Maclean's Rankings Do Not Reflect High Quality of U of S Graduates

Posted November 14, 2000


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ? NOVEMBER 13, 2000 2000-11-05-OTHER

Maclean?s Rankings Do Not Reflect
High Quality of U of S Graduates

University of Saskatchewan President, Peter MacKinnon responded to the
Maclean's university rankings released today by maintaining that the U of S
is ranked as it is because the University?s institutional objectives are
different from those which Maclean?s values.

"This does not undermine the importance and impact of the survey," added
President MacKinnon. "It simply means that the U of S measures its
achievements using a different set of criteria than those used by
Maclean?s."

Maclean?s survey measures inputs: the size of the operating grant, numbers
of out-of-province students, the proportion of alumni who contribute to the
university, numbers of faculty who have a Ph.D., library holdings etc. The
survey does not measure outputs.

"The U of S does assess outputs and these outputs are its graduates, and we
know they are excellent," explained President MacKinnon. "We know this
because they always do very well in national examinations, particularly
those in medicine and accounting. They are accepted into the top graduate
schools and achieve high-ranking positions in government and in business
around the globe."

MacKinnon went on to say that a major institutional objective for the U of S
is to be accessible to as many students as possible from Saskatchewan.
"Service to the people of Saskatchewan continues to be a central part of the
University mandate," he said.

In contrast, Maclean?s ranks universities based on the number of students
they admit from outside their home province. This enables institutions in
close proximity to other provinces, like Dalhousie, to gain the most points
on this indicator leaving the U of S at a disadvantage. Maclean?s also does
not value the amount of tuition charged to students, so the U of S, again,
does not derive any benefits from low tuition rates in the rankings.

Another measure of accessibility, is the grade point average required for
admission. Currently, the average high school student entering the U of S
has a grade point average of 82%. This is very close to the mean across
Canada, which is 82.4%. The U of S could jump two places in the rankings if
it increased this grade point average to 85%. But, this would undermine an
important institutional goal.

"While we know that our position in the rankings does not accurately reflect
the high quality of this institution, we are concerned about the effect of
the rankings on our reputation across the whole of Canada and
internationally,? added President MacKinnon.

"As a consequence, we know that we must find a way to preserve the values of
accessibility to the U of S, while initiating measures to improve our
national and international competitiveness."

For example, the University is working to ensure that its faculty and
students take full advantage of the research opportunities of the Canadian
Light Source synchrotron ? the largest scientific project in Canada in the
last 30 years.

The University is also undertaking on many fronts to build research success
at the U of S. A Co-ordinator of Health Research was hired in July to ensure
that full advantage is taken of new federal health research opportunities.
The Co-ordinator encourages applications, promotes research collaborations,
and lobbies the provincial and federal governments to ensure adequate
support for health research in Saskatchewan. A Health Research Development
Officer was hired to assist in a new process of internal grant review to
help improve the University?s grant success rate.

In addition, a Grants Officer is now in place to review all University grant
applications for research funding. This will ensure that every application
is appropriate, timely, accurate and can be supported on an on-going basis
by University facilities. As well, the University is in the process of
hiring a financial analyst and an Administrative Officer to assist with
Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) funding and Canada Research Chairs.
An experienced consultant has also been hired to assist with all
applications for CFI funding.

"We fully expect these initiatives to have a measurable impact on our
ability to compete successfully for national research funding,? added
President MacKinnon.

In other cases, such as increasing U of S scholarship and bursary offerings,
President MacKinnon admits that more work is needed.

"I am dedicated to ensuring that the U of S is able to compete with any
university in the country. But, I am also dedicated to ensuring that we are
competitive in areas that make sense for this University and for this
province," he concluded.

For more information, please contact:

Peter MacKinnon, President
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-6612