Media releases

• Brock scores high marks for student support, satisfaction in national university rankings

  Thursday, October 07, 2021 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 7 October 2021 – R0103

  With top rankings across many student satisfaction and mental health categories, Brock University has once again shown why it’s the school of choice for anyone looking for an outstanding and supportive post-secondary experience.

  For the fourth-straight year, Brock has earned the No. 1 ranking among all comprehensive universities in Canada for mental health supports while making improvements in other important areas in the 2022 Maclean’s University Rankings released Thursday, Oct. 7.

  Brock continues to be a leader for student services, ranking first in Ontario and third overall in Canada for student satisfaction thanks to its top rank for mental health supports, second rank for academic advising, extracurricular activities and administrative staff, and third for residence living and student life staff.

  For the second year Brock has improved one spot in the overall rankings to 12th among comprehensive universities. Compared to all Canadian universities, Brock moves up three spots to 29th in the nation, an improvement of nine spots in the past two years.

  The annual Maclean’s rankings are based on data from thousands of student surveys, as well as data from the universities themselves. Of note, Brock’s student response to the surveys more than doubled from last year. As a comprehensive institution, Brock is ranked against schools such as the University of Waterloo, Simon Fraser, Ryerson, York, Guelph, Carleton and others.

  After a challenging year for all students, faculty and staff, Brock University Interim President Lynn Wells is pleased the University is continuing its positive trajectory.

  “The last year has been disruptive for Brock students, staff and faculty in a number of ways. We persevered through these challenges to present students with the best educational experience we could,” says Wells. “Brock’s improved rankings — both in the overall categories and around student satisfaction — point to the hard work being done across the University to support our students at a time when they need it the most.

  “I am grateful to all members of our community who made these results possible. We’re happy to see that we have taken steps forward in key areas, but these results also tell us that there is still more work to be done.”

  The Maclean’s rankings also list some of Canada’s best programs. In the education list, Brock improved three spots to be ranked 12th in the country while the Nursing program is ranked 19th.

  “I am very proud to see achievements in these programs being highlighted more broadly in the sector,” Wells says. “Brock has a number of signature programs and areas of strength for teaching, research and creative activity. Recognition like this brings attention to Brock’s success and benefits all of us.” 

  Other highlights from the student satisfaction portion of the rankings include Brock holding the third spot for student life staff, extracurricular activities and residence living.

  Among the 15 comprehensive universities in Canada, Brock is also ranked fourth for steps to prevent sexual assault, fourth for promoting Indigenous visibility and fifth for experiential learning.

  “These indicators clearly attest to the transformative experience students receive both inside our formal educational forums of teaching and research and across the spectrum of experiences that enhance and complete a truly comprehensive educational journey,” said Anna Lathrop, Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Students. “Brock’s rankings for student satisfaction are again proof that our outstanding reputation for a student-centred post-secondary experience is a primary driver for all that we do. Within the context of the pandemic, ranking No. 1 in student mental health is quite simply an outstanding achievement.”

  Brock student leaders also applauded the rankings and the positive direction they point to.

  “While it is reassuring to see we are once again ranked No. 1 for mental health, we are continuously working with students and our partners at the institution to work on more that can be done,” said Brock University Students’ Union (BUSU) President Rafay Rehan. “BUSU will continue to strive for a better experience for our undergraduate students through its funding of mental and physical health services, the Student Justice Centre, Human Rights and Equity office, sexual violence education and support, and more.”

  Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) President Christopher Yendt said the results “affirm the continued commitment to graduate students and the graduate student experience.”

  “Mental health is a major priority among our members,” he said. “The University’s investment in improved student access and outcomes is necessary to ensuring Brock provides an equitable and sustainable graduate community where all students feel supported, engaged and empowered to succeed.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

   * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected] or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock students to analyze historic digital election

  Thursday, October 07, 2021 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 7 October 2021 – R0102

  Next week, Brock University students will be on the front lines of a landmark election, the first entirely digital vote with end-to-end verifiability held by a Canadian municipality.

  The mock vote, which will focus on pizza, is non-binding and non-political — but that doesn’t make it any less significant in the rapidly changing digital-voting landscape. The project is part of Nicole Goodman’s Canadian Politics in the Digital Age course.

  “Our course is all about the impact of digital technology on politics in Canada, and for the Service Learning assignment, students are examining how technology is changing elections, notably through online voting,” says Goodman, an Associate Professor in Brock’s Department of Political Science who holds a Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence for her work in this area. “In the last municipal election in 2018, four companies had market share among municipalities, but now at least 14 are bidding on contracts in the run-up to the 2022 election. The nature of the market is changing significantly, largely in response to COVID-19 and the pressures that it has put on governments to offer more accessible voting.”

  To create a unique educational experience for her students, Goodman has joined forces with Woolwich Township and Neuvote to host and analyze a mock election.

  Between Tuesday, Oct. 12 and Friday, Oct. 15, residents of Woolwich will use Neuvote’s voting platform with end-to-end verifiability, which allows individual users to confirm that their votes were correctly received, to participate in the mock election.

  Brock students will also take part in voting and then assess the entire process from the standpoint of both policy analysts and private consultants, zeroing in on one key issue and preparing a report with their findings and actionable recommendations for both public- and private-sector partners.

  Working in groups, the students will examine the election’s accessibility, security and privacy, turnout and convenience, election evaluation and user experience.

  “I’m excited to partner with Brock University in this mock election and experiential learning project,” says Jeff Smith, Clerk for Woolwich Township. “We are reviewing ways to provide an exceptional election experience for our voters, and we welcome the feedback and analysis provided by students for the 2022 municipal and school board elections.”

  Any voters from Woolwich Township and beyond who would like to participate in the mock election are encouraged to check the Woolwich Township website for more information.

  Matthew Heuman, CEO at Neuvote, says he is eager to see how regular voters understand and respond to using the end-to-end verifiable technology.

  “To verify that your vote was recorded as cast and then counted as recorded is critically important, and the process is quite simple,” says Heuman. “The voters themselves then have the confidence to know — because they’ve checked — that their vote truly was counted exactly as they cast it. What we hope to gain through this project is feedback on how to make that process as simple as possible for voters, in order to help embed that verification step into habit.”

  To prepare for the mock election, the class of fourth-year and master’s students have had visits from both partners to demonstrate the technology and discuss each organization’s priorities, as well as from multiple experts, including a computer science professor sharing insight on security and authentication, a municipal clerk from Ajax with experience in digital voting and speakers from Brock’s James A. Gibson Library.

  Students also received training in writing policy reports, one of the many hard skills they will gain because of this experiential project.

  Goodman — who has worked in many levels of government, international consulting and the private sector, in addition to her work in academia — knows what skills employers in the field are looking for and built this experience to maximize learning and training opportunities.

  “I created this project to better equip students for the job market, to give them the skills they need to be able to go out and land a job,” says Goodman. “Building strong critical thinking, learning how to write analytically and developing presentation style are all essential skills we teach at the University traditionally, but it’s also really important to learn other practical skills.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected] or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases