It's Time To Grade McMaster
CHAD FULLERTON, MACINSIDERS
It's time to grade McMaster! What do I mean by that? The GlobeAndMail conducts an annual "
Report Card" on the top universities around Canada. The University Report Card from last year graded 53 universities based on the survey opinions of more than 43,000 undergraduates. This year the survey has begun and 5000 McMaster students have been randomly selected and sent e-mails asking them to participate.
If you've received such e-mail, I suggest you help out and voice your opinion on our university! Not only are you given a chance to rank the various aspects of our great school, but you're able to give areas you think need improvement a lower score and you can be sure the university will be paying attention to what it needs most improvement on, but you also have a chance to win a $1000 cash reward or one of two $500 cash rewards! And being students, who doesn't need some extra cash these days
The data collected will be published in The Globe and Mail and the results will be made available to McMaster to help identify ways to improve your overall educational experience. Further, the results of the survey will be made available online.
The deadline to submit your responses is
12:00 midnight, April 30th, 2008!
Results from last year's report card on McMaster University can be found below. Once the 2008 results are posted up we'll be sure to let you know. We're hoping to see an increase in the ratings towards extra-curricular activites and off-campus fun... they are at the B and B+ level, and we know we can do better!
Big thanks goes out to Dr. Phil Wood, Dean of Students, who let us know about this survey and is helping to coordinate the McMaster participants this year.
Didn't get one of the e-mails asking you to be one of the random participants? Not to worry, feel free to post in the MacInsiders forum or
reply to this article with things you think McMaster should be praised on or areas that need some improvement. You can check out the criteria below, or come up with your own.
Compare last year's results with other schools on the
GlobeAndMail website.
The students have spoken! See the 2007 results below:
| Criteria | Grade |
|---|
| Research conducted by The Strategic Counsel |
|
| Faculty members? knowledge of subjects | A |
| Sense of personal safety/security | A |
| Reputation for conducting leading-edge research | A |
| Online library resources | A- |
| Availability of journals /articles/periodicals | A- |
| Availabilty of public transportation | A- |
| Availability of off-campus housing | A- |
| Overall quality of education received | A- |
| Overall academic reputation of your university | A- |
| Reputation for undergraduate studies | A- |
| Recreational & athletic programs and services | A- |
| Access to course/teaching materials online | B+ |
| Overall university atmosphere | B+ |
| Attractiveness of your campus | B+ |
| Tolerance for diverse opinions and ideas | B+ |
| On-campus network for Internet/email | B+ |
| The reputation of your university among employers | B+ |
| Diversity of extra-curricular activities (e.g., clubs) | B+ |
| Availability of online course registration | B+ |
| Satisfaction with university experience overall | B+ |
| Reputation for graduate studies | B+ |
| Quality of teaching | B+ |
| Availability of up-to-date computer equipment on campus | B+ |
| On-campus wireless network (e.g., Wi-Fi) | B+ |
| Campus bookstore | B+ |
| Campus medical services | B+ |
| Availability of faculty to students outside of classroom hours | B+ |
| Library hours of operation | B+ |
| Service provided by library staff | B+ |
| Opportunities for off-campus fun (e.g., bars, social activities) | B+ |
| Ability of your university to attract top-notch faculty and guest lecturers | B+ |
| Overall quality and availability of technology on campus | B+ |
| Labs and research equipment | B |
| Overall library quality | B |
| Reputation for high quality teaching | B |
| Sense of community on campus | B |
| Amount of green space of campus | B |
| Total number of library holdings | B |
| Overall quality of on-campus buildings and facilities | B |
| Ease of course registration process | B |
| Computer accessibility on campus | B |
| School spirit | B |
| On-campus pubs/bars | B |
| Affordability of off-campus housing | B |
| Degree to which you feel your academic experience will prepare you for employment | B |
| Usefulness of feedback from faculty | B |
| Number of courses to choose from | B- |
| Helpfulness of administrative staff | B- |
| Student residences | B- |
| Availability of up-to-date technology in classrooms | B- |
| Overall course variety and availability | B- |
| On-campus recruitment fairs and other opportunities to meet employers | B- |
| Academic support and counselling | B- |
| Space for you to register in courses necessary to complete your degree | B- |
| Career counselling services | B- |
| Classrooms/lecture halls | B- |
| Quality of academic advising | B- |
| Overall quality of career preparation | B- |
| Class sizes | C+ |
| Opportunities in classes or labs to acquire work-related knowledge or skills | C+ |
| Services for international students | C+ |
| Availability of merit-based scholarships | C+ |
| Availability of needs-based scholarships/bursaries | C+ |
| Overall quality of food services | C+ |
| Quality of the food available on campus | C+ |
| Variety of meals available on campus | C+ |
| Availability of quiet study space | C+ |
| Convenience of class scheduling | C+ |
| Quality of off-campus housing | C |
| Study space | C |
| Career placement services | C |
| Co-op/internship opportunities | C |
| On-campus employment opportunities | C |
| Number of healthy meal options available on campus | C- |
| Assistance with locating part-time jobs to fund education | C- |
| Overall commitment to environmental sustainability | C- |
| Availability of organic foods on-campus | D |
| Value of food available on campus | D |
