Students grade Canadian universities; want to be 'more than a number'

Altogether, more than 43,000 students from 55 universities took part in the online survey, grading their institutions of higher learning on a wide range of issues, including quality of teaching, course availability, class size and even the food on campus.

But no matter what the size of the university, students all want to be thought of as more than a number, said Simon Beck, editor of the Canadian University Report, a magazine published Thursday by a national newspaper, in association with the Strategic Counsel and the Educational Policy Institute.

"They want their professors to be interested in them. They want to be in a campus where they feel wanted and where there's a sense of community," he said.

"So they're all kind of normal human emotions about wanting to be needed, whether it's in the classroom or whether it's ... out of the classroom."

"And I think you'll see that's why, generally speaking, the smaller universities - from medium, small and very small - tend to overall fare slightly better than the bigger ones because the bigger ones obviously have bigger class sizes, especially in the first year."

Detailed results were to be posted online Thursday at www.globecampus.ca.

Among universities with enrolment over 22,000, the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont., scored the highest grade, an A, on quality of education and most satisfied students. And McGill in Montreal, McMaster in Hamilton and the University of Waterloo weren't far behind, at A-minus.

Among medium-sized universities (enrolment of 12,000-22,000), the University of Guelph in Ontario scored an A-plus in the two categories. Among very small universities with enrolment under 4,000, the King's University College (Edmonton) also tallied an A-plus for quality of education and most satisfied students.

In terms of career preparation, the Universite de Sherbrooke in Quebec scored A-minus; every other institution received Bs or Cs.

Beck noted that although small universities scored well, bigger universities tend to have better reputations.

"They're well known overseas and they're well known amongst employers. So some people are very keen to take advantage of that."

Larger universities also tend to have professors who are better known and well regarded, he added.

Students were able to fill in the questionnaire at studentawards.com. In addition, the majority of universities sent out an email to undergraduates suggesting that they take part in the survey.

Beck said the responses appear to be "pretty honest," and quashed any notion that boosterism might have been at play as universities urged their student bodies to get involved.

"The results are logical," he said.

"They all get marked very badly for certain things, like food. And some get marked badly on, sort of, educational matters too. It really depends."

It's the seventh year for the annual survey, and if there's one thing that's been consistent over the years, it's the less-than-enthusiastic reaction to the food offered on campus - mostly Cs and Ds.

"It seems to be the perennial complaint," Ian Boyko, campaigns co-ordinator for the Canadian Federation of Students, said from Ottawa.

"In the last decade we've seen a major transition from sort of cafeteria-style food into more privatized and contracted-out, fast-food-style cafeterias ... but that doesn't seem to change the students' opinion of the food that's available on campus."

Beck said universities that have decided to set up little cafes with more wholesome food and organic options are the ones that get better marks.

"Guelph is the standout. For the last two or three years, it's been the only university that's up there with an A. In fact, it gets an A-minus. And that's because it does have its own in-house cafeterias that have a lot of options."

The King's University College (Edmonton) also scored an A-minus on food services, while Mount Allison received a B. Universite du Quebec and the University of Victoria also ranked above average, with B-minuses.

Maclean's magazine also produces an annual report that provides profiles of universities and rankings. It will hit newsstands on Nov. 13.

Boyko said Canadian families should consider using the university reports as a resource but not the only resource to select which institutions they might want to attend.

"There's nothing that can replace talking to an administrator, talking to other students, visiting campus for yourself," he said.

"Those are still going to be the things that are the most important in determining the right fit in terms of deciding where to go ... we don't necessarily endorse or support the idea that our institutions can somehow be ranked in a way that's meaningful."