Guelph on top (according to Globe and Mail)

Each year the Globe and Mail publishes a survey and assessment of Canadian universities from the student perspective. It’s called the University Report Card and the 2007 edition was issued today.

I have to admit, I was never really into the whole ranking thing. Academic wise Guelph scored pretty high in almost everything including teaching quality, subject knowledge, conducting leading-edge research, reputation for undergraduate studies and availability outside of the classroom. But what excited me was the following:

Overall satisfaction with the University Experience: A
Overall Library Quality: A-
Overall quality of campus technology: A-
Availability of Journals: A
On-campus network for Internet/email: A

As an Student I.T. Consultant and Learning Common Representative, I thought it was pretty darn exciting (and a tad surprising, I must admit) that our Technology and Library services scored so high! In the print edition the Globe listed the “hot five universities that are right on top of the technology wave.” Guelph was one of those five, with special mention of the wireless network and MyPortico.

A friend of mine told me that the reason we scored so high in the tech service was because Guelph’s student didn’t know any better, and that it’s the school with tech-savvy students that will be expecting services that goes beyond the typical-users. I thought it could be a valid point, but at the same time, I think our New Science Complex is the most tech-savvy building I have seen in years, and besides, all these approving votes must count for something?

If all else fails, we’ll still be able to count on our Hospitality.