Globe Report Card gives UWindsor C+
By Natasha Marar
News Editor
October 24, 2007
 Despite receiving some favourable grades, the University of Windsor ranked poorly overall in the Globe and Mail’s annual University Report Card published last week.
Clayton Smith, vice-provost, students and registrar, believes the survey is not representative of a student’s actual university experience at Windsor.
“To draw conclusions from a survey like this is particular difficult because it’s not a scientific survey…it’s not based on random samples,” said Smith, who added, “Although, it is a good snap shot.”
Furthermore, Smith claims that the report does not indicate how Windsor students made up the 43,000 undergraduates that were surveyed.
“Is it a true test of what students think and feel about their university experience? I guess I would question that,” he said.
Amanda Gellman, vice president of University Advancement, also disagrees with the report. “Most of the students that we interact with actually have a positive outlook on the University, so I wouldn’t think that it accurately reflects [the student experience].”
Smith admitted that the report is useful to an extent. “I think this points to how our students feel…and it certainly points [to] a direction that we need to focus on,” said Smith in regards to the question of the University’s commitment to environmental sustainability, which was rated a C-.
University administration, however, does not simply rely on the results of such publicized surveys offered by the Globe and Mail or Maclean’s magazine.
One research method employed annually by the University is the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The 2006 results showed that overall students at Windsor feel more or less the same way regarding their schools as students at other Ontario universities.
Smith said that the differences in results between the Globe and Mail’s report and the NSSE are due to the nature that information is collected.
“You can argue that they are not of the same caliber. The NSSE survey has been tested, and in use for well over a decade,” said Smith. He explained that the NSSE survey includes only first and fourth-year students and surveys them in the spring, while the Globe and Mail surveys all students but only in the fall semester.
“[The Globe and Mail University Report Card] is more about reputation than about substance. It is based on what [student’s have] heard rather than what they experienced,” claimed Smith regarding the fact that the first-year students that are surveyed have not been at the University long enough to pass proper judgment.
The University’s reputation among other schools and employers received a C- grade. “C- isn’t at all what we’ve had in mind,” said Smith, who explained that the University hopes to improve this ranking through its new national branding campaign.
Gellman agreed. “Our profile and reputation is low but in part because we haven’t really marketed our self. I think over time [the branding campaign] will have an effect.”
Despite receiving some poor grades, there were several categories in the report where the University scored favourably including Wi-fi Internet access, faculty member’s knowledge, and student’s sense of personal safety on campus.
Both Smith and Gellman addressed some of the positive aspects of the University that they feel were not captured in the report.
Gellman believes the personal attention and interaction students receive from faculty members and administration is equal to that of any small university.
Smith emphasized the achievement of the new student portal, and improved academic advising. Though he acknowledged that not much effort has been paid to career services, school spirit is lacking, and that improvements to the availability of in-course and international scholarships are needed.
Gellman also believes that more can be done in regards to the availability of scholarships and bursaries, which was given a C- rating.
“In 2002, our endowment was at $23 million, and the fund raising from 2003 until now has added quite a bit to the endowment,” said Gellman.
While the endowment today has grown to $56 million, the donations must sit in a bank for 12 to 18 months until the interest builds up. As a result, students have yet to enjoy more scholarships and bursaries from the increased endowment.
More than $21 million of the $56 million endowment was provided by donations and government matching, while interest made up the difference.
“Other universities are increasing their endowments right now,” said Gellman in reference to the $1 billion endowment at the University of Toronto.
”Because the government only matches need-based scholarships, we are doing fund raising for academic scholarships,” said Gellman.
Having a larger endowment often means that a university can afford to offer more academic, rather than needs-based, scholarships.
“I think that one of the biggest barriers is that…we need more scholarships, especially academic scholarships, and I think we need to look at new ways of promoting the scholarships to prospective and current students,” said Gellman.
“I think that because traditionally our endowment has been in the $20 million range…people don’t know it has grown so fast,” added Gellman. “It takes a little time for word to travel.”
“Our goal is to raise a minimum of $3 million this year for the endowment, plus interest,” boosted Gellman. “We are hoping the endowment will be over $60 million next year.”
“We are getting better in few areas, and there are few we need to work on,” added Smith. “The more students experience Windsor the more they like it.”
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