U.S., Russia, Singapore, Swaziland, Indonesia, Malaysia and Kuwait. At a local level, he has led the development of questionnaires and surveys designed to provide strategic decision support in areas such as institutional evaluation, program development and evaluation, performance measurement, enrolment management and college planning.
In 2005 he was principal investigator for the Pan-Canadian Survey of College Students and the College Experience and the Pan-Canadian Survey of Exemplary Practices in College Learning. He is currently the principal investigator for the multi-year Ontario College Student Engagement Survey focusing on the college student experience in order to identify key factors that promote success and retention.
Currently, Peter is Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Theory and Policy Studies and the William G. Davis Chair in Community College Leadership at OISE/UT. He is also and adjunct professor with the Community College Leadership program of Central Michigan University and contributes as a senior scholar to the Educational Policy Institute, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
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Dr. Peter Dietsche completed master’s and doctoral work in psychology at McGill University and the University of Western Ontario. This led to eight year's of teaching, research and administration in the Quebec college system where he developed a keen interest in student retention, organizational effectiveness and institutional evaluation.