Quality Implications of the Macleans Rankings of Ontario Universities

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Quality Implications of the Macleans Rankings of
Ontario Universities

• Richard E. Mueller
• University of Lethbridge

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Canadian Universities

• Canadian universities, in general, are not able
  to charge the market clearing price to students,
  the result is excess demand
• For example, in Ontario over the period
  1991-2000, the ratio of applications to
  enrollments ranged from 3.98 (Lakehead) to 6.85
  (Ryerson)
• In the presence of excess demand for university
  slots, other rationing mechanisms must be used

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Disequilibrium Model

• Given this evidence, we assume that there is
  always excess demand for slots at current tuition
  levels
• We assume that the alternative rationing
  mechanism used is high school marks
• These marks work as a quasi price to eliminate
  excess demand ex post
• Rankings act to increase excess demand and hence
  the entering marks of students

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Data

• Three sources
• Council of Ontario Universities (COU)
• Annual Macleans magazine rankings of Canadian
  universities
• Statistics Canada for economic variables
• Data on all Ontario universities between 1992 and
  2001

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Impact of Rankings on Entering High School Marks
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Effect of Rankings on Student Application
Behaviour

• COU data contain aggregates for students
  applying
• directly from Ontario secondary schools
• others which include foreign, out-of-province,
  mature, and transfer students
• Are these groups influenced differently by the
  rankings?
• We estimate a simply demand model using
  applications as the dependent variable

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Per cent change in applications due to a
one-place improvement in rank
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Results

• Rankings are not an important determinant of
  applications for COMP or PU institutions
• Rankings are an important determinant of
  applications to MD institutions, but only for
  females
• Rankings seem to be important for most groups in
  terms of first and third choices

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Conclusions and Implications

• The Macleans rankings (warts and all) are
  somewhat influential in Canada, but less so than
  in the US, likely because Canadian universities
  cater more to local students

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Conclusions and Implications cont.

• Still, evidence shows that the US News and World
  Report rankings have led to
• Resources used to attract better students (to the
  detriment of other students)
• Higher direct annual costs of obsessing about
  rankings the arms race for prestige
• Attempts to skew rankings (administrators
  behaving badly!)
• Students selecting brand name universities
  rather than finding the appropriate institution
• Rankings are important even when controlling for
  other quality measures

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Thank you!