In what disciplines or subject areas (even sub-disciplines), if any,
would the following universities in B.C. and Alberta be considered
'world-class', i.e. where their  academic resources and the quality of
their theoretical and applied research and publications place them at
a level comparable to some of the best universities in the world in
these subjects.  I don't necessarily require an exact numerical
ranking or exact standing vs. a vs. other universities; qualitative
assessments or anecdotal  information quoted in secondary sources
would suffice (as long as you are able to provide the basis for your
analysis).

The universities in B.C. and Alberta I need information for are:

British Columbia
?	University of British Columbia 
?	University of Northern British Columbia 
?	University of Victoria 
?	Simon Fraser University 
?	Royal Roads University 
?	Thompson Rivers University 
Alberta
?	University of Alberta
?	University of Calgary
?	University of Lethbridge

---

Request for Question Clarification by guillermo-ga on 02 Oct 2005 18:31 PDT

Hello Cambridge1-ga,

According to what we've been talking in question ID: 575143
(http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=575143 ) I'll work on
your search as it is formulated in this one (question ID: 575141),
keeping you informed of my progress.

Regards,

Guillermo-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by guillermo-ga on 16 Oct 2005 14:37 PDT

Hello Cambridge1-ga,

I'm leaving town for a few days job that I had already schedulled when
I started to work in you question --and that will have me offline most
of the time. I expected to have enough information for an answer
before my travel, but I haven't yet. Then I'll leave the question open
to any other researcher's try.

Sincerely,

Guillermo

---

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 17 Oct 2005 17:10 PDT

Hello cambridge1-ga,

I had worked on your question a bit and my preliminary conclusion is
that some of these universities may not qualify as "world class" in
any field. Are you willing to accept an evaluation of what is best and
most outstanding about each of these universities even if they don't
fit with the top ranks in the world?

I see that you have raised the price of this question and I'm sure we
have several researchers who could complete this project. It would
help if you told us what is the goal of your research project. That
might help us develop criteria for evaluation even of none of these
universities make the usual "best" lists.

If you're eager to have the job finished, you might get the answer
more quickly if you post a separate question for each university. That
way several researchers can be working on your questions at the same
time. It would also make it possible to post a partial answer. The way
the question is posted now, researchers could not post an answer even
if they had completed 8 out of 9 of the universities on your list.

I look forward to your clarification.

~ czh ~

---

Clarification of Question by cambridge1-ga on 17 Oct 2005 21:31 PDT

Hello czh,

Thank you for your interest in my question.

In response to your questions, I would accept an evaluation on what is best and
most outstanding about each of these universities, even if they don't
fit with the top ranks in the world.  In addition to this, it would be
helpful  if you could note that a particular university does not have
any departments that would rank as world-class.

Thank you for your suggestion about splitting up my question.  If a
researcher does not respond to this question in the next few days, I
will follow up as you suggest.

Hello again cambridge1-ga,

Thank you for accepting my proposed research plan on evaluating the
Canadian universities you?ve listed. I was surprised by a fundamental
finding about ranking systems among Canadian colleges and
universities. Ranking is explicitly discouraged and not emphasized.
The most commonly referenced ranking used is the yearly publication by
Maclean?s magazine. I was able to find some listings from these yearly
reports but I think your best bet will be to buy this special issue.
The 2005 report has just come out and it is available for $16.95.

http://www.macleans.ca/universities/
Maclean's Guide to Canadian Universities 2005

I found another source of ranking information from RE$EARCH Infosource
Inc. (Canada's Source of R&D Intelligence) which publishes a yearly
ranking of the Canada?s Top 50 Research Universities. They charge a
very hefty fee for the current (2005) report but past years are
available for free download. I?ve included links to these with
excerpts showing the rankings of the schools on your list.

In addition to these Canadian rankings, I also found one international
ranking that will give you a sense of these universities? placement in
comparison to the Top 500 Universities in the World. This is a yearly
report prepared by the Institute of Higher Education at the Shanghai
Jiao Tong University. This ranking is based on ?several indicators of
academic or research performance, including alumni and staff winning
Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, highly cited researchers, articles
published in Nature and Science, articles indexed in major citation
indices, and the per capita academic performance of an institution.?
Four of the universities on your list made this elite 500:

Rank: 36	University of British Columbia
Rank: 152	University of Alberta
Rank: 153	University of Calgary
Rank: 203	University of Victoria

Note: The ranks over 100 are frequently shared by several/many
universities at the same ranking. Be sure to check the whole table to
get comparative information.

