Who we are

Strategic
plan

The University of Victoria's renewed strategic plan - A Vision for the Future: Building on Excellence - reinforces the vision and mission of the university, and sets long-term goals for the future. The renewed plan builds on the success of the original Vision for the Future (2002), and was approved by the senate and board of governors in January 2012.

• Institutional Planning and Analysis
• Budget and Capital Planning
• Campus Planning
• University Secretary Planning Committees & Reports
• Facilities Management

Accountability

The University of Victoria is proud and grateful to benefit from significant support in the form of public funding, student tuition and private contributions. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of stewardship of these resources and our audited financial statements are publicly available. To ensure programming of the highest quality for our students, our faculty are evaluated annually, through students' teaching evaluations as well as by their department chair and dean. Departments are also subject to vigorous external review every five to seven years.

In addition, there are many ways in which the university provides a public accounting of its accomplishments and progress in fulfilling its mission.We invite you to share our pride in following this progress, much of which is documented in the accountability web pages.

Sustainability

In a world in which the most challenging problems are shared, co-operative international solutions are required. The University of Victoria has both a role and a responsibility to respond and take action.

The 2007 UVic Strategic Plan, A Vision for the Future Building on Strength, calls for the establishment of a formal framework to manage the University's physical and financial resources in a sustainable manner - that is, with attention paid to the 'triple bottom line' of economic, social, and environmental consequences.

The aim is for the sustainability website to be the digital hub for sustainability on the University of Victoria campus. We invite you to explore our green initiatives on the ground, in the classroom, and in our research activities. Connect with student groups, learn tips to reduce your impact and find out how you can get involved.

Governance &
History

The University of Victoria operates under the authority of the University Act of the Province of British Columbia (RSBC 1996, c468), and is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

UVic and
University Rankings

The University of Victoria is recognized annually as one of Canada's top universities by external surveys and UVic students alike.

Rankings 2011(PDF)

Times Higher Education

The University of Victoria is once again listed in the elite 200 in the Times Higher Education’s 2011 World University Rankings at number 177 in the world, putting it in ninth place among all universities in Canada.

Being in the top 200 universities in the world “represents approximately the top one per cent of higher education institutions worldwide, so a place within it is an outstanding achievement,” says Phil Baty, editor of the THE World University Rankings 2011-12.

UVic was the top-ranked university in Canada without a medical school. There are only nine Canadian universities in the top 200.

The global ranking is the only system that includes a section dedicated to the teaching and learning environment, including the first-ever global survey of institutions’ teaching reputation.

For more information visit the Times Higher Education website.

Re$earch Infosource

In the 2011 ranking of Canada's research universities released by Re$earch Infosource, UVic placed third in the comprehensive category. On the blended list of Canada's Top 50 Research Universities for 2011—which combines all three categories of university—UVic maintained its 17th position with a total research income of $98.5 million.

UVic is consistently named a Research University of the Year in Canada by Re$earch Infosource. This designation indicates that UVic is one of "the leading institutions that excel on a balanced scorecard of research input and output/impact indicators."

For more information visit the Re$earch Infosource website.

Globe and Mail

In the 2012 Globe and Mail's “Canadian University Report” on undergraduate student satisfaction with their university experience, students ranked UVic highly for its quality of teaching and education and its library. The university received an overall B+ from its students. Over 1,100 UVic students completed the survey.

The university received an A- for its libraries, and campus atmosphere; a B+ for access to course and teaching materials online; and a B+ for its lab and teaching equipment.

Among UVic’s attributes students cited were: its not-too-small, not-too-big feeling; the green campus near natural areas; good distance education options; its large co-op program, including overseas placements; and its research orientation (including its leading-edge international seafloor projects, VENUS and NEPTUNE).

For more information visit the Globe and Mail website.

Maclean's

UVic retained its second place overall ranking among comprehensive universities in the 2011 Maclean's annual ranking of Canadian universities. UVic ranked first in the number of its full time professors per 1,000 who have won major awards and ranked second for its level of funding from federal medical and science granting agencies. UVic also scored well for its amount of total research dollars, the amount of its student awards, and the percentage of its budget dedicated to student scholarships and bursaries. UVic has ranked either first or second in Maclean's comprehensive category (Canadian universities without a medical school) for the past five years.

For more information on the rankings visit the Maclean's website.