University of Guelph Earns Top Marks in National Surveys

October 22, 2003

By Lori Bona Hunt

U of G has received top marks in two national surveys - one focusing on student opinions of educational quality and the other looking at public accountability and external reporting.

Guelph was ranked the No. 1 university in Canada for campus atmosphere and technology resources in the University Report Card, a survey of Canadian students published by the Globe and Mail Oct. 15.

The survey of more than 126,000 undergraduate students from 64 schools across Canada asked a broad range of questions within nine main categories and a series of subcategories. Students who took part in the survey are registered on studentawards.com, an online scholarship search service that has more than 650,000 registered users. More than 26,000 students responded, including 847 from U of G. Data from 58 of the schools are included in the survey results.

In the main categories, U of G was ranked second among all Canadian schools in student services, third in quality of education and fourth in off-campus life. In the various subcategories, Guelph was ranked among the top three universities in campus food, quality of teaching, campus safety, availability of course material online, availability of professors outside the classroom, online resources and personal counselling.

"We are delighted that our students named U of G as a leader among Canadian universities, especially in areas such as campus safety, student services and campus food," says Brenda Whiteside, associate vice-president (student affairs).

Prof. Maureen Mancuso, acting provost and vice-president (academic), adds: "We are very pleased with the high-level rankings across all the categories. It's rewarding to see our students recognize our efforts in so many different areas. Ultimately, this national recognition is a tribute to the quality and dedication of our faculty, staff and students."

The University Report Card, like other surveys and rankings of Canadian universities, provides future students with an important source of information to help them decide which institution fits their needs best, says president Alastair Summerlee. "It's an attitudinal study of student views, specifically the views of students registered with the scholarship website, and is just part of the information that is available to students about universities."

U of G was also named the country's top comprehensive university and second among all institutions in public accountability and external reporting, according to the annual Canadian University Accountability Survey.

The findings of the survey, which has been conducted since 1988 by Wilfrid Laurier University professors and is the only survey in Canada that looks at university accountability, appeared recently in Canadian Accounting Perspectives, published by the Canadian Academic Accounting Association.

The survey examined 2002 data from 45 schools, rating them on an accountability disclosure index of one to 100. Points are awarded for depth, clarity and quality of information in 26 categories such as financial, operating and mission statements, investments and research summaries.

U of G received a score of 90.6, with Queen's University receiving the top score of 90.9. They were the only two universities receiving scores in the 90s. Three universities received scores in the 80s, and the average score was 57.5.
"This is the first time Canadian universities have earned such high scores," says William Banks, a professor in Wilfrid Laurier's School of Business and Economics, who leads the survey. He adds that Queen's and Guelph's scores also compare favourably with the best in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

U of G was also the top comprehensive school in last year's survey, placing fourth overall.

"The University has always taken the responsibility of self-assessment and public accountability very seriously," says Summerlee. "We have ongoing internal reviews and performance assessments based on our own indicators of excellence, and it's very rewarding to have those efforts recognized nationally for excellence in public accountability as well."