I found that the University websites provide a lot of information to
help you evaluate their capabilities. Under the Canadian system,
universities prepare strategic plans that spell out the performance
indicators they use to conduct self-assessment of their performance
toward goals and for benchmarking. The various reports and statistics
are usually collected under an office of Institutional Planning and
Research. I?ve provided links to these offices for each of the
universities on your list.

Cambridge1-ga, I trust that the information I?ve provided will give
you a good sense of the rankings of these universities (where
available) and also provide you with ample information about the goals
and activities of each academic institution so that you can compare
them and draw your own conclusions about how to rank them in
comparison to world class standards. Please don?t hesitate to ask for
clarification if any of this is confusing.

Wishing you well for your project.

~ czh ~



==============================
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
==============================

http://www.pair.ubc.ca/studies/profiles.htm
http://www.pair.ubc.ca/studies/9900/profile_notes/descriptions.htm
Department Profiles 1995/1996 ? 1999/2000

The Department Profiles contain workload and expenditure statistics
for academic departments and faculties at the University of British
Columbia for five year periods.  These statistics include: number of
course sections offered, average section size, enrolment credits
taught, full time equivalent students (FTE) taught, weighted FTE
students taught, general purpose operating expenditures in current and
constant dollars and expenditures per weighted FTE.  The latest data
are for the five years 1995/1996 - 1999/2000.

http://www.pair.ubc.ca/studies/indicators.htm
Performance Indicators

http://www.pair.ubc.ca/studies/surveys.htm
Surveys and Reports

***** These pages provide an incredible wealth of information showing
how the university sees itself as reflected in a large collection of
benchmarking surveys and reports.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.in-cites.com/research/2005/october_10_2005-2.html
Canadian Universities: Highest Impact in Clinical Medicine, 2000-04

Of Canadian universities that published at least 300 papers in Thomson
Scientific-indexed journals of clinical medicine between 2000 and
2004, the following demonstrated the highest impact in the field, as
ranked here by average citations per paper.

Rank: 5 -- University of British Columbia

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.in-cites.com/research/2005/august_8_2005-1.html
Canadian Universities: Most Prolific in Molecular Biology & Genetics, 2000-04

Among Canadian universities, those below contributed the greatest
number of papers to the field of molecular biology & genetics over the
last five years. Based on each university's percentage of the 110,104
papers entered into the Thomson Scientific database from
Thomson-indexed journals of molecular biology & genetics between 2000
and 2004.

Rank 3 -- Univ. of British Columbia
Rank 4 -- University of Alberta

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.abrightfuture.ca/sef/view-news/id/87.html?SESSID=87c4ce968e09905b74b785a859570104
In Canada, University of Waterloo Rises to the Top of Magazine's Rankings
Posted: 2004-11-08

In the "medical doctoral" category, for universities with medical
schools and a broad array of Ph.D. programs, there was very little
change. The University of Toronto, as it has since 1994, took first
place in the category. McGill University in Montreal maintained its
hold on second, while the University of Western Ontario in London
locked in the No. 3 spot. Last year Western and another Ontario
institution, Queen's University, tied for third. But this year Queen's
slipped to fifth, with the University of British Columbia coming in
fourth.



=======================================
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA
=======================================

http://www.unbc.ca/reports/
Reports

------------------------

http://www.unbc.ca/research/index.html
Research at UNBC

The University of Northern British Columbia has made a strong
commitment to research, recognizing research activity as an important
engine of growth. UNBC has emerged as a strong research centre and has
developed a national reputation as a research-intensive small
university, particularly in areas relevant to the North.
 
Use the links below to search research grants, publications, and the
activity of individual researchers.


======================
UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA
======================

http://web.uvic.ca/univsec/perfreport/2004/index.html
Performance Measures Report - October 2004

This Performance Measures Report is the annual tabulation of measures
to demonstrate the University of Victoria's commitment to public
accountability and to report on UVic's progress in meeting the
objectives and goals set out in the 2002 Strategic Plan, A Vision for
the Future.

***** This site provides links to a wide collection of links
reflecting the university?s self-assessment on defined performance
measures.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.abrightfuture.ca/sef/view-news/id/87.html?SESSID=87c4ce968e09905b74b785a859570104
In Canada, University of Waterloo Rises to the Top of Magazine's Rankings
Posted: 2004-11-08

In the rankings of Canadian colleges by Maclean's magazine, which will
appear on newsstands today, the University of Waterloo, in Ontario,
unseated last year's leader, the University of Guelph, also in
Ontario, in the category of "comprehensive universities."

