If students could start over, would they go to the same university?
The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) asks first- and senior-year students dozens of specific questions about how they spend their time in and out of the classroom. The study asks about everything from teaching methods to interaction with faculty. Both first- and senior-year students are also asked: If you could start over, would you go to the institution you are now attending? Among senior-year students, Sherbrooke comes first, with 74 per cent of students saying they would "definitely" return. (Sherbrooke also topped Maclean’s survey of student satisfaction in 2018.) Over the past several months, Maclean’s contacted schools and asked them to share their results. For our full report on NSSE results, click here. In 2017, 130,291 students at 72 Canadian schools took part in the American-based survey, for an average response rate of 37 per cent. First-year students
StartOver-1stYear
| Definitely Yes (%) | Probably Yes (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tyndale | 71 | 28 |
| Saint Paul (Ottawa) | 66 | 25 |
| Sherbrooke | 64 | 29 |
| Ambrose | 59 | 31 |
| Quest | 59 | 35 |
| Laval | 55 | 37 |
| St. Francis Xavier | 55 | 30 |
| Queen's | 53 | 35 |
| Briercrest | 52 | 33 |
| Montréal | 52 | 38 |
| UQAM | 52 | 39 |
| Sheridan | 51 | 41 |
| Trinity Western | 50 | 40 |
| Mount Royal | 48 | 43 |
| Wilfrid Laurier | 48 | 41 |
| McGill | 47 | 42 |
| Trent | 46 | 39 |
| Acadia | 45 | 40 |
| Guelph | 45 | 42 |
| McMaster | 45 | 42 |
| St. Thomas | 44 | 43 |
| Brescia (Western) | 43 | 45 |
| MacEwan | 43 | 47 |
| ACAD | 42 | 44 |
| Moncton | 42 | 46 |
| Nipissing | 42 | 41 |
| NSSE 2016 & 2017 average | 42 | 42 |
| Alberta | 41 | 49 |
| Mount Allison | 41 | 41 |
| Waterloo | 41 | 45 |
| Western | 41 | 46 |
| Mount Saint Vincent | 40 | 42 |
| OCAD U | 40 | 45 |
| UBC (Vancouver) | 39 | 49 |
| Cape Breton | 39 | 51 |
| Dalhousie | 39 | 46 |
| King's (Edmonton) | 39 | 47 |
| UNB (Fredericton) | 39 | 48 |
| Winnipeg | 39 | 47 |
| Carleton | 38 | 48 |
| Laurentian | 38 | 47 |
| UBC (Okanagan) | 37 | 49 |
| Concordia (Montreal) | 37 | 49 |
| Ryerson | 37 | 46 |
| Saskatchewan | 37 | 51 |
| Brandon | 36 | 52 |
| Memorial | 36 | 49 |
| Brock | 35 | 50 |
| UOIT | 34 | 49 |
| Lethbridge | 33 | 52 |
| Toronto | 33 | 48 |
| Ottawa | 31 | 51 |
| UPEI | 31 | 50 |
| Saint Mary's | 31 | 51 |
| Victoria | 31 | 54 |
| Calgary | 30 | 53 |
| Lakehead | 30 | 46 |
| Thompson Rivers | 29 | 52 |
| Windsor | 28 | 52 |
| Manitoba | 25 | 57 |
| York | 25 | 52 |
| Simon Fraser | 24 | 56 |
| *NSSE average is the average score for all Canadian and U.S. universities and colleges that participated in the 2016 and 2017 surveys. |
Senior-year students
StartOver- Senior Year
| Definitely Yes (%) | Probably Yes (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sherbrooke | 64 | 30 |
| Tyndale | 62 | 23 |
| Quest | 61 | 28 |
| Trinity Western | 61 | 31 |
| Ambrose | 58 | 37 |
| Saint Paul (Ottawa) | 57 | 35 |
| St. Francis Xavier | 56 | 33 |
| St. Thomas | 56 | 34 |
| Briercrest | 55 | 31 |
| Mount Royal | 54 | 36 |
| MacEwan | 53 | 38 |
| Guelph | 52 | 35 |
| Brescia (Western) | 49 | 40 |
| Wilfrid Laurier | 49 | 38 |
| Acadia | 48 | 36 |
| Laval | 48 | 39 |
| Queen's | 48 | 36 |
| Trent | 47 | 39 |
| King's (Edmonton) | 45 | 40 |
| Montréal | 44 | 39 |
| Mount Allison | 44 | 41 |
| Winnipeg | 44 | 42 |
| NSSE 2016 & 2017 average | 44 | 39 |
| UQAM | 42 | 44 |
| McMaster | 41 | 42 |
| Mount Saint Vincent | 41 | 39 |
| Cape Breton | 39 | 42 |
| Concordia (Montreal) | 39 | 45 |
| Memorial | 39 | 43 |
| Sheridan | 39 | 43 |
| McGill | 38 | 44 |
| Nipissing | 38 | 45 |
| Western | 38 | 41 |
| UBC (Vancouver) | 37 | 48 |
| Waterloo | 37 | 46 |
| Saint Mary's | 36 | 44 |
| Brock | 35 | 42 |
| Victoria | 35 | 47 |
| Alberta | 34 | 49 |
| UBC (Okanagan) | 34 | 45 |
| Lethbridge | 34 | 49 |
| UNB (Fredericton) | 34 | 47 |
| Saskatchewan | 33 | 48 |
| Thompson Rivers | 33 | 48 |
| Carleton | 32 | 48 |
| Brandon | 31 | 44 |
| Ryerson | 31 | 44 |
| Toronto | 31 | 42 |
| Dalhousie | 28 | 46 |
| Moncton | 28 | 46 |
| UPEI | 28 | 49 |
| UOIT | 27 | 45 |
| OCAD U | 26 | 39 |
| Laurentian | 25 | 45 |
| Manitoba | 25 | 51 |
| Simon Fraser | 24 | 52 |
| York | 24 | 48 |
| ACAD | 23 | 57 |
| Calgary | 23 | 48 |
| Lakehead | 23 | 45 |
| Windsor | 23 | 48 |
| Ottawa | 22 | 49 |
| *NSSE average is the average score for all Canadian and U.S. universities and colleges that participated in the 2016 and 2017 surveys. |
Results for Guelph are for the main University of Guelph campus and Guelph-Humber. The University of Northern British Columbia and the University of Regina did not conduct NSSE in 2017. Ten universities that conducted NSSE in 2017 did not provide Maclean’s with results.
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