November 12, 2000 For Immediate Release

The University of Northern British Columbia has ranked 10th in its category in the annual Maclean's magazine ranking of Canadian universities. The result is a small drop from eigth last year in the Primarily Undergraduate category. This category includes 22 small to medium-sized universities, which offer mainly undergraduate degrees.

This year, UNBC ranks first in Canada for new Library acquisitions and the percentage of faculty with PhDs (96%). In 1999-2000, the University spent nearly $1.6 million on new library materials, and the amount dedicated to acquiring electronic materials nearly doubled over the previous year. Other highlights:

· Maclean's has again rated UNBC's faculty as among the best in the country. In addition to the top ranking for faculty with doctoral degrees, UNBC faculty also placed highly in national awards (5th), for research in the humanities and social sciences (2nd), and for research in the sciences (10th).

· Among services for students, the University improved in its ranking for class sizes at the first and second-year level (17th) and in the number of students receiving national awards (10th). While the University's national ranking for scholarships and bursaries did not change compared to the last survey, the value has increased from $550,000 to $600,000. In 1999-2000, more than 300 scholarships were awarded.

"This ranking confirms our position among Canada's top small universities," says UNBC President Charles Jago, "and it confirms the importance of building a foundation with excellent faculty and a rapidly growing library. Individual categories also show the importance of supporting students through such initiatives as enhancing scholarship and bursary funding."

The annual Maclean's magazine ranking of Canadian universities is always one of the magazine's top annual sellers. It's expected that more than 500,000 people will read this year's issue.