Despite the University of Ottawa’s third consecutive year as one of the top 200 schools on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, it has slipped by 14 positions from 171st to 185th.
The Times bases its evaluation of university performances on their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook, and uses 13 performance indicators to “provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons available, which are trusted by students’ academics, university leaders, industry, and governments.”
The U of O issued a media release Oct. 2 in which president Allan Rock had a positive outlook on the rankings. Only seven Canadian universities appear on the list.
“We are delighted to once again be ranked among the top 200 universities worldwide, an achievement that is a reflection of our efforts as a community,” he said. “We want to thank our professors, employees, and students for the hard work and dedication that has placed us among the top seven universities in Canada.”
Students were also unfazed by the university’s drop in world rankings.
“It impacts me very little. It’s not where your university stands on these rankings that really matters. At the end of the day, it’s what you do with your degree,” said Julien Procuta, a second-year history major with a minor in political science.
Procuta said university rankings had little influence on his choice of academic institution. He said he took several factors into consideration, using bilingualism as an example that may not be considered in ranking systems.
“I’m not too worried about the university’s overall placement,” said second-year business student Boliko Edjidjimo. “Rankings aren’t that accurate. If all the important factors that go into getting a great education were taken into consideration, I think overall the university might rank much higher.”
The university administration said it hopes to further enhance its position both nationally and internationally through the development of its research programs.
