Maclean's 19th annual university rankings unveiled

    
    Schools in Quebec, B.C. and New Brunswick get top marks in the biggest-
    ever universities package, arriving on newsstands nationally starting
    today
    

TORONTO , Nov. 5 /CNW/ - Which schools are doing better than ever? Which have slipped? The best profs? What's the latest on student finance? It's all unveiled in the 19th annual (and for the fourth year in a row, biggest ever) Maclean's University Rankings issue. It will be available on newsstands across the country starting today and until January 31, 2010 .

With more pages than ever dedicated to higher education in Canada , Maclean's carries on its tradition of providing an incomparable single source of up-to-the-minute information for students facing important - and exciting - decisions about their future. The overall rankings provide a snapshot of universities' relative strengths among peers, while more detailed data - on class size, entering grades, student satisfaction and more - paint a fuller picture of each university. And the articles on campus life - from fighting for a better grade to dealing with the law - give inside advice that should make life easier for freshmen (and their parents, too).

The rankings are presented in three categories:

The Maclean's rankings are focused on undergraduate programs, but depending on the school's level of research funding and program offerings, each is placed in one of three categories, along with other comparable universities:

    
    1.  The "Primarily Undergraduate" universities are largely focused on
        undergraduate education, with relatively few graduate programs.

    2.  Those in the "Comprehensive" category have a significant amount of
        research activity and a wide range of programs at the undergraduate
        and graduate levels, including professional degrees.

    3.  "Medical Doctoral" universities, in addition to offering
        undergraduate programs, offer a broad range of Ph.D. programs and
        research, as well as medical schools.
    

THIS YEAR'S TOP-RANKING UNIVERSITIES:

Medical Doctoral category

McGill University took the number one spot, for the fifth year in a row. The University of Toronto maintained its second place finish, but Queen's University, which tied with Toronto for second place in 2008, fell to third place this year. The University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta, as in 2008, were in the fourth and fifth spots respectively.

Comprehensive category

For the second year in a row, Simon Fraser University placed first, while the University of Victoria, which had tied for first place with SFU last year, slipped to second place. Waterloo and Guelph maintained the same positions as last year, third and fourth place respectively. Memorial University placed fifth.

Primarily Undergraduate category

Once again, the East Coast dominates the top spots. Mount Allison placed first for the third year in a row. Acadia moved from third place last year to second this year, while UNBC moved down to third place. St. Francis Xavier maintained last year's fourth-place ranking, but this year shares it with Wilfrid Laurier. Bishop's University made the greatest jump of all schools, having moved to 11th place this year from 17th in 2008.

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) in Oshawa, Ont., now six years old, was ranked for the first time this year and made a strong debut at number 12 among 22.

Also in the Maclean's university rankings issue:

    
    -   Love on campus: If affairs between faculty and students are wrong,
        why do they often feel so right?
    -   So You Want to Be a . . . (ad man, architect, teacher, doctor, marine
        biologist, engineer). Here's how to get there.
    -   Life at Kingston's Royal Military College begins with three weeks of
        boot camp.
    -   Grade Mills: Some independent schools are trading marks for money.
    -   Winners and losers: The best and worst sports programs.
    

How we do it

Maclean's ranks universities on performance measures in six broad areas: students/classes, faculty, resources, student support, library and reputation.

Select portions of the ranking in three peer-grouped categories are available at www.macleans.ca/rankings.

About Maclean's:

Maclean's is Canada's only national weekly current affairs magazine. Maclean's enlightens, engages and entertains 2.4 million readers with strong investigative reporting and exclusive stories from leading journalists in the fields of international affairs, social issues, national politics, business and culture. Visit www.macleans.ca.

/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/

For further information: Louise Leger, [phone], [email protected]