THE NINETEENTH annual Maclean's magazine ranking of Canadian Universities has confirmed that UNBC is the best small university in western Canada, and one of the best in Canada, said the university in a press release.

Maclean's has ranked UNBC third in its category of primarily undergraduate universities.

As in other years, UNBC achieved the high ranking on the strength of its students, high quality faculty, research activity (number one in Canada) and its growing national reputation.

"This is a terrific result for the students, staff, faculty, alumni, and the thousands of people across BC who have each contributed very meaningfully to the University," says UNBC president George Iwama."It is an important result as we continue to foster greater national awareness of the special environment at UNBC, and the impact we are having in our local and global communities. We are a research-active university providing a personal education to our students."

The Maclean's magazine ranking is only the most recent survey of Canadian Universities:

The National Post in a feature story on research at universities includes an assessment of both research dollars and the university's success in having articles published in academic journals.

In achieving a high level of research-intensity, UNBC is being named a "Research University of the Year" and posted a 20 percent increase in research funding compared to the previous year.

As well, an annual Globe and Mail survey of student satisfaction with everything from the overall quality of education to campus technology places UNBC up high.

This is UNBC's second year in the survey and the University received the top marks in BC for class sizes, the campus, library services, and student services. For overall satisfaction, UNBC received an A-minus.