The University of Lethbridge continues to affirm its place as one of the country’s top destinations for students, maintaining its top-three position for the third successive year in the Primarily Undergraduate category of the annual Maclean’s University Rankings.
The U of L ascended to the third spot in its classification two years ago, its highest-ever Maclean’s ranking, and has held steady ever since, all the while earning gains in many of the ranking factors. In the 2015 report, the University maintained or bettered its category rankings in nine of 12 indicators and continued to show its strength as a leading undergraduate research institution.
“These rankings once again reflect the core values of our institution, namely the personal and supportive atmosphere we strive to create that drives academic excellence and engaging research opportunities,” says University of Lethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Mike Mahon. “It’s a philosophy that has been embraced by our faculty and staff and continues to move the U of L forward.”
The University achieved a first-place ranking in the average size and number of peer-adjudicated research grants secured by its faculty, specifically realizing a five-point raise in grants through the social sciences and humanities. Not coincidentally, the U of L’s reputation ranking also received a boost, moving up three spots to fourth of the 19 schools in the Primarily Undergraduate classification.
“The research work being done here on campus is of an exceptional quality and our faculty are continuing to raise the profile of the U of L through their active research programs,” says Mahon. “All the while, we are at heart, a liberal-education based teaching institution, where our researchers are actively engaging students in discovery both in the classroom and in the lab.”
Many of the underlying indicators used to create the rankings lists included data from national surveys of high school guidance counselors, university officials and heads of organizations, as well as CEOs and recruiters at corporations across the country. These results showed marked gains for the U of L in terms of recognition.
“We are still a relatively young institution and it’s exciting to see the U of L evolve and enhance its profile,” says Mahon. “As we look ahead to the realization of the Destination Project and how that will impact southern Alberta, it will only augment our ability to attract the best and brightest faculty and students to our campus.”
For a closer look at all the categories, visit the Maclean's University Rankings.