UNews - Globe and Mail

Maclean's confirms U of L strengths

trevor.kenney — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:50:26 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has retained its fourth place finish in the annual Maclean's Magazine ranking of Canadian Universities, and maintained or improved its position in a majority of the categories used by Maclean's to measure Canadian post-secondary institutions.

"We always appreciate the opportunity to have survey information made available to the public," says U of L President Mike Mahon. "We are particularly pleased with the increases in our overall reputational survey marks, our jump in social sciences and humanities grants and the number of resources we devote to student support."

This year, the rankings were based on 14 indicators, ranging from class sizes to research dollars.

"As we evolve to become a more comprehensive research university, it is important that we not lose sight of our focus on students and the services that are important to them," says Mahon. " The numbers clearly indicate that we are doing both – moving our research programming forward, but not at the expense of our student-centred philosophy."

Mahon adds that the national benchmarking is helpful for Albertans and people from across the country who are considering the U of L as their destination university.

"We are very proud of how we compare to other institutions nationally, because we are clearly providing the services, atmosphere and level of student engagement that our students and their families value."

In addition to gains in overall reputation and the amount of funding directed to student services and humanities research, the institution saw 94 per cent and 95 per cent of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing on 'overall satisfaction' and 'would you choose the U of L again?' questions asked as part of a national survey.

Mahon says that anyone considering the U of L should do more than read the rankings report, or any number of other ratings and assessments available on line, including a recent Globe and Mail report card which also rates the U of L highly.

"For those people in our area, we are conveniently located for students to achieve a nationally-recognized education. For Calgarians and central Albertans, we're a short drive away."

Potential students have a hands-on chance to discover the U of L and meet with admissions representatives and faculty members at a day-long recruitment open house scheduled for Saturday, Nov 5. In addition to campus tours and information sessions, prospective students can enter a contest to win a $1,500 tuition credit.

Honorary degree recipient passes away

trevor.kenney — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:51:00 +0000

One of Canada's foremost geographers and a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge honorary degree recipient has passed away.

Marie Sanderson (honorary doctor of science, '00) died of breast cancer in Toronto on July 12 at the age of 88.

Noted as a pioneering climatologist and highly respected figure in environmental research, Sanderson was the first female geography professor in Canada when she completed her PhD at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Michigan and later accepted a position as assistant professor of geography at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Windsor.

An experienced traveler, Sanderson would attend conferences throughout the world and similarly took her studies to many corners of the globe. Her focus remained in Canada however as she was instrumental in conducting research into water management issues in the Grand River Basin and in Ontario. She also studied in the Canadian Arctic and assisted Environment Canada on studies related to climate change.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge recognized Sanderson with an honorary doctor of science in 2000.

For a complete biography, follow this Globe and Mail link.

Surveys, rankings and lists . . . What do they mean?

trevor.kenney — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:19:30 +0000

The recent Maclean's magazine rankings of Canadian universities and other surveys in which the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has been profiled raise an interesting question: What role do surveys and/or rankings actually play in molding public opinion towards the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ?
The challenge for senior administrators like Dr. Andy Hakin, the U of L's vice-president (academic) and provost, is balancing the assorted surveys, rankings and affiliated data in a way that makes sense — and tying the information into the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's strategic and business plans.
"As part of our strategic planning process, we are clearly stating who we are, what we are doing now, and where we are going in the future," Hakin says. "The bottom line is that we work for the public good, and therefore we can never be shy about sharing what we know about our university with the public.
As a growing, comprehensive university, we have been surveying ourselves and collecting information from these and other surveys to make information readily available to the public."
"We are constantly under our own microscope and those of others, but the overall results are the same, no matter who looks in on us. Our student satisfaction rates are consistently in excess of 90 per cent; our professors receive top marks from students for their level of accessibility and, in a recent Globe and Mail survey — which was totally driven by external student opinions — we received numerous A grades for a number of similar attributes."
Hakin says that the U of L also participates in the Canadian ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Survey Consortium (CUSC), the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE), and reports annually to the government of Alberta with Key Performance Indicator (KPI) data.
"The CUSC data is collected by a group that includes numerous Canadian universities, while the institutions participating within the NSSE surveys include universities in the USA and Canada. Whether the survey results come from CUSC, NSSE, or from Alberta's KPIs, I am pleased to report that their findings for the U of L have been consistently first-rate."
Hakin says that the National Survey on Student Engagement survey ranks the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ highly in two particular areas: Active and Collaborative Learning, and Student-Faculty Interaction.
"The categories measure how much access a student has to a professor, whether they have the opportunity to speak and work with the professor on additional projects, and how effective the professors are at responding to students, as well as how many opportunities the students have to conduct community service activities and engage in volunteer work as part of their course."
Hakin adds that Maclean's magazine uses readily-available data, including CUSC data, information from the Canadian Association of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Business Officers (CAUBO) and other material which the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has already placed on a publicly-available website at www.uleth.ca/accountability.
The data from the U of L's own surveys indicate that rankings like Maclean's account for a small percentage of the student decision to attend the U of L, Hakin says.
"A ranking such as Maclean's might help students realize that, nationally,
we are consistently ranked among the top 10 institutions in our category. Further, we are always appreciative of any opportunity that assists with spreading the word across Canada that the U of L is a high-quality university, and that we provide students with programs and opportunities from outstanding faculty members."
However, Hakin says he prefers to have students discover the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ
of Lethbridge in a way that meets their needs.
"We expect that the students who choose the U of L will decide to attend not just by reading a ranking sheet, but through referrals from already satisfied students, or by talking to us directly."

UNews - Globe and Mail

Maclean's confirms U of L strengths

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