VS.

We have investigated the relationship between Ryerson and Western University. Since Avneet’s school of choice is Western while Kim’s first choice is Ryerson, we thought it would be interesting to compare the two, looking at everything from annual expenses to the locations where students come from.

We have investigated the relationship between Ryerson and Western University. Since Avneet’s school of choice is Western while Kim’s first choice is Ryerson, we thought it would be interesting to compare the two, looking at everything from annual expenses to the locations where students come from.

It can be agreed that what University an individual decides to attend is a major decision in their lives. It can also be agreed that with this decision comes a great deal of stress. We decided that an appropriate topic for our data culminating would be the comparison of two universities: Which school has better overall characteristics and thus, which school is more suitable for students to attend?

o What is the faculty like?oHow many Ontario Undergraduate applicants are there? oWhat is the student/teacher ratio? oHow expensive will my cost of living be? oWhere is the school located?oWhat are the Co-op fees like?oWhich university has better tuition and overall costs? oWhich university guarantees a better acceptance rate?

The information we have gathered would be very beneficial for those planning on attending University. Therefore, our main target group is grade 12, but it is also valid to say that grade ten and eleven students may be interested in the data collected to make their decision-making process easier in the future.

• To start, we browsed the internet and looked for general statistics of each University to determine whether or not we should pursue our topic.

•The internet was our primary source, although we are well aware that the probability of bias on an internet website is very high. Therefore, we made sure to use the CARS checklist, which meant we looked for Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness and Support on each site, all important aspects of a valid website. Specifically, we looked for the date of the document and whom the source was intended for and for what purpose.

• The most useful sites we found were the Ryerson and Western sites themselves and "cuo.on.ca", which is "Common University Data", a very popular university search engine. We also used the University ranking issue of Maclean's magazine and an article from the Globe and Mail.

•From the data we collected, we made our own charts using Excel which created an effective visual of the data. This made it easier to evaluate trends and similarities between the two universities and to identify outliers. Excel also calculated the equation of the line and the coefficient of determination (r2) of our line graphs.

Annual Expenses

02000400060008000

10000120001400016000

In-Province Out-of-Province

International Fees,Books,

Materials

Residence Health Care

Type of Expense

Cos

t ($) Ryerson

Western

Tuition Tuition

GRAPH 1

http://www.schoolsincanada.com/profile.cfm?artid=21637http://www.schoolsincanada.com/profile.cfm?default=ugradcolleges&&stateprovinces=5&newrfisearch=featured&artid=21726

•Each school follows the same trend same shape of the graph for each school, meaning the annual expenses rise and fall similarly

•Ryerson only falls below Western once: Fees, Books, and Materials. This means that Western Book costs are approximately $1050 higher then Ryerson’s. • Validity - The Out of Province and In-Province Tuition cost was number that was average from the lowest possible tuition cost from the highest. That means that number falls into a margin of error.

We can conclude that the annual expenses of Ryerson are higher than Western. This could be for many reasons:•Location in Toronto, you’ll most likely be taking public transportation everyday•Residence is limited at Ryerson, and therefore more expensive•Western is an older, more developed university

Annual Expenses

y = -757.76x + 8663.9

R2 = 0.0789

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

0 2 4 6 8

Type of Expense

Co

st (

$)Ryerson

Western

Linear (Ryerson)

Annual Expenses

y = -591.89x + 7087.6

R2 = 0.0685

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

0 2 4 6 8

Type of Expense

Co

st (

$)

Ryerson

Western

Linear (Western)

Graph 1a

Graph 1b

In both cases, the r2 value is close to zero indicating that there

is no correlation between the two

variables. This makes sense

because the price of residence, for

example, has no affect on the price of books. Each variable

is completely independent.

Graph 2aGraph 2b

• This information is based on a “The Globe and Mail University Report Card” based on 81 aspects of University life. For example, school spirit, availability of food on campus, residence, quality of teaching, etc.

•The way we got our percentages was by taking the number of grades in each interval, for example A+ to A-, for each school and then divided it by 81.

