MacLean's Rankings

Persuasive Essay # 101505

Education > Higher

MacLean's Rankings

A critical evaluation of the MacLean's university rankings.

1,754 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper examines how MacLean's university rankings compare different Canadian universities and argues that the criteria they use are questionable and subjective to the point of being positively misleading. The paper shows how for many students, the criteria utilized by the MacLean's university rankings are largely irrelevant. The paper maintains that to conduct research with relevant stakeholders, such as the students themselves, would be more useful.

From the Paper:

"Not surprisingly, in recent years the MacLean's University Rankings have been subject to increasing criticism by many. Levy (November 6, 2006) points out that the rankings produced by MacLean's, and by The Globe and Mail, come out with very different results. Indeed, Levy (November 6, 2006) goes so far as to say that the two "publications provide starkly different views of the University" (on web page cited). This immediately signals that perhaps the rankings are not entirely objective. Indeed, this becomes more obvious when we note that these two rating systems utilize different clustering of institutions, and different methodology (Levy, November 6, 2006)."

Sample of Sources Used:

Anonymous. (November 27, 1997). Top students and faculty earn SFU #1 ranking for second year in a row. Simon Fraser News. Retrieved from http://www.sfu.ca/mediapr/sfnews/1997/Nov27/macleans.html
Education Social Science Library. (November 8, 2006). College and university rankings: Caution and controversy. Retrieved from http://www.library.uiuc.edu/edx/rankoversy.htm
Levy, Sheldon. (November 6, 2006). University rankings and accountability. Ryerson University web site. Retrieved from http://www.ryerson.ca/about/president/rankings.html.
MacKinnon, Peter. (November 8, 1999). MacLean's criteria for university ranking inconsistent with U of S mandate. U of S News. Retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20041209081525/http:/www.usask.ca/events/news/articles/19991108-1.html