The Emperor's New Clothes: "Maclean's," NSSE, and the Inappropriate Ranking of Canadian Universities

Autor/in	Grayson, J. Paul
Titel	The Emperor's New Clothes: "Maclean's," NSSE, and the Inappropriate Ranking of Canadian Universities
Quelle	In: Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 50 (2020) 3, S.14-35 (22 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0316-1218
Schlagwörter	Reputation; Periodicals; Institutional Evaluation; Educational Quality; Scores; Foreign Countries; National Surveys; Learner Engagement; Student Attitudes; Universities; College Freshmen; College Students; Comparative Analysis; Institutional Characteristics; Student Surveys; Canada + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Periodical; Journal; Zeitschrift; Fachzeitschrift; Periodikum; Quality of education; Bildungsqualität; Ausland; Schülerverhalten; University; Universität; Studienanfänger; Collegestudent; Schülerbefragung; Kanada
Abstract	Most Canadian universities participate in the US-based National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) that measures various aspects of "student engagement." The higher the level of engagement, the greater the probability of positive outcomes and the better the quality of the school. "Maclean's" magazine publishes some of the results of these surveys. Institutions are ranked in terms of their scores on 10 engagement categories and four outcomes. The outcomes considered are how students in the first and senior years evaluate their overall experiences (satisfaction) and whether or not students would return to their campuses. Universities frequently use their scores on measures reported by "Maclean's" in a self-congratulatory way. In this article, I deal with levels of satisfaction provided by "Maclean's." Based on multiple regression, I show that of the 10 engagement variables regarded as important by NSSE, at the institutional level, only one explains most of the variance in first-year student satisfaction. The others are of limited consequence. I also demonstrate, via a cluster analysis, that, rather than there being a hierarchy of Canadian institutions as suggested by the way in which "Maclean's" presents NSSE findings, Canadian universities can most adequately be divided into a limited number of different satisfaction clusters. Findings such as these might serve as a caution to parents and students who consider "Maclean's" satisfaction rankings when assessing the merits of different universities. Overall, in terms of first-year satisfaction, the findings suggest more similarities than differences between and among Canadian universities. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education. P.O. Box 34091, RPO Fort Richmond, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5T5, Canada. Tel: 204-474-6404; Fax: 204-474-7561; e-mail: csshe@cc.umanitoba.ca; Web site: http://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/index
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01