DURHAM -- In its first year ranked by Maclean's, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology finished right in the middle.
The Oshawa post-secondary school, which is ranked in the primarily undergraduate group, made a "strong debut" according to the magazine. Along with coming in for overall performance at 12 out of 22 institutions, UOIT also grabbed some top finishes in individual categories.
"UOIT came out quite well, very well in fact overall," said Dr. Ronald Bordessa, the UOIT's president.
Trent University, which is based out of Peterborough but has a satellite location in Oshawa and is expanding its presence in the city, came seventh overall, down from its sixth-place finish the year before.
MacLean's looks at 13 performance factors in ranking primarily undergraduate universities.
For UOIT, the rankings are a good reflection of the university's strengths and, in some instances, the lack of resources it has, Dr. Bordessa said.
"In a sense, we do the most with the least," he said, pointing to some of its lower-place finishes.
In the scholarships and bursary category, UOIT placed 20 out of 22. The poor finish comes in hand with being a new university and not yet having established the large endowments present at other universities, he said.
But for income for research funding, which schools have to compete for, UOIT finished a high fifth, Dr. Bordessa said.
It also placed first for obtaining social sciences and humanities grants and fourth in medical/science grants. It grabbed another first-place finish for funding student services and for library acquisitions.
Although the UOIT is often thought of as a place of information technology, especially since the words are in the school's name, its first-place finish in social sciences and humanities grants shows it is more than just those things, Dr. Bordessa said. Students can do social sciences and humanitarian studies there now and will be able to do even more in the future, as the school continues to expand those programs.
In the national reputation survey, leaders of tomorrow category, UOIT placed 24 of 48.
"There's something happening here that people are beginning to recognize there's something special happening in Oshawa," Dr. Bordessa said.
According to Maclean's, reputation surveys are sent to university officials, high school principals and guidance counsellors and the business community. Information from Stats Canada and other agencies is also used in the rankings.
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