| U of
R not included in Globe and Mail survey
by Stephane Bonneville
the Carillon
The University of Regina
was not mentioned in a nationwide survey of
universities and colleges featured in the
Globe and Mail on October 23, and some people
are wondering why.
This survey, entitled, “University Report
Card,” rated 29 universities and was
conducted by the Globe and Mail in conjunction
with two commercial research companies, the
Strategic Council and Uthink. It was sponsored
by ScotiaBank.
Strategic Council associate David Paxley explains
that notices of the survey were sent out to
individual subscribers to Studentawards.com,
a Web site run by Uthink which helps students
in Canada and the U.S. find scholarships.
In order for a university to be rated, it
had to submit at least 250 responses. Those
with fewer than this but more than 50 were
not rated in the main part of the survey but
were given a brief mention in the survey.
According to Paxley, the U of R did not submit
enough responses for any mention. “We
couldn’t include the University of Regina
because fewer than 50 is just too small a
sample,” he says.
Studentawards.com could not be reached for
comment at press time.
Students’ Union President Korbin Offet
claims that he had never heard of studentawards.com
prior to this and that neither he nor anyone
else on URSU was contacted about the survey.
“There was no contact from the Globe
and Mail at all regarding the survey, and
I have a sneaking suspicion that it was a
select survey from the beginning,” says
Offet. “I’m very disappointed
about this, because it’s a media outlet
and it should present the views of all universities.”
Executive Director of University Relations
Barbara Pollock is also disappointed that
the U of R was not included in the survey,
but believes that the results of the survey
were not necessarily very accurate.
Pollock says, “We are thinking that
it might not be one to be worried about, because
it is questionable.” She explains that
The Association of Universities and Colleges
in Canada ,of which U of R President Dr. Barnard
is a member sent out a national news release
which calls into question the methods used
to conduct the survey.
Sociology professor Alison Hayford is concerned
that being entirely excluded will hurt the
U of R’s attempts to become better known
outside of the province.
“I think it’s bad just not to
exist at all,” says Hayford. “It’s
a real problem just to be wiped off the map
and obliterated.”
She continues, “What worries me is that
with something like this, we’re simply
not on people’s radars at all. We’re
not in their databases, and we’re not
included in these sorts of surveys.”
|
