In a recent interview with The Vancouver Sun, UBC President Santa Ono expressed a drive to see UBC rise from its current top-40 standing in the global universities list to the top 20. The Ubyssey spoke with Ono to find out how he hopes to do so.
Ono’s first comment was that rankings aren’t the most important thing in his mind.
“The only reason rankings are important is because they do reflect to some degree how an institution is perceived. I’m not going to believe that one institution is better than another because it’s ranked five or ten points higher, because it is an imperfect science.”
Different systems of global university rankings vary widely, looking at factors such as the papers the institution has published, the number of students, the student to staff ratio, the gender ratio, the admissions rate and the number of international students. In ranking systems like QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings and Maclean’s University Rankings, UBC routinely ranks among the top two to three schools in Canada and the top 30 to 40 in the world.
While often rankings have a wide disparity between both their methodology and conclusions, they can still factor into the decisions of prospective students, as they are usually tied in with the reputation of a university.
“I see no reason why UBC can’t go from being one of the top 40 universities in the world to one of the top 20,” Ono told The Vancouver Sun.
According to Ono, there are measures that UBC would look into implementing that are intended to have a positive effect on the university’s global ranking.
“The most fundamental thing that an institution can do is really take a look at the quality of the faculty, and to really focus on doing everything that’s possible to equip those faculties and support those faculties as they carry out their scholarship,” said Ono. “Recruiting and retaining the best faculty is really the best way that we can really validate not only research and scholarship, but also teaching at an institution.”
Ono also stressed the importance of student satisfaction, noting that certain rankings — including that of Maclean’s — take more of an in-depth look into it. “The primary reason is to ensure that your faculty and students have the most nurturing and the best facilities to perform research and to learn. That’s a real driver and if you do those things, it sort of naturally follows that you will rise in the rankings,” said Ono.
A recent Times ranking placed UBC as the most international university in Canada, and 12th worldwide.
“A university with a diverse student body, a diverse faculty, and representation from around the world is a positive thing and experience that the student has at the institution,” said Ono on the growing internationalization of UBC.
The geopolitical and economic rise of Vancouver in recent years is also a pivotal factor because it encourages increased partnerships with universities and pushes for greater government spending and input into these institutions.
As for student government opinion, the AMS is taking a more cautious outlook. AMS President Ava Nasiri pointed out that UBC needs to be very particular if it were to go about actively trying to climb international rankings.
“In this rise to the top, we [can’t leave out] students who may not be able to afford attending this institution. I think that the first thing that we as students have to do ... is [make sure] that, in the short-term, there are no increases in tuition, no further increases for international students and no additional increases for domestic students.”
The two per cent cap on annual tuition increase is something that Nasiri said the AMS would not condone losing for measures to boost the university’s reputation or rank. The shakeup at the presidential level that UBC has seen in the last five years also worried Nasiri.
“Our university has been set back at least six years’ worth of strategic planning, thinking and acting because of the high level of turnover at the leadership level in the president’s office. Now, I understand that President Ono has come in and made promises, but it’s also important for us to be aware of how much we’ve lost. We shouldn’t feel the need to make up for that instantly.”
With stiff competition, Ono will need to take in a myriad of factors on UBC’s path to the top 20 list.
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