Concordia stable in Maclean's rankings

Not much has changed as far as Concordia’s standings in the Maclean’s rankings this year. The university’s overall reputation slipped one spot to 25th in the country out of 49 universities. The figure is based on a survey of university officials, high school principals, guidance counsellors, heads of organizations, CEOs and corporate recruiters.
 
Bradley Tucker, director of Concordia’s Institutional Planning Office, says it’s important to note, however, that Maclean’s national reputational survey does not factor in the opinion of students at the universities, as does the Globe and Mail’s Canadian University Report, also released this week.

“The fact that we’re able to attract international graduate students and out-of-province first-year students at rates higher than universities that Maclean’s places ahead of us, suggests that the ranking doesn’t reflect the true degree to which students value a Concordia education,” says Tucker.

Indeed, the top three schools according to the national reputational survey (Waterloo, McGill and Toronto) all had fewer international graduate students than Concordia in fall 2010, and Toronto and Waterloo had fewer out of province first-year students.

In other categories, including Concordia’s overall ranking among comprehensive universities, there was little change, partly because Statistics Canada did not release much of the data used in the survey in time for the rankings (as a result, Maclean’s simply used data from last year’s rankings).

Concordia placed in the top 25 in six categories: 23rd in average class size for first- and second-year classes, 17th in proportion of students who graduate, 15th in number of faculty who have a terminal degree, and 22nd in student retention.

“It’s important to note that we fared better than most Quebec universities in some key areas,” says Concordia President Frederick Lowy. “It shows that we are making the right choices when it comes to offering our students a quality education.”

Concordia, along with all the other universities in Quebec except McGill, are consistently disadvantaged in the Maclean’s rankings as a result of the emphasis placed on financial indicators in the rankings. Quebec universities were considered underfunded by up to $620 million in relation to those in other provinces in the fiscal year 2007-2008. McGill is the exception to the rule, perhaps because its endowment, according to the latest figures available, is 11 times the size of Concordia.

Lowy says the Quebec government’s announcement last March of major new funding for the province’s universities will likely help to shake things up a bit. Under the plan, teaching and research budgets in the province are set to increase by 25 per cent over the next six years.

“We’re confident the new funding will allow us to make some inroads in the Maclean’s rankings, and help bring us a little closer to our peers across the country,” Lowy said.

The president also mentioned that Concordia ’s new Academic Plan, with its focus on improving teaching and research at the university, should have a positive effect, as well. “The Academic Plan commits us to increasing our research and creative output, strengthening our library acquisitions, providing more student assistance and creating a more innovative learning environment.”

Related Links:
•  “Among the Best, Concordia Shines in Globe and Mail’s Canadian University Report” — NOW, October 25, 2011
•  Macleans
•  “Maclean’s Ranking: Concordia on Right Track” NOW, November 10, 2010