The magazine defines comprehensive institutions as having a
significant amount of research activity and a wide range of programs
at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including professional
degrees. This year Guelph has the second spot, while the University of
Victoria, in British Columbia, remains in third.

-------------------------------------------------


http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:wS1oMUYtLx4J:chronicle.com/weekly/v50/i13/13a03605.htm+best+OR+top+OR+ranked+canadian+colleges+OR+universities&hl=en
November 21, 2003
Magazine Ranks Canadian Colleges

The University of Guelph, in Ontario, again placed first among
comprehensive universities, which the magazine defines as those with a
wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, research, and
professional schools. The University of Waterloo, also in Ontario,
ranked second for the second year in a row. The University of Victoria
replaced Simon Fraser University for third place in this year's
rankings, and Simon Fraser took fourth place. Both of those
institutions are in British Columbia.



=======================
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
=======================

http://www.sfu.ca/pres/
SFU President's Office 

------------------------

http://www.sfu.ca/pres/administration/
Administration - SFU President's Office 

***** This university also presents a tremendous amount of information
about its strategic plans and the progress it?s making in achieving
the defined goals.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.cs.sfu.ca/gradpgm/Recruiting/
Information about our Graduate Program

The Spirit of Community
Intellectual and academic freedom, joined with an open and inclusive
community, are the foundations of this university. We are a university
where risks can be taken and bold initiatives embraced; where our
spirit challenges the impossible.
For a number of years SFU has topped the Maclean's Magazine rankings
of Canada's comprehensive universities.



======================
ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY
======================

http://www.royalroads.ca/
http://www.royalroads.ca/programs/faculties-schools-centres/

Royal Roads University
http://www.royalroads.ca/programs/
Royal Roads University is the only public university in Canada created
to solely address the needs of the global workplace through applied
and professional programs. RRU offers innovative programs that provide
quality education based on the needs, schedules and lifestyles of
learners and the demands of the global marketplace. All programs at
Royal Roads make extensive use of team-based learning to provide
learners with insights into leadership and organizational dynamics and
to create a challenging and supportive learning community that fosters
personal and professional achievement.



==========================
THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY
==========================

http://www.tru.ca/
A Different Kind of University
Nowhere in Canada has the evolution of post-secondary education been
more dramatic than in Kamloops, BC. The last two decades have seen a
transition from community college to an innovative university-college,
and now to a full provincial university with a unique mandate.
Thompson Rivers University really is a different kind of university.

------------------------

http://www.tru.ca/insteval/instreports/index.html
Institutional Reports and Planning

------------------------

http://www.tru.ca/insteval/factbook/index.html
Thompson Rivers University Factbooks

------------------------

http://www.tru.ca/insteval/performancemeasures/index.html
Student Outcome Reporting System Reports



=====================
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
=====================

http://www.ualberta.ca/~publicas/summaries/04/11/08.htm
Daily Media Summaries: August 24, 2004 

18. MAGAZINE RANKS U OF A SIXTH-BEST PLACE TO STUDY
14th annual Maclean's university rankings placed U of A in sixth
place, same position as last year. U of A finished eight places higher
than U of Calgary and scored much higher among graduate students in
quality of teaching and extracurricular activities. ? U of A ranked
low in difficulty retaining students going from first year into second
and has large classes. Carl Amrhein, U of A provost and academic
vice-president, said university concerned about student retention
although Alberta's oilfields tempt some with high-paying jobs while
other students move between Alberta's fluid college and university
programs before settling on home institution. ?  U of A graduates gave
U of A top marks in first student survey with 78 per cent of graduates
said their time at U of A had benefited their lives.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.gateway.ualberta.ca/view.php?aid=1471
Thursday, 11 September, 2003
U of A library ranked second in Canada despite cutbacks 
Ranked 25 out of 114 North American university libraries for budget
and holdings per student

Students may have a lot to complain about, but they certainly can?t
complain about the U of A?s libraries, as two library ranking systems
have recently placed the U of A second among Canadian universities and
25th out of 114 North American schools.

In the annual Maclean?s university ranking edition, the University of
Alberta libraries placed second from the top amongst large Canadian
universities, falling between the University of Toronto and the
University of British Colombia.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.president.ualberta.ca/index.cfm

http://www.president.ualberta.ca/nav02.cfm?nav02=12158&nav01=12150
Home > Performance Excellence > Selected Performance Indicators

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/strategic/index.cfm
Strategic Analysis Office

The Strategic Analysis Office facilitates access to information and
data about the University of Alberta in its global context. It reviews
and analyzes University issues as they arise, on the basis of best
evidence.

