A surge in student scholarship support combined with continued excellence in research led the University of Lethbridge to the biggest jump of all schools in the annual Maclean’s University Rankings report, released Thursday.
ULethbridge jumped five spots in the primarily undergraduate classification, moving to sixth of the 20 post-secondary schools in the class. The ranking is in line with how the University has been scored over the past several years (sixth in 2019, fifth in 2020, second in 2021, sixth in 2022), besides last year’s 11th place anomaly.
An increase in student scholarship support led the way for ULethbridge, reflected in a rankings jump from 16th to seventh overall in the category. A further commitment to student support through the University of Lethbridge Board of Governors’ pledge of $10 million in match funds for the establishment of new endowed student scholarships will continue to enhance scholarship dollars moving forward. Not coincidentally, the University’s reputational ranking also jumped six spots to sit fourth overall.
“It is evident the University of Lethbridge is consistently among the best post-secondary schools in the country, which has been reflected in the Maclean’s rankings over a number of years,” says ULethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Digvir Jayas. “Looking ahead, the investment by the Board of Governors in our students, coupled with the tremendous support we’ve been receiving from the community, shows how connected southern Alberta is to our university and the success of our students.”
What hasn’t changed is the consistent research excellence on campus. For the third consecutive year, ULethbridge ranks as the leader in securing medical/science grants. The University has not been outside the top two in this ranking measure for the last six years.
“The research opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students on campus are endless and reflect a depth and breadth of activity across disciplines,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, ULethbridge vice-president (research). “We also saw a three-spot jump in social sciences and humanities grants and it speaks to the excellence of our researchers throughout our campuses and the work they are doing on a daily basis.”
Each fall, Maclean’s magazine ranks 50 of the country’s universities, dividing schools into three classifications: Medical Doctoral, Comprehensive and Primarily Undergraduate. They then utilize 12 indicators to determine the overall rankings.
Jayas says that while the rankings provide a snapshot of certain aspects of a university’s operation, they cannot reflect the actual student experience, something which has long been a unique aspect of ULethbridge.
“Statistics and indicators can create certain measurements and ULethbridge has consistently fared very well when compared to other schools across the country in those aspects, but they cannot capture what the student experience here in Lethbridge is all about,” says Jayas. “I am new to the culture here, and in my short time I have seen how unique the ULethbridge experience is — it begins with our people and the work they do to inspire, engage and support our students in their academic careers.”
The 2024 Maclean’s University Rankings report is available online at education.macleans.ca/rankings.