University News

Statement on Maclean’s Rankings Bishop’s focus will remain academic quality and student experiences – not rankings

Sherbrooke - November 8, 2007

Today saw the release of the Maclean’s Magazine Annual Rankings. The last few years have seen a number of Canadian universities refuse to participate in the rankings due to questionable methodology and relevance. Bishop’s University believes in transparency, therefore has always provided the requested data to the magazine.

This year’s rankings are a dramatic shift from previous issues, presumably due to the information boycott by some institutions. The number of indicators used in the rankings has gone from 22 to 13 while the weighting of indicators has also changed. All are based on publicly available data received from sources such as Statistics Canada or CAUBO (Canadian Association of University Business Officers). In some cases the figures date back a minimum of two years. The rankings exist to “provide basic, essential information in a comprehensive package to help students choose the university that best suits their needs.” (Maclean’s 2007). In examining the 13 indicators it is questionable whether Student Awards (success of winning national academic awards per full time student), or the Acquisitions Budget (as a percentage of overall budget) have an impact on a student’s decision to attend a university. It is truly disappointing that Maclean’s has dropped key academic quality indicators from the rankings such as average Entering Grade, Retention Rates, and Class Sizes.

Our view at Bishop’s is clear: Canada is blessed with fine universities from coast to coast; students receive an excellent education at all of our universities. Bishop’s believes students are interested in the university experience – that is indeed what differentiates one university from the other. This is not reflected in the Maclean’s rankings. Bishop’s focus is on academic quality and an exceptional undergraduate experience where students come first.

Prospective students might be more interested in learning what our students say about their university – as clearly they have a better understanding of the Bishop’s experience than Statistics Canada, CAUBO, or Maclean’s. We encourage you to learn more about Bishop’s (and compare us to other Canadian universities!) through the Globe and Mail University Report Card at www.theglobeandmail.com/education. Better yet, take the time to visit one of Canada’s outstanding small universities yourself to make an informed decision about your future. We’re convinced you won’t be disappointed.

-30-