------------------------

http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/strategic/Overview.cfm
Home > Accountability Framework at the University of Alberta > Overview



=====================
UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
=====================

http://www.fp.ucalgary.ca/unicomm/KPI/
University of Calgary ? Performance Indicators

At the University of Calgary we are committed to benchmarking our
performance using relevant and meaningful indicators. This is the only
way that we can assess where we stand, how fast we are improving and
when we meet our goals.

Although the U of C is only 35 years old, we compare ourselves against
some of the oldest and best universities in Canada.

This booklet provides a quick summary of some performance indicators
we use to assess issues such as our growth, quality, accountability
and return to the community.

You can see that, in our comparatively short history, we have
accomplished much. We are proud of these achievements. But, we also
have room to improve and we look forward to the work necessary to make
the University of Calgary an even better university.

***** This report presents charts and diagrams of about a dozen
benchmarking scales for this report prepared in 2001.



========================
UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE
========================

http://www.uleth.ca/sitemap/

http://www.uleth.ca/analysis
The Office of Institutional Analysis provides statistical reporting
and analytical research that inform the decision-making, policy
formulation, budgeting, and planning at the University of Lethbridge.
The department?s major functions are the annual publication of the
University of Lethbridge Facts Book, the annual compilation and
submission of statistical reports for Alberta Learning and Maclean?s
Magazine, and the provision of advice on an ad hoc basis to senior
administrators and others in the university community.



===================================================
RATING CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES ?MULTIPLE INSTITUTIONS
===================================================

http://www.cicic.ca/factsheets/factsheet1en.stm
FACT SHEET No. 1
Information for students educated abroad applying for admission to
Canadian universities and colleges

2. How do I find out which are the best universities in Canada? 
There is no formal ranking of universities in Canada. Although a
number of agencies accredit professional programs such as medicine,
nursing, law, engineering, etc., there is no pan-Canadian
institutional accrediting body to evaluate the quality of
universities. In fact, it is widely recognized that university
programs across the country are remarkably uniform in quality. For a
more in-depth study of recognition and accreditation procedures in
Canada, you may refer to our publication Quality Assurance Practices
for Postsecondary Institutions in Canada.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.macleans.ca/universities/
Maclean's Guide to Canadian Universities 2005
Special Annual Issue 
Edited by Ann Dowsett Johnston 

The Maclean's Guide to Canadian Universities 2005 presents
comprehensive profiles of a diverse array of Canadian institutions.
Offering a wealth of insider information on each campus, the guide is
a must-read for students considering their post-secondary options.
This year's guide includes comprehensive profiles of 67 universities,
from:

·  FACTS AND FIGURES 
·  CAMPUS CONFIDENTIAL - What's Hot, What's Not 
·  FINANCIAL PLANNER 
·  THE RESIDENCE REPORT 
·  SCHOLARSHIP DIRECTORY 
·  INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PRIMER 
·  PLUS: The Maclean's University Rankings 
·  PLUS The Graduate Survey 

Order now to get your copy right off the press! 
Price: $16.95 

------------------------

Universities
RANKINGS 2004
How grads grade their schools
More than 12,000 recent graduates delivered a report card on their
university experience for our new survey.

http://www.macleans.ca/universities/article.jsp?content=20041104_173713_5408
November 15, 2004
How grads grade their schools
Over 40 days this fall, 12,334 recent graduates delivered a report
card on their university experience. Their message deserves national
attention.

***** Read this brief article on the history and methodology of the
Maclean?s survey.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.nextsteps.org/faqs/faq1.html
16)   What is the best school for __________?
        Does this school have a good course in __________?

Canada doesn't really rank their schools as other countries might.
There isn't (in our humble opinion...) a Canadian equivalent of "Ivy
League" schools. There is a ranking system in Maclean's magazine each
year. Does this mean that if you pick the best school on the list you
are guaranteed a job? Nope. The 'best' school according to Maclean's
may not be the best school according to employers. When you choose the
'best' school you want to choose it because employers like it.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.macleans.ca/universities/article.jsp?content=20041104_163511_5512
November 15, 2004
2004 Overall Rankings Chart: Medical Doctoral Universities

Ranking	University	Last Year
4	UBC	           5
6	Alberta	           6
14	Calgary	          14

------------------------

2004 Overall Rankings Chart: Comprehensive
Ranking	University	Last Year
3	Victoria	   3
4	Simon Fraser	   4

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.researchinfosource.com/top50.shtml
Canada's Top Research Universities Report 

RE$EARCH Infosource Inc. publishes an in-depth report on Canadian
university research income trends - Canada's Top Research Universities
Report. This valuable report uses information from Statistics Canada
and our Canadian University R&D Database to track changes in sponsored
research income at universities across Canada. The report contains
detailed information on 68 universities and the composition of their
research income.

