Rankings
Ranking and Benchmarking Systems
The following overview relates to university ranking and benchmarking systems, particularly those representing the most prominent Canadian and international systems. The University of Regina participates with and provides data for several of these, while other systems do not require us to directly submit data.
The Office of Institutional Research has been working with various rankings since 2015. Largely the impetus for involving ourselves in the rankings was meant to “change the channel” on the Maclean’s rankings which were the only Canadian ranking in which we participated – largely because we ignored it at our peril. What caused the most concern is that the impression was that "reputation" was a problem and by participating in global rankings we would provide a boost to our reputational standing, as well as divert attention from Maclean’s.
Data used in the rankings include citation metrics (weighted differently by each ranking), and institutional data supplied by institutions or otherwise publicly available (Shanghai, CWUR, Leiden, US News). Some employ reputational surveys of academics and business leaders, while still others surveyed students. We facilitate both participation in reputational surveys and Maclean’s student survey (although this was suspended most recently because of reliability issues). Of all the rankings the University of Regina participates in, Maclean’s is the least nuanced in that it is not driven by citation metrics.
"THE is the data provider underpinning university excellence in every continent. Our data and benchmarking tools are used by many of the world’s most prestigious universities to help them achieve their strategic goals."
Global Rankings
Most Canadian post-secondary institutions are held accountable by a variety of comparative factors. But it's not a simple process. Universities vary in unique ways, making it challenging to really know how these institutions hold up when compared. Here we endeavor to make the process easier to understand and transparent. Sharing this information helps everyone understand how and why we are included in some rankings and not others, and provides background information as to how we achieve the rankings we do.
There are three bodies external to the University that are considered Mandatory. They include:
- Universities Canada Fall Enrolment Survey
- Stats Canada's Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS)
- Universities Canada's Association for Francophone Universities & Colleges
Rankings we choose to Participate With:
- Maclean's magazine
- Times Higher Education (THE)'s World University Rankings (WUR)
- Times Higher Education (THE)'s Impact Rankings (WUR)
Domestic (National) Rankings
Comparing ourselves to our peers
Post Secondary Institions within Canada are usually not competing with one another for students. But location, family, friends, costs, and courses are all influential in determining what school a typical post secondary student wants to attend.
Probably the most recognized form of comparison comes in Maclean's magazine's annual Universities Rankings issue, and their supplemental 'Universities Guidebook'.
The University of Regina has been included in Maclean's comprehensive category since 19xx. And we often disagree with where we end up in the standings.
- Maclean's magazine
Subjects
There are currently two international institutional questionnaires that we submit information to: QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) offers 'unrivalled data, expertise and solutions for the global higher education sector; and THE (Times Higher Education) providing a range of services and solutions for universities, governments and corporate partners working with and alongside the higher education sector.
THE delves very thoroughally into the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We want to illustrate how the University of Regina supports sustainability, as well as highlight the strong and weak indicators.