Responding to the results of the magazine's survey, released Nov. 2, U of S President Peter MacKinnon said the University of Saskatchewan's ongoing commitment to recruiting the best and brightest students, not only from Saskatchewan but also from across Canada and around the world, is reflected in this year's results. The U of S ranked first in the measure of percentage of graduate students from outside Canada, and fourth in a category of average grade for students entering the university.

"Similarly, the emphasis we place on the overall student experience saw us top the ranking with the smallest class sizes in third and fourth year," MacKinnon said. "We also continue to rate high in the area of library holdings per student and library acquisitions."

This year's Maclean's ranking placed the U of S 10th overall among Canada's post-secondary institutions that have medical schools and doctorate programs. MacKinnon pointed out that 11 of the 15 universities in the medical/doctoral group did not supply data for this year's survey, citing concerns about validity, fairness and accuracy in the survey. In all, 34 universities chose not to provide Maclean's with the information it requested. The U of S did provide the information already compiled for the survey but it will reconsider next year unless concerns about the survey methodology are addressed.

"Even though other universities withdrew, the survey still went ahead," said MacKinnon, "meaning the magazine had to either use outdated information, or gather new information from third-party sources. Either way, we must ask if the changes in the survey results from last year are real or perceived because we do not know how the data was collected."

There is an obvious demand from the public for clear and helpful information about post-secondary institutions in this country, he said, but the Maclean's survey is only one source. He encouraged prospective students to contact the U of S with any specific questions they might have about programs, facilities or operations.

He added the University of Saskatchewan would welcome the opportunity to work with other Canadian institutions to develop alternatives to the survey, or to push for improvements.

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For information please contact:

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