Macleans recently released its Comprehensive University Rankings and here they are:
Maclean’s utilizes a variety of indicators to determine rankings; however they have 6 general themes. These include Faculty, Resources, Students & Classes, Student Support, Library, and
Reputation. In this article we will focus on Maclean’s comprehensive university rankings. Comprehensive university rankings don’t take a microscopic view on specifically undergraduate programs or graduate programs but try to take a look at the entire picture. This has a negative impact for schools who try to focus on providing excellent undergraduate programs like Acadia or Wilfrid Laurier, but they show up in Macleans top schools for Under Graduate programs.
Simon Fraser University:
This year’s comprehensive university rankings are not a big surprise as they are similar to 2009’s. Simon Fraser with 32,000 students and approximately 2,500 staff ranked first. Simon Fraser University is a very good school, primarily because it has excellent research programs. More importantly, it ranks 1st in Awards –per- Full time faculty showing the caliber of teachers currently at Simon Fraser. More specifically 6.6 awards per 1000 professors. SFU’s average grant is approximately $120,000 and is one of the leading universities in this category. Furthermore, it accumulated a total of 188 grants per 1000 faculty members. Lastly more than 52% of the library budget was used to update the universities collection enabling students to better access materials.
University of Victoria:
University of Victoria ranks second, this is primarily because it ranks poorly in student services (% of budget) – however not as bad as some other schools on this list. University of Victoria excels in research and its #1 ranking in Medical/ Research grants proves it. Moreover, it continues to grow both its research income and intensity. UVic’s research income rose from $22.5 million in 1999 to more than $104.8 million in 2009, a staggering increase. UVic is a powerhouse in the research field and a prospective student or faculty should look no further if that is a criterion that is important to you.
University of Waterloo:
If there is a University in Canada today that everyone respects, it has to be the University of Waterloo. It ranked #1 in the Reputation Survey, and rightfully so. Its students are sought after in Silicon Valley and other technology hubs throughout the world. Waterloo also topped in the Most Innovative, Leaders of Tomorrow and Best Overall sub categories and finished second in measuring Highest Quality. Moreover, Waterloo boasts 30,000 full and part time under grad and graduate students and is also located in Canada’s Technology Triangle. What makes a University impressive is not only its quality of education but also its students. Waterloo gets bragging rights for producing students who have won more International and National awards than any other school. They also received more bursaries and scholarships, as a percentage of university budgets.
University of Guelph:
The University of Guelph has been consistent with its 4th place rankings last year. It hosts more than 20,000 students and 900 staff. University of Guelph has many impressive programs both undergraduate and graduate, however it excels in agriculture, veterinary medicine and life sciences. It has ranked well not only by Macleans but by the Globe and Mail for innovative programs, animated campus and overall reputation. U of G ranked highest in library acquisitions and research dollars and ranked second in the reputational survey (After Waterloo). Note: The reputational survey is conducted by polling CEO of major corporations, high school counselors and academic administrators.
Other universities in the Top 10 include
5- Memorial University
6- University of New Brunswick
7- Carleton University
8- Windsor University
9- Regina University
10-York University
