Students and graduates rank Western among Canada’s best

All members of our campus community can take pride in the results of two recent surveys published by the Globe and Mail and Maclean’s magazine. Together these reports make strong statements about how well Western’s faculty and staff deliver a first-rate experience for the students who choose our University. The reports also reflect the contribution of our student groups, through their clubs and volunteer activities, to the great learning environment on campus.

Last month, the Globe’s third annual “University Report Card” highlighted the results of an online survey of 28,000 current students at 38 Canadian universities. Students were asked 80 questions related to their personal experiences and perceptions about their school. Once again Western fared very well, receiving the highest grade point average among Canada’s top ten research-intensive universities.

For instance, faculty members received an A+ for their subject knowledge and an A for their availability to students outside classroom hours. Library services received an A, while our student residences received an A-. Other areas where we received particularly high grades included:

Earlier this week, Maclean’s released its annual University Rankings in which Western is ranked third overall in the “medical-doctoral” category, behind the University of Toronto and McGill University.

It is especially gratifying to see the improvement over the last decade in our position in the categories of average entering grade and the proportion of our students who graduate. The survey confirms that we continue to attract some of the brightest students in the country and, more importantly, that they have a successful experience and gain a high-quality education after they arrive.

New to this year’s Maclean’s rankings was a survey of recent graduates – those from the classes of 1999, 2000 and 2001. These young alumni were asked questions about teaching, the learning environment, the library, student services, extra curricular activities, on whether they would recommend the university to a friend, and on the benefits of their university experience to their lives today.

Averaging the responses to all questions, Western placed first in the Maclean’s grouping of medical-doctoral universities, and first among the top 10 research universities. The Maclean’s Graduate Survey confirms the results of the Globe and Mail University Report Card: the hard work of our faculty, staff and students has given Western a unique leadership position in Canada, as a strong research university that also provides an outstanding undergraduate student experience.

This is great news for all of us at Western and for our alumni and friends. However, these surveys represent a snap-shot in time and we cannot afford to become complacent. There is much room for improvement in the quality of post-secondary education offered in Ontario and this will be the subject of our discussions over the coming months with the Rae Review.

To share your views please reply to Paul.Davenport@uwo.ca

 

This page was last updated on November 10, 2004
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