And why do they matter?
University rankings are a big deal. Going to a university with a high national ranking is what makes the high school principal suddenly become your best friend in the final term of senior high school. It’s what gives you a leg up on your cousins during extended family reunions. It’s the difference between a big family send off and a quiet school drop-off. All over the world, university rankings are a source of pride or shame to students… unless you’re in Canada.
Generally, it is assumed that university elitism in Canada does not exist. University of Toronto and University of British Columbia are not seen as inferior to University of Manitoba – just different. In the grand scheme of things, all Canadian universities have specific strengths and weaknesses that they are known for. If that is so, what is the purpose of university rankings in the Maple Leaf Country?
Firstly, there is a need to debunk a myth. While elitism does not exist to the extent it does down South and in some other parts of the world, it does exist. As a result, university rankings do matter in Canada, but for slightly different reasons than one might think. Rankings are not only important for students, universities rely on them too. Thus, the Fulcrum decided to pose the question of the importance of university rankings to the U of O administration.
“Rankings are one way universities can measure and influence their impacts domestically and internationally. These can be critical in our international recruitment efforts and very useful in helping to attract or identify prospective partnerships that advance our research and teaching mission” remarked University of Ottawa spokesperson, Jesse Robichaud.
“The University of Ottawa’s growing success across numerous rankings represents an encouraging recognition of the groundbreaking research capabilities that draw top talent — both students and scholars — to our vibrant, inclusive campuses.”
Other universities use rankings for similar purposes. Informing strategies to improve their universities, gauging their current performance, attracting students and staff (especially to their graduate programs), and securing funding are a few of the reasons universities rely on rankings.
Besides universities, other groups rely on rankings as well.
In high schools, counselors rely on rankings to make recommendations to students. Similarly, students use rankings to assess the strength of certain programs each university offers.
Potential employees of universities use rankings to determine if universities are a good fit as an employer for their career goals.
These decisions are possible because university rankings consist of several elements besides the reputation of the university. While the specific indicators may vary depending on the organization doing the ranking, the indicators tend to be similar in nature.
Typically, rankings are decided through an examination and comparison of different broad factors. Some of these are the research quality the university produces, the learning environment at the university, the internationalization rate of the university (the integration of international, intercultural, or global dimensions into post-secondary education), the university’s resources, and several financial indicators amongst other factors. These factors are determined by an evaluation of several sub-factors, such as student-staff ratio (measuring learning environment) and number of citations (measuring research influence).
This allows ranking organizations to create both general university rankings as well as specific rankings for different degrees, faculties and programs. This diversity in rankings amongst Canadian universities can be seen by observing the Maclean University rankings.
The diversity in the types of rankings that exist, in addition to the relaxed nature of Canadian society, allows for rankings to serve the more practical purposes mentioned above rather than just being a matter of prestige. Thus, even though some universities surpass others in certain aspects, there is the understanding that those universities have areas where they fall short compared to other universities.
Ultimately, it is important to remember that university rankings alone are not the only way to choose the university to attend. Cost of living, proximity to home, the ability to get a job as well as a host of other factors should be considered as well. Moreover, a university can have a strong overall ranking but be weak in the specific program a student is interested in. Conversely, a university may have a weak overall ranking but have the strongest program in the country for a certain discipline.
Just to say, while rankings are important to consider, there are more things to keep in mind when comparing universities… but it seems Canadians got that idea in the bag.
