Canadian University Thread

[SaskScraper]

World Rankings show Canadian Universities like this:

Seven of top 18 are in Western Canada.


http://www.shanghairanking.com/World-University-Rankings-2020/Canada.html

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by NetMapel

You, friend, have tipped off your age group by referring to Western University as UWO That's what the young and hip people know the school as! You have no idea how much I despite that name change

I also despise the name change. UWO (University of Western Ontario*) forever.

*still the legal name of the university and the one that I use on every one of my publications.

[MolsonExport]

QS World University Rankings 2021 – Top 10 Universities in Canada

Canada Rank. Global Rank. University

1. =25 University of Toronto

2. =31 McGill University

3. 45 University of British Columbia

4. 118 Université de Montréal

5. 119 University of Alberta

6 144 McMaster University

7. =166. University of Waterloo

8. =203 Western University

=9 =246. Queen's University

=9 =246. University of Calgary

https://www.topuniversities.com/univ...es-canada-2021

I've been involved with QS for about a dozen years now, and I am highly familiar with their ranking system (no, you cannot nominate your own university for any of the umpteen categories).

Being the only international ranking to have received International Ranking Expert Group (IREG) approval, the QS ranking is viewed as one of the three most-widely read university rankings in the world, along with Academic Ranking of World Universities and Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

[ssiguy]

One thing that is different in BC is that you have "universities" that are more glorified colleges.

Kwantlen, Nanaimo, Thompson Rivers, Fraser Valley are all "technically" listed as universities because the only real qualification of being a university is that it grants degrees and not diplomas. You can go to any of those schools and take hair styling, auto mechanics, and get a degree in a limited number of specialised areas and their research facilities are essentially non-existent. Hell, you can even go to these "universities" to get your GED. None of them offer the classic university experience.

There is a real socio-economic difference between those that got a degree from standard universities like UBC, SFU, Vic than those that went to any of these schools. These schools are very much a college mentality as opposed to a university one where they are places you go to learn a trade but not go to to learn how to think.

You don't get this in the East where there is a very clear distinction between universities and colleges.

[Blitz]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I also despise the name change. UWO (University of Western Ontario*) forever.

*still the legal name of the university and the one that I use on every one of my publications.

Same here. I never ever call it 'Western University' ever.

[ssiguy]

Who's stupid idea was it to change the name in the first place?

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Who's stupid idea was it to change the name in the first place?

It appealed more to potential foreign students.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Who's stupid idea was it to change the name in the first place?

The same guy who double dipped his salary



UWO rebrands to a familiar name: Western

[Blitz]

It's so weird that he's now the president of the University of Western Australia. He can change that one to Western and we can revert back to our original. Although I guess a more accurate name would be the University of Southwestern Ontario.

[MolsonExport]

Maybe we can rename ourselves to the University of Western Australia, in exchange for the latter using our unpopular "Western" generic name/logo.

We'd probably attract even more international students!

[Chadillaccc]

University of Lethbridge - coming up on 10,000 students



https://www.canadianarchitect.com/le...ience-commons/

https://www.macleans.ca/schools/univ...of-lethbridge/


https://www.places4students.com/Plac...INI5kwiH40k%3D

[J.OT13]

Such a unique site for a University. Fascinating how they developed the campus over those hills. And the original brutalist block is a beauty, though I'm sure many would disagree. Nothing quite as polarizing as brutalist architecture.

[esquire]

^ That must be one of Canada's best known groundscrapers!

[ssiguy]

I totally agree that the brutalist architecture of U. Lethbridge is really one that works and unlike nearly all others, had stood the test of time.

[JHikka]

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/l...tion-1.5291050

Laurentian University files for creditor protection

"SUDBURY -- Facing massive long-term debts and lower revenue as a result of COVID-19, Laurentian University has filed for court protection from creditors.

It's the first time in recent memory that a university has done the equivalent of filing for bankruptcy because their debts far exceed their assets and revenue.

In a news release Monday, Laurentian University President Robert Haché said despite being insolvent, the court filing would not affect day-to-day operations and students won’t be affected.

...

"These strains include a combination of factors such as historical recurring deficits, declining demographics in northern Ontario, the closure of our Barrie campus in 2019 and the domestic tuition reduction and freeze that was implemented in 2019 and, most recently, various costs and revenue impacts due to the global pandemic," Haché said.

...

Sources speaking on background to CTV News say the university approached the province before Christmas seeking help on what was believed to be $100 million in debt. But since then, a closer look at the books revealed that amount is closer to $200 million, prompting the decision to seek creditor protection."

[Chadillaccc]

Holy shit. That’s tough to hear. Is this an issue going on throughout mid-size and small universities? Or an isolated incident?

[srperrycgy]

The UofL has grown so much since I finished at the end of 1997 that I barely recognize it.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Holy shit. That’s tough to hear. Is this an issue going on throughout mid-size and small universities? Or an isolated incident?

That was my question as well. I have kids who will be going to university in the coming year(s). Hopefully the overall system in this country doesn't have a structural financial crisis ahead of it.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by JHikka

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/l...tion-1.5291050

Laurentian University files for creditor protection

SUDBURY -- Facing massive long-term debts and lower revenue as a result of COVID-19, Laurentian University has filed for court protection from creditors.

Laurentian University threw a lot of money around in the early 2000s.

A Medical School, School of Education, campus in Barrie and an Architecture School. It constructed new residences.

Maybe one of those things was really necessary (the Med School). The others always struck me as vanity projects. Universities in Canada are on the wrong side of demographics - that little pop in the early 2000s has long since petered out. The value of a less-than-prestigious university degree deflates by that day. My anecdotal observation is that students are figuring this out, unless one is going into a university professional school.

Laurentian suffers moreso due to Northern Ontario's worse demographics and lack of cachet. Like everybody else, they went mining for that sweet pot of international student gold to pay for the exuberance. I can't imagine anybody forking out $20k per year for tuition when they can't get into the country.

Big prestigious universities will be fine. Smaller ones need to figure out what they're good at and focus on that.

Laurentian should have focused. They didn't. Sudbury is not an architectural dream world, nor does Ontario really need class after class of newly minted teachers. They're now paying for those mistakes.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by wave46

The value of a less-than-prestigious university degree deflates by that day.

I hope Canada does not go down that American rabbit hole.

In the US, it matters less what your degree is in than where you got it. If you have a Harvard or Yale degree, well, then your way in life is guaranteed!! Of course, this makes the whole admissions process way too competitive and open to nepotism and corruption. If you are the child of a generous donor, or a valued alumnus, this gives you a lot of extra brownie points in the admissions process. Less scrupulous parents will fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars to "admissions coaches" who of course know whose palms to grease. The whole process stinks (although to be fair, these universities also have generous scholarship programs for truly gifted but financially compromised students).

I have always appreciated how Canadian universities have flattened the "prestige curve", and that decent educations can be had in numerous universities across the country regardless of location. I think this is eminently more fair. I went to undergrad and medical school in the Maritimes and do not feel that my education was particularly compromised by never leaving the colonies. It would be sad if only the top six or seven universities in the country were felt to be worthy...........