UC first NZ university to receive international 5-star rating in new QS Stars system

The University of Canterbury announced today that it is the first New Zealand university to receive a 5-star rating in the newly-established international QS Stars rating system.

A 5-star rating is the highest rating available in the new system which evaluates universities against eight criteria including research quality, teaching quality and graduate employability.

The QS Stars rating system is a global rating system for universities that is administered by the same organisation that delivers the QS World University Rankings. Universities must meet minimum thresholds in a variety of areas to earn ratings ranging from one to five.

According to QS Stars, a university that achieves a 5-star rating "will often be world-class in a broad range of areas, has cutting-edge facilities, and is internationally renowned for its research and teaching faculty".

"We are delighted that the University of Canterbury has achieved the highest possible rating in the relatively new QS Stars rating system," said University of Canterbury Vice-Chancellor Dr Rod Carr. "This affirms the University's position as being amongst the best universities in the world and underlines the fact that UC continues to provide a world-class learning environment." *

A key criterion on which universities are judged is what is referred to as their “third mission”. QS Stars describes this as "how seriously the university takes its obligations to society by investing in the local community, and providing access through scholarships and bursaries".

"The University of Canterbury takes its 'third mission' responsibilities seriously," said Dr Carr, "and this has been reflected in our 5-star rating. We have substantially increased funding for our scholarships offer for next year and I strongly encourage all prospective and existing UC students to find out more about our scholarships for 2012 and beyond.

"Students, their parents and the wider community are also very welcome to attend our Community Open Day on 1 October from 10am to 3pm. This is a great opportunity to see why UC has achieved its 5-star rating in QS Stars and to find out more about enrolling at our highly-regarded university."

*(Please note: The University of Canterbury's 5-Star rating was determined following the 22 February earthquake using data from 2010)