Prominent American and Canadian research universities earned mostly C’s on the first report card assessing how much their laboratories benefit the world’s poor.

The top grade, an A minus, went to the University of British Columbia. Various B’s were earned by Case Western Reserve, Johns Hopkins, the University of California, Irvine, Harvard and Emory. Beyond that, none of the 54 universities graded earned higher than a C+.

The report card was written by Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, a student group with chapters at schools around the world. It was released in coordination with Doctors Without Borders and was endorsed by Dr. Paul Farmer, a pioneer in bringing health care to Haiti and Rwanda.

“Universities are increasingly trying to position themselves as leaders in global health because students are demanding it,” said Bryan Collinsworth, of the student group. “But their definition of global health is often vague, and unfortunately trends toward easy, low-cost, P.R.-friendly steps.”