UNBC At Top of its Class
Prince George, B.C. – When it comes to primarily undergraduate universities in Canada, ( small universities) the University of Northern B.C. is the best. That’s according to the latest ranking from Maclean’s magazine.It is the first time UNBC has hit top spot in its category, having been in second place last year ( and in 2012 and 2008) and was ranked 3rd the year before.
Being number one is cause for celebration, “This recognition from Maclean’s only supports what the residents of Northern BC already know – that UNBC provides a first-rate education and a foundation for the development of the next generation of leaders for our region, our province and our country,” says UNBC President Dr. Daniel Weeks.
UNBC finished in the top five in seven different categories including student awards, total research dollars, library acquisitions, student/faculty ratio, faculty awards, operating budget per full-time student, and library expenses.
There was an added factor this year, a student satisfaction survey and Dr. Weeks says that survey certainly helped “We had a real strong showing in that category. If you asked me what would be the number one thing that could push you over the top and make you number one, this would be it. The fact the students recognize what a great institution this is only confirms all the other things we’re doing around here we’re doing extremely well. We have great faculty, great staff, we provide a great environment and great programs.”
Now at the ripe age of ’25’ UNBC is not a young university anymore says Dr. Weeks “The next big anniversary we’re going to have will be our 50th, think about it, SFU is celebrating its 50th right now and I don’t think anyone thinks of them as a young university anymore, so we are moving into the next phase of our lives and I think students realize that over 25 years we’ve developed into a first rate university and they recognize that.”
The top ranking doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement says Dr.Weeks “We’re going to continue to work on the student related satisfaction pieces There are certainly things related to their experience on our campus, for example, now that we’re 25 years old, many of our residences are getting a little old and its time to give them a fresh new look. We have a plan over the next year or two, to do a bit of a revamp and refresh of our residences. There’re a few other things related to the kinds of experiences students have here on campus, perhaps related to our ability to create even more scholarships for students in the north, all of these things that make it a better experience for our students, that’s what’s going to keep us strong and allow us to mature into the next phase of our existence here in the north.”
Developing scholarships has been a key area for improvement for UNBC “We’re making huge progress” says Dr. Weeks “In fact, we’re engaged now in a process and we’re looking at all our scholarships and I’ve come to appreciate we actually give out a significant number of scholarships and we are increasing that number every day. We do need to do a better job of making sure that all the high schools and potential students know about all these opportunities in our recruiting efforts.”
Trent University placed second in the undergraduate rankings and the University of Lethbridge placed third.
Simon Fraser University retained top spot in the Comprehensive category, followed by Waterloo and Victoria. McGill placed first in the Medical Doctoral category, followed by Toronto and UBC.
Comments
The same magazine that pegged Prince George as the most dangerous city in Canada a while back. Yeah, I’ll take that ranking under advisement.
As most UNBC faculty and staff will confirm, the Maclean’s rankings are unscientific bunk. The ratings do not reflect the quality of the institutions. Nor do they reflect UNBC’s dysfunctional workplace and the ongoing unhappiness of UNBC’s faculty and staff.
Unfortunately, UNBC has been milking the Maclean’s rating fallacy for too many years.
It takes losing a federal election to get noticed by Mcleans Hunter . The things that will wash up on conservative islands of sanctuary for the next four years have begun to arrived . Soon to come CD How ? Frazier instatoot ? Fox Fakz ? Four more years in the wilderness righties ! Suck it up ! BTW there is only one person in the middle . LIZ !
That’s dizzy lizzy.
Complaining about recognition? What’s wrong with people?
Are macleans rankings the most important thing? No. But it doesn’t hurt to be ranked #1 in Canada. Also you can complain about the quality of instruction but this year the survey took student/alumni satisfaction into consideration.
Dr. Weeks mentions renovating the residence. They need to stop ripping out kitchens and forcing people onto expensive meal plans. This isn’t fair for young cash strapped students.
The Maclean’s statistics favour UNBC because of UNBC’s low faculty to student ratio. Too many faculty, not enough students. In fact, UNBC has under-performed in obtaining enrollments and in retaining their students. The Maclean’s survey rewards UNBC’s poor recruitment performance.
UNBC appears to be spending a disproportionate amount of money in library acquisitions and administrative costs for every student that they actually enroll.
The BC taxpayer is subsidizing UNBC’s small student numbers and high overheads. This skews the Maclean’s survey results and rewards UNBC for having low student numbers.
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