McGill University’s libraries are ranked among the best in Canada, according to a recent Globe and Mail student satisfaction survey. In their report, McGill’s libraries received an ‘A-,’ the second highest possible score. The newspaper published various lists, evaluating different aspects of Canadian universities as part of the Canadian University Report Magazine. The rankings included quality of teaching and learning (for which McGill scored a ‘B+’), career preparation (B), and research opportunities (C+). McGill University had a range of results across the board, but ranked first in “reputation with employers.” The list suggests that McGill retains its international reputation beyond its teaching.

“Our annual results are based entirely on the results of our undergraduate survey, which we have been doing for 10 years—this year, more than 33,000 students [participated],” Simon Beck, special reports editor for the Globe and Mail, said. “[The] university guide is not a ranking—we grade schools depending on the level of satisfaction students have with their school, by category.”

It is uncertain what impact these listings will have on the university, but one student felt that although they make some interesting suggestions, they can’t be taken as fact.

“Although it’s interesting to see any collections of data like this, I’d be curious to know exactly who was asked—I certainly wasn’t,” Laetitia Gerin, a master’s student in engineering, said. “It’s nice to see that reputation with employers ranked so highly, as that will certainly affect all of us later on, and actually the quality of teaching and learning grade I would agree with. However, perhaps it would gain more legitimacy if the listing included more data rather than a school grading system as it makes it a bit ambiguous.”

An anonymous U2 management student disagreed with Gerin’s statement and noted that many students aren’t aware of this ranking.

“I think the listings aren’t really serious. It’s funny they’ve used school grades to mark the universities, but I wouldn’t have known about them if they hadn’t been drawn to my attention,” the student said.  “As far as I’m concerned the reputation of McGill precedes itself, so something like this would have little impact on my decision to come here.”

—Hannah George