Western’s frequency of A+ to A- is 47% more than RyersonRyerson’s frequency of B+ to B- is 30% more than WesternRyerson’s frequency of C+ to C- is 17% more than WesternThe frequency of receiving a D+ to D- is equal for both universities at 9%

•According the Globe and Mail, Western is favored over Ryerson since their “average mark” is higher. Western was given an overall “A” while Ryerson got a “B+”

GRAPH 3

•Western’s average entrance grades are higher than both the average in Ontario and Ryerson.

• Since Western is a much older school then Ryerson, it has built more expectations which Ryerson is bound to meet in the next 10 to 20 years. This is evident because if you look at Western’s average entrance grades in the 1970s and 1980s you notice a similar trend to Ryerson’s current data. •All trends shown an increases in acceptance averages meaning that as the years go on the expectations for higher averages rise.

Data shows a limitations in the following way :

Doesn’t provide statistical information for the years 2006 or 2007We could not use any stats before 1992 because Ryerson

2185168

Halton 118Peel 682

731Other 560Other Provinces 125International 173

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Number of Students

1

Geographic Source

Ryerson: Where Do Students Come From?

Toronto

Durham

Halton

Peel

York

Other Ontario

Other Provinces

International

•Doesn’t appear to be skewed mainly mound-shaped•Toronto = outlier•This makes sense because Ryerson is in the heart of Toronto it is more of a commuter school because of the limited residence space, so it’s more convenient and less costly for Torontonians to go there

http://www.ryerson.ca/upo/statistics/Year1-2006-geog.html

GRAPH 4a

http://www.uwo.ca/pvp/common_university/section_e.html

Table 4b

• Universities use statistics and graphs of course to convince prospective students to attend their institutions. These graphs and statistics are shown to student to by how much they are better then other schools or how better they are on average. For example, some school might slightly lower their statistics regarding tuition cost to give prospective students the impression that their institution offers a quality educational experience at a lower monetary value.

Sampling Bias Globe and Mail bases their Report Card results on a sample taken only from surveys done on studentaewards.com. This sample is not necessary representative of the entire population that attends Ryerson, Western, or any other University. •Response Bias May also play a miniscule factor in skewing the results of data that we have incorporated into our paper. For example, many student may find it fun to mess up the results in the survey by not writing down dishonest answers to try making their school appear better or worse than it actually is. •Non-Response Bias is evident in Maclean’s Survey of Western and Ryerson University. This is because, just 26 out 47 Universities, Western and Ryerson refused to take the 2006-2007 Survey citing credibility issues with Macleans data collecting techniques. To fill the void for Western and Ryerson’s results, Macleans showcased the universities’ 2005-2006 data instead. This information is then misleading because it is out of data and incompatible with the updated data from other universities.

We found that Western had plenty of statistical information while Ryerson was lacking in graphs/statistics that could be converted into graphs.

For annual expenses, some averages needed to be taken. Therefore, these values are more so an approximation that the actual cost. Also, the annual expenses of University will surely fluctuate between students, so we can't possibly find one set cost. There is a wealth of information regarding University all around us. The internet, magazines, newspapers, university handbooks, even people are constantly throwing information university information at us. This means that the information is liable to change between sources. Bias and opinion are definitely influencing factors which can alter the statistics of both universities.

We were not able to do a box and whisker plot because the data we collected was not always numerical. In other words, the statistics were frequently qualitative rather than quantitative.

Statistically, Western has better overall characteristics than Ryerson Pros about Western: It is an older, more developed schoolThe annual expenses are cheaperMore residence/green spaceStudent opinion, as recorded in Maclean's magazine says that Western will give you a better first year experience (for example, better nightlife)

Pros about Ryerson:

The average entering grade is lower than that of WesternIt is located in the middle of exciting Toronto“Hands-on approach” rather then theoretical

However, we have concluded that it can't be decided what University is better. Ultimately, it is based on opinion for many reasons. One example is that one university may have a program that is better suited

for a person than another, like the fact that Ryerson's journalism program is far more recommended and

valuable than the same program at Western. Budget and location are also factors that make this decision

completely one's own. Maybe an individual can afford a university with a tuition of $10 000 a year. Maybe

they prefer a big city rather than a school located in more of a country setting. It is certain that looking at the stats will aid in the decision making process. After all, it's a big one that will greatly affect our lives. But since so much money and time will be put into your University experience, you can't base your decision

solely on statistics.