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“I think we’re not defined by surveys,” Vanelli said. “I think surveys (contain) important information but I would treat this the same way even if we had great results.”

According to the magazine’s 2018 rankings, the U of S ranked first in terms of its operating budget — which has been cut back recently —and scored well in terms of its student-faculty ratio, but that was not enough to elevate it above last place.

The Saskatoon university finished last or second-to-last in seven of the 12 categories used to determine each institution’s position on the list, and failed to make it into the top 10 in two additional categories.

Vanelli said while any ranking of universities is unlikely to stop the U of S from pursuing its goals, the institution does react to some categories and improve its performance in terms of student awards and student services.

“If you can stay with that plan, the results will follow,” he said.

The magazine’s 2018 ranking of medical-doctoral schools was topped by Montreal’s McGill; the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia rounded out the top three.

The University of Regina, meanwhile, finished 13th out of the country’s 15 “comprehensive” universities — a group that includes schools with some graduate-level research and a range of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs.

amacpherson@postmedia.com

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