Canada has 11 in top 200 World University Rankings

I try not to make too much of these things, but Canada has 11 universities in the top 200 of the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings for 2009, released today.

A few things of note, from the survey sponsors: U.S. and U.K. institutions still dominate the top 10; and there was a “dramatic” fall in the number of North American universities in the top 100, from 42 in 2008 to 36 in 2009, reflecting “the growing presence and impact of Asian and European institutions on the world higher education stage.”

I’m not a big believer that university rankings tell you much about a particular institution. But, for what it’s worth, bragging rights go to McGill University, the highest-ranked Canadian university, up two places this year, at 18th.

Another ranking of sorts was released this week: the College Sustainability Report Card, which provides “sustainability profiles” for colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. There were 17 Canadian institutions on the list. Here are the top five Canadian universities, each receiving a B+ grade (the links go straight to their sustainability profiles, which are quite interesting to peruse): University of British Columbia, McGill, York University, University of Alberta and University of Calgary.