A closer look at the methodology behind Maclean’s university rankings
Maclean’s has ranked Mt.A the #1 primarily undergraduate university in Canada for the 26th time in 35 years. Since the magazine began ranking Canadian universities in 1991, Mt.A has clinched the top spot more times than any other school. This year, Mt.A also ranks first in faculty awards and library expenses, as well as second in student awards and third in both reputation and scholarships. Maclean’s rankings, however, leave out many factors that affect students’ opinions of the University.
With just over 2,400 students, Mt.A is difficult to compare with much larger schools, many of which have student bodies numbering in the tens of thousands. To solve this problem, Maclean’s divides Canadian universities into three categories: undergraduate, medical doctoral, and comprehensive. For the last three decades, Mt.A has swept the “primarily undergraduate” category, which includes universities that “tend to be smaller and have fewer graduate programs and graduate students,” according to the magazine.
Maclean’s uses 12 factors to rate universities, all of which are ratios or percentages with the exception of reputation, which is also the only factor that compares all Canadian universities. In a poll of faculty and staff at Canadian universities, as well as employers across the country, Mt.A ranked 31st in reputation. Compared to all other universities, Mt.A ranks fifth in student-to-faculty ratio, with 16 students per faculty member. Only two other schools in Canada, Simon Fraser University and the University of Manitoba, spend more of their budget on libraries. On the other hand, Mt.A ranks far lower in research grants, which is a clear distinction between a primarily undergraduate and a graduate, research-focused university.
Maclean’s focus on quantitative factors excludes several important features of campus life. While Mt.A’s “university profile” on the Maclean’s website highlights some standout programs and services, they are not taken into account. Though the profile mentions Mawita’mkw, the Indigenous gathering space in the Student Centre, as well as the University’s Elder-in-Residence program, neither contribute to the ranking. Nor do residences, tuition and other fees, or available programs and degrees. Social life is also excluded; the benefits of clubs, societies, and the local community cannot be summarized in a ranking. Many students rely on student supports like the Meighen Centre and the Wellness Centre; these are judged as a percentage of the total budget rather than by their benefits for students. Scholarships and bursaries are also judged as a budget percentage, and with 9.6 per cent of the budget going towards them, Mt.A lands behind 16 other universities, two of which are primarily undergraduate.
In the mid-2000s, eleven Canadian universities, including Dalhousie University, the University of Toronto, and the University of British Columbia, pulled out of the rankings due to concerns over the seemingly arbitrary way the statistics were weighted. Although those institutions were still listed in the final ranking, they no longer cooperated with the magazine’s investigations. Mt.A has continued to contribute to Maclean’s analysis. This year’s profile of the school featured a quote from President Ian Sutherland, who said “students are always at the centre of what we do—providing a close-knit and personalized experience, innovative programs, hands-on learning opportunities, and a skill set for the 21st century. When you choose Mount Allison, you choose the best.”
The University’s Maclean’s ranking is a key part of promotional materials, many of which are adorned with a large “#1”. Mt.A’s continued success is the first thing mentioned on the website’s homepage and “About” page, alongside an ad placed across the bottom of the site advises prospective students to “be part of Canada’s best undergraduate university.” Some students, including members of Divest MTA, a climate-focused campus organization, have critiqued the focus on being “#1” on a scale which does not take greenhouse gas emissions or efforts to stop the climate crisis into account.
Mt.A’s continued recognition as the top undergraduate university in Canada is a source of pride for many students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The magazine’s mathematical approach, however, omits many other elements that affect the student experience.