In the annual ranking of Canadian universities published by Maclean’s magazine on Nov. 19, Concordia dropped from 9th to 11th in its designated category of comprehensive universities.
It appears that once again, the criteria for comparison chosen by the magazine penalize Concordia for its accessibility, growth and chronic underfunding.

This year, the university welcomed the largest influx of students in its history — admissions are up 12 per cent. However, because entrance requirements in most programs have not been substantially raised, Concordia has dropped in several categories, including average entering grade and the proportion of students with an average on entrance of 75 per cent or higher.

Admitting more students also negatively affects the calculation of several budget and library resource categories that are based on the budget-per-student ratio.

Because Concordia is renewing and increasing its faculty complement (52 new tenure-track hires in 2000, 68 in 2001), it finds itself negatively affected in several ranking criteria related to faculty. Some new faculty members are in the process of completing their PhDs and beginning their research careers. This again lowers our results in several categories, including faculty with PhDs and external research grants per full-time faculty.

Nonetheless, Concordia’s success in recruiting out-of-province and international students is reflected in the rankings (first and third), as well as the attention to the quality of teaching in the class size section and student services areas (despite limited budget resources). Our strong alumni support is also reflected (third in the overall ranking).