Maclean’s Magazine University Rankings (1998-2018) - Consistency of Rank and Reputation in Canada

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore

Study examines Maclean’s Magazine university ranking data for Canada’s 49 higher-education institutions across 20 years (1998-2018), analyzing how institutional rank relates to reputation. Five hypotheses test year-to-year correlations, cross-year stability, equivalence of rank and reputation variability, and predictive relationships between previous reputation and current rank, and previous rank and current reputation. Findings identify mostly non-uniform correspondence, with notable exceptions and marginally more stable reputation scores for better-ranked schools.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Maclean’s Magazine University Rankings (1998-2018)

Consistency of Rank and Reputation in Canada

The Business of Ranking

Limitations of Ranking Data

Maclean’s Magazine University Rankings (1998-2018): Consistency of Rank and Reputation in Canada Kenneth Cramer, Denise DeBlock University of Windsor Following 20 years ofpublishing rank and reputation scores for Canada’s 49 institutions of higher education, the present analysis testedfive hypotheses: (1) rank and reputation should be positively correlated across schools for each year; (2) rank and reputation should be positively correlated across the 20 years for each school; (3) a school’s rank variance should be equivalent to a school’s reputation variance; (4) previous reputation would predict current rank; and (5) previous rank would predict current reputation. Results showed that whereas rank corresponded roughly to reputation for a given school, there are noteworthy exceptions. One in seven schools offered a reliable correlation between rank and reputation, andfour school correlations were negative. Rank and reputation variability correlated, though (marginally) better-ranked schools had stable reputation scores over the years. Implications forfuture ranking exercises are discussed, as are directions forfuture research. Voilà maintenant 20 ans que l’on publie le classement et la réputation des 49 établissements d’enseignementsupérieur canadiens. Dans cet article, nous examinons cinq hypothèses : 1) le classement et la réputation devraientfaire l’objet d’une corrélation positive parmi les établissements d’année en année; 2) le classement et laréputation devraient faire l’objet d’une corrélation positive sur toute la période de 20 ans pour chaque établissement; 3) les variations dans le classement d’un établissement devraient se refléter dans les variations dela réputation; 4) l’indice de réputation antérieur permettrait de prévoir le classement actuel d’un établissement; et 5) le classement antérieur permettrait de prévoir l’indice de réputation actuel d’un établissement. Selon les résultats de notre analyse, bien que le classement et la réputation puissent être équivalents dans le cas d’un établissement en particulier, il existe des exceptions notoires. Dans le cas d’un établissement sur sept, ily a une corrélation sûre entre le classement et la réputation. Dans le cas de quatre établissements, la corrélation s’est montrée négative. Ily a une corrélation entre les variations du classement et de la réputation, quoique les établissements unpeu mieux classés ont des indices de réputation plus stables aufil du temps. Nous présentonsenfin les conséquences de ces résultats pour la conception defuturs palmarès et nous proposons des avenues pour la recherche. Every November in Canada brings colourful leaves, reverted clocks, and the late-autumn chill with the promise of snow; it further marks the release of the special and widely popular “university ranking”edition of Maclean’s Magazine. Since 1990, Maclean’s has published the rankings of Canada’s 49 institutions of higher learning in an effort to help readers make informed decisions about comparative strengths and weaknesses of Canada’s public universities. Maclean’s claims that they provide all the information needed to choose the right university. With the 20 pages of what is now Maclean’s best-selling issue, readers can discover which school boasts the most leaders of tomorrow, the most innovate graduates, or the most popular night scene. The present study offers an analysis of 20 years of institutional rank and reputation data so as to provide readers with a more critical and informed perspective of the rankings published by Maclean’s Magazine. The Business of Ranking Maclean’s rankings may be compared to similar methods employed by the publication Consumer Reports, in which products like cars and toasters areassigned comparative rank standings derived from appointed scores from various relevant indices. Many readers regard these scoring exercises as especially informative, basing their decision to purchase the product on these bias-free evaluations (Cons

FAQs

What relationship does the study test between university rank and reputation?

The study tests whether rank and reputation are positively correlated both across schools within each year and across the full 20-year period for each school.

How do the results generally characterize rank versus reputation correspondence?

Results show that while rank corresponds roughly to reputation for a given school, notable exceptions exist, including some negative correlations.

What does the study suggest about future ranking exercises and further research?

The study discusses implications for future ranking exercises and proposes directions for future research based on observed patterns in variability and predictive relationships.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore