For the second year in a row, the University of Northern B.C. has bested its competition in Maclean's magazine's annual rankings.
"It's always nice to get confirmation that again we're continuing to go in the right direction," said president Daniel Weeks about its spot atop the "primarily undergraduate" category, beating out among 18 other universities.
"Our enrollment is up a little bit this year and I think that's in at least in part to our ranking last year and I think this will continue that trend and we're going to continue to make sure we're out there telling our story about the quality and opportunities here at UNBC," said Weeks in a phone interview from Ottawa.
For the last five years, UNBC has consistently finished high in the rankings, with second-place finishes in 2014, 2012 and 2008 to add to its back-to-back first-place finishes.
Despite its record, the university still lags behind in reputation, Weeks said.
"We're not as well known and this is not the time to be the best kept secret anywhere. We need to do a better job of just getting out and telling people the UNBC story, not only in Canada but globally as well," said Weeks, who was in Ottawa for a meeting with the science minister.
He'd like to see UNBC become a greater destination for international students, and that "being number one in Maclean's is such an important factor" helps with student recruitment.
Weeks highlighted student satisfaction, which bumped from eighth to fourth and a "huge bump" for approval of administrative staff, which jumped from 13th to fourth spot this year.
"We absolutely knocked it out of the park and we were up significantly in all categories," said Weeks, adding it has an impact on a student's choice to stay.
"That student experience - particularly in the first year - is really an important getting students to stay and enjoy the university," he said, noting that positivity around resident living has improved to ninth this year compared to 13th in 2015.
"This is a fantastic improvement and it really is such an important part in making a welcoming university for young people."
UNBC also earned first place for mental health services, up from fourth the year before.
UNBC's Board of Governors chair also called the ranking fantastic news.
"The entire UNBC community can be proud of their university and the work that continues to be done in making it an exceptional institution," said Ryan Matheson in a statement.
Joining UNBC in first, Simon Fraser University took top spot in the comprehensive list and McGill maintained its top ranking in the Medical Doctoral category.
