Willow AustinThe University of Alberta slipped — and recovered — in recent international university rankings.
QS World University Rankings released their 2015/2016 World University Rankings earlier this month, which placed the U of A 96th overall and fourth in Canada. This position is both an improvement from last year’s ranking, where the U of A placed fifth in Canada, and a regression, as the institution dropped 12 spots globally.
David Turpin, who in July became the President and Vice-Chancellor of the U of A, viewed the university’s standing positively.
“I’m proud of the accomplishments of the University of Alberta,” Turpin said. “It is rewarding to see our excellence reflected in the results of the ranking.”
QS World University Rankings are based on six unequally-weighted performance indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, student-to-faculty ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio and international student ratio. The U of A’s overall score is 70.10 per cent, with its best grade being international faculty ratio (90.3 per cent) and its worst being faculty-to-student ratio (56.7 per cent).
But Turpin remained upbeat.
“The rankings … (confirm) what students, faculty and alumni know to be true,” he said. “This is something every Edmontonian and Albertan can be proud of.”
The U of A was rated 108th worldwide in 2012, 96th in 2013 and 84th in 2014. Turpin attributed the school’s drop in the rankings to QS’s recent changes to their grading methodology, which resulted in universities around the world — and specifically in Canada — dropping below their 2014 placement.
“The fact remains the University of Alberta maintains a strong standing globally as a leading university, and we’ve seen steady increases in most of the QS World University Rankings indicators since 2011,” he said.
The U of A ranks highly in specific disciplines – 31st in the world in pharmaceutical science and 89th in the world in medicine. James Kehrer, the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, accredited this success to the faculty’s “high-achieving” students and “substantial” graduate program.
“Our faculty (conducts) world-class research in pharmaceutical sciences and health services … and our graduates influence the continuously changing healthcare field through their leadership in the areas of policy, practice and business,” he said.
Kehrer said it is the Faculty of Pharmacy’s goal to continue to prepare students for careers in research, teaching and practice by working closely with practitioners to influence healthcare professionals and to improve outcomes for patients.
“Alberta’s pharmacists have the broadest scope of practice in North America and, as such, we prepare our graduates for the profession by ensuring they have experience in a wide range of … settings to foster their patient care skills (and) develop critical thinking.”
Turpin also stressed the need to maintain a “standard of excellence” at the U of A in order to improve the university’s standing in coming years.
“The U of A serves an essential role in continuing to drive the success of Alberta and Canada on the world stage,” he said.
“My first priority (in office) has been to spend time … working with the university and our other key partners to establish strategic priorities that will serve the university and the province.”
Turpin said everyone in the university community will benefit from QS’s ranking, including prospective students.
“Being recognized as a top university in Canada and among the best in the world attracts talented students and faculty,” he said. “The student experience is enriched … when students have the opportunity to interact with world-caliber talent.”
“The best attracts the best — the best and the brightest students and faculty.”
