UW Gazette, November 20, 1996
     
     Waterloo is the "best overall" university in its
category, according to a "reputational" poll reported in
Maclean's magazine this week.
     Again.
     People at UW are getting used to being ranked at the
top by the magazine's annual survey, which this year took
responses from "more than 3,400 high-school guidance
counsellors, academic administrators and CEOs of major
corporations". The survey also ranked Waterloo first for
"highest quality", "most innovative" and "leaders of
tomorrow".
     In the magazine's own rankings, Waterloo came "only"
number two among "comprehensive" universities, up a spot
from last year's number-three ranking. First according to
Maclean's this year is Simon Fraser University in British
Columbia. The University of Victoria, which was ranked
first last year, fell to third.
     The 11 "comprehensive universities" are ones with a
significant amount of research activity and a wide range of
programs - including professional degrees -- at the
graduate and undergraduate levels (but without medical
schools).
     The magazine stuck with last year's winners in its
other two groupings of universities: the University of
Toronto tops among "medical-doctoral" universities and
Mount Allison tops among "primarily undergraduate"
universities.
     Says the magazine:
     "This year, for the first time since 1992, all 42
English-language universities in Canada participated - with
Regina, Manitoba and Memorial all rejoining the project. As
well, the UniversitŽ de MontrŽal broke ranks with its
French-language colleagues, and also took part. Overall,
nine Canadian universities moved up in their ranking, 16
were graded down while 14 held on to their previous
position.É
     "The rankings are determined in six categories:
composition and academic achievements of the student body;
class size and percentage of tenured professors who teach
first-year classes; the calibre of the faculty and their
success in securing research grants; school finances spent
on student services, scholarships and bursaries; the
quality of the library; and the school's reputation among
its graduates and the community at large.É
     "Reduced funding of postsecondary education has put
enormous pressure on Canada's academic institutions,
according to Ann Dowsett Johnston, the assistant managing
editor of Maclean's who has overseen the annual survey for
the past five years.
     "'At the same time, students are facing rising tuition
costs, they're borrowing at unprecedented levels, and they
face a very uncertain job market,' says Dowsett Johnston.
'More than ever before, they need to know where the
universities are cutting and where they are not. Where are
the small classes, the access to tenured professors? This
is information they deserve to know'."
     According to Maclean's, this pressure is producing the
"Y" generation. Says education editor Victor Dwyer:
"They're questioning why professors aren't ensuring their
courses are professionally relevant, why the focus is on
expanding intellect rather than expanding marketable
skills, and why four years of hard work and high bills
don't lead to a good career."
     Among the comprehensive universities, here's how UW
placed on 21 criteria:
     Average entering grade of students, 1st; proportion of
entering students with 75 per cent marks or higher, 3rd
(Guelph was 1st); proportion of entering students who
graduate, 4th (Windsor was 1st); percentage of first-year
students from out of province, 6th (New Brunswick was 1st);
percentage of international students among graduate
students, 6th (Windsor was 1st); student awards, 1st;
     class size at first and second year level, 11th
(Regina was 1st); class size at third and fourth year
level, 11th (Regina was 1st); percentage of classes taught
by tenured faculty, 6th (York was 1st);
     percentage of faculty with PhDs, 3rd (York was 1st);
awards per full-time faculty, 3rd (York was 1st); SSHRC
grants, 5th (Simon Fraser was 1st); MRC and NSERC grants,
5th (Victoria was 1st);
     operating budget, 5th (Regina was 1st); scholarsrhips
and bursaries as a percentage of the budget, 6th (Victoria
was 1st); student service as a percentage of the budget,
4th (York was 1st); library holdings per student, 8th (New
Brunswick was 1st); library acquisitions, 5th (York was
1st); library expenditures, 8th (Memorial of Newfoundland
was 1st);
     alumni support, 4th (Carleton was 1st); reputational
survey, 1st.