Canada's Top Research Universities Report 2005 includes information
for two years - Fiscal 2004 and Fiscal 2003. Canada's Top Research
Universities Report 2005 will be available soon.

------------------------

http://www.researchinfosource.com/univorder.shtml
Order Canada's Top Research Universities Report 2005 

http://www.researchinfosource.com/top50.shtml
Top 50 Research Universities List	
Research Universities of the Year (RUY) Lists

***** See tables for 2002 ? 2004 along with analysis and editorial comments.

------------------------

http://www.researchinfosource.com/media/2004-top50-sup.pdf
Canada?s Top 50 Research Universities List 2004

Rank 	Rank	University
2003	2002
3	5	University of British Columbia
6	4	University of Alberta
9	8	University of Calgary
19	20	University of Victoria
21	23	Simon Fraser University
32	42	University of Northern British Columbia
40	35	University of Lethbridge

------------------------

http://www.researchinfosource.com/RUY/2004/ResearchUniversityofYearTableFinal.pdf
Research Universities of the Year ? 2004

Medical Doctor
University of Alberta, Rank 3, Score 90.0

Comprehensive
University of Victoria, Rank 3, Score 61.0

Undergraduate
University of Northern British Columbia, Rank 2, Score 55.7

------------------------

http://www.researchinfosource.com/RUY/2004/RUY1-50Analysis.pdf
RUY All Universities Scorecard

2003	University
Rank 
3	University of Alberta
5	University of British Columbia
13	University of Calgary
18	University of Victoria
20	University of Northern British Columbia
21	Simon Fraser University
34	University of Lethbridge

------------------------

http://www.researchinfosource.com/RUY/2004/RUYMedicalAnalysis1.pdf
RUY Medical/Doctoral Scorecard

2003		2003	University
Medical	Overall
Rank 
3		3	University of Alberta
5		5	University of British Columbia
10		13	University of Calgary

-------------------------------------------------


http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/en/index.htm
2005 Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/en/index.htm

http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/ranking.htm
Academic Ranking of World Universities ? 2005

 -- Top 500 World Universities
 -- Ranking Methodology
 -- Ranking Statistics
 -- Frequently Asked Questions
 -- Ranking Resources
 -- Contact

http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2005/ARWU2005TOP500list.htm
http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2005/ARWU2005FullList2.pdf
Top 500 World Universities

Rank	University
36	University of British Columbia
152	University of Alberta
153	University of Calgary
203	University of Victoria

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.aucc.ca/index_e.html
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

------------------------

http://www.aucc.ca/qa/reg_prov_qas/index_e.html
Provincial/regional QA

------------------------

http://www.aucc.ca/publications/auccpubs/research/research_e.html
AUCC Publications and Resources
Research Files
Research File explores some of the key issues facing higher education
professionals in today's rapidly changing world. Researched and
produced by AUCC's policy specialists, Research File challenges
popular beliefs and preconceived notions by providing hard evidence,
sound data, and in-depth analysis.

------------------------

http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/publications/researchfile/1995-96/vol1n2_e.pdf
A Primer on performance indicators (pdf)
June 1995 -- Volume 1, No. 2

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.cags.ca/indexe.html
Canadian Association for Graduate Studies

------------------------

http://www.cags.ca/pdf/completion_grad_studies_2004.pdf
The Completion of Graduate Studies in Canadian Universities: Report &
Recommendations October 2003/ November 2004


http://www.cags.ca/publications/publications.html
Publications by CAGS and others

------------------------

http://www.cags.ca/publications/statistical_reports.html
Statistical Reports
The Canadian Association for Graduate Studies has published an annual
Statistical Report since 1968. These reports, based upon Statistics
Canada data, provide useful information about enrolment in graduate
studies at Canadian universities: by university, degree, gender,
status (full- or part-time), discipline, and visa status. Other tables
give similar types of information concerning graduate degrees granted
by Canadian universities.



===============
SEARCH STRATEGY
===============

best OR top OR ranked canadian colleges OR universities
canada universities Performance Indicators
performance indicators (for each university)
institutional research and planning (for each university)

Thank you for your help with a very difficult assignment.