FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2002

MACLEAN'S SURVEY PLACES TRENT SECOND IN CENTRAL CANADA, UNIVERSITY RETAINS RANKING AMONG TOP 10 PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS IN CANADA

Trent continues to rank highest in research awards, and scholarships and bursaries

Results from the Maclean's 2002 rankings of Canadian universities have placed Trent University second among primarily undergraduate universities in Central Canada.

The results confirmed Trent University ranked first out of 21 primarily undergraduate universities nationwide in a number of key performance areas including:

• number of research awards per full time faculty
• number of awards received from medical and science funding agencies
• scholarships and bursaries as a percentage of the budget

Other areas of strong performance included:

• classes taught by tenured faculty (ranked 2)
• class sizes in 3rd and 4th years (ranked 3)
• recruitment of international first year students (ranked 3)
• student awards (ranked 4)
• proportion of students who graduate (ranked 5)

While Trent President Bonnie Patterson was pleased that the University remained within the top 10 universities in its class, she acknowledged that Trent's restructuring plan and necessary cost control measures have placed pressures on the University's operations that may have affected its overall ranking.

"We realize that the tough decisions that have flowed from our financial recovery program since 1998 have affected many areas of the University's operations and that these decisions are being reflected in some of the survey results," says Patterson. "We knew that the necessary decisions we have been undertaking to get the University on to a stronger financial footing would eventually have an impact on our relative standing."

"When assessing the survey results one must consider the facts that as long as the University continues to have several hundred unfunded students and grows in order to meet double cohort requirements, there will be continued pressures on the operational budget," said Patterson.

The President commended faculty for their all their contributions especially in the areas of research and teaching. "Our faculty's research record contributes greatly to our reputation and awareness of Trent University as a centre of excellence. The University's hiring strategies are also providing students unique opportunities to interact with tenured faculty who have chosen Trent as their University to pursue their teaching and research careers."

Patterson stated that the full results of the survey will be carefully reviewed and integrated into the ongoing survey research conducted by the University.

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Note to Media:
President Patterson is available for interviews throughout the day on November 11, 2002. Please contact the Communications Office.

For more information contact:
Don Cumming, Senior Director, Public Affairs, (705) 748-1011, ext. 1224