An Update on the Use of Ranks in Calibrating and Marketing Higher Education

ABSTRACT

An analysis of ranking data, taken from Maclean's magazine's 2001 rankings of the 47 Canadian universities, is presented. Consistent with previous research, the rank data show that the specific measures and indices used by the magazine are inconsistently related to each other and to the universities' final assigned rankings. Some implications for the counselling and welfare of students, with special reference to selected issues in higher education, are outlined. Comparative information from related analyses, involving 2002 rankings of American universities recently published in U.S. News, and 2002 student satisfaction rankings published in the Toronto Globe and Mail, using increasingly popular evaluation indicators, is also presented.

KEYWORDS:

• Universities
• students
• evaluation
• rankings
• student satisfaction
• unreliability
• counselling
• university choice
• indices
• marketing
• rank data
• Maclean's
• U.S. News