The Stratification of Universities Revisited - Status, Followers, and the Shape of National Hierarchies

Oct 15, 2026

Canadian universities are often described as less stratified than American counterparts, an idea reinforced by mid-2000s discussions and later comparative empirical studies. This paper re-examines Canada’s “flatness” hypothesis using a sociological conception of status hierarchies, operationalized through social media follower counts. With updated data and skepticism toward financial-metric approaches, the analysis supports a flatter hierarchy pattern. The study also develops implications and a new method for understanding organizational stratification in higher education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Canadian “flatness” and prior research

Sociological definition of social status

Alternative proxy using Twitter followers

Method overview (web-scraping and dataset creation)

The Stratification of Universities Revisited: Status, Followers, and the Shape of National Hierarchies Roger Pizarro Milian University of Toronto David Zarifa Nipissing University Abstract It is generally accepted that Canadian universities are less stratified than their southern neighbours, a hypothesis popularized in the mid-2000s and verified by subsequent comparative empirical research. Through this piece, we revisit the Canadian “flatness”hypothesis, embracing a more sociological definition of status hierarchies and using social media followers as a focal proxy for status. Despite our theoretically based skepticism, adoption of an alternative status proxy, and use of more recent data, our analyses validate the flatness hypothesis. We theorize the implications of these findings, and our novel approach, for the study of organizational stratification in higher education. Keywords: organizational stratification, higher education, universities, Twitter Résumé Il est généralement reconnu que les universités canadiennes sont moins stratifiées que leurs voisines du Sud, une hypothèse popularisée au milieu des années 2000 etvérifiée pardes recherches empiriques comparatives subséquentes. Dans cet article, nous revisitons l’hypothèse du « nivellement » canadien, en adoptant une définition plus sociologique des hiérarchies de statut et en nous basant sur les utilisateurs des médias sociaux comme indicateur focal du statut. Malgré notre scepticisme théorique, l’adoption d’un autre indicateur de statut et l’utilisation de données plus récentes, nos analyses confirment l’hypothèse du nivellement. Nous théorisons les implications de ces résultats et de notre nouvelle approche pour l’étude de la stratification organisationnelle dans l’enseignement supérieur. Mots-clés : stratification organisationnelle, enseignement supérieur, universités, Twitter Introduction1 For decades scholars have marvelled at Canadian higher education’s (HE) flatter “prestige-ladder”(Davies & Hammack, 2005, p. 98) or“inter-organizational status hierarchy”(Stevens et al., 2008, p. 140), especially when contrasted 1 The opinions expressed through this article are those of the authors and do not reflect those of their employers. This research was conducted by the first author while hewas a Visiting Researcher in the University of Toronto’s Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education. with its more steeply stratified southern neighbour. Studies performed by Canadian sociologists (e.g., Davies & Zarifa, 2012; Zarifa, 2008; Zarifa et al., 2021) using financial metrics have verified this hypothesis, thus further accelerating its diffusion across the social science literature (e.g., Aurini et al., 2020; Baker, 2014; Kowalchuk & McLaughlin, 2009; Lachapelle & Burnett, 2018; McLaughlin, 2005; McLaughlin & Turcotte, 2007; Mullen et al., 2021; Nevin, 2019; Ramey & Ramey, 2009; Simard-Duplain & St-Denis, 2020; Siler & McLaughlin, 2008; Sweet et al., 2017; Zarifa & Davies, 2018) . Today, even mainstream American (e.g., Binder & Abel, 2019; Stevens et al., 2008) and international Canadian Journal of Higher Education | Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur 53:2 (2023) scholars (e.g., Marginson, 2016) are cognizant of Canada’s relatively flatter hierarchical structure. We posit that this emerging consensus may be premature. As classical scholars of prestige acknowledged nearly more than a century ago: “In order to gain and to hold the esteem of men, it is not sufficient merely to possess wealth or power”(Veblen, 2007, p. 29) .2 Indeed, an alternative sociological definition of social status centres “stakeholders’perceptions”(Bloch & Mitterle, 2017, p. 931) or the “esteem, respect, or approval that is granted by an individual ora collectivity”(Goode, 1978, p. 7). This alternate approach has led anthropologists and sociologists alike to operationalize and measure status in more relational terms, with a high-status entity being one that is

FAQs

What is the main claim the paper challenges about Canadian universities?

The paper challenges the prevailing view that Canadian higher education is flatter in prestige status than more steeply stratified southern systems.

How does the study measure university status instead of using financial metrics?

It uses social media followers as a proxy for status, specifically the number of followers of each university’s official Twitter account.

Why does the paper consider social media followers a suitable status indicator?

It argues that relational perceptions of esteem and attention—captured through follower-based prominence—can better reflect organizational status than measures based solely on finances.

Oct 15, 2026

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