A Reputation for Excellence Canadian universities have earned an international reputation for excellence. In addition to their teaching, universities play a vital role in their local communities, offering concerts and plays, day care centres, sports and fitness facilities, lectures, museums, on-campus radio stations and art galleries open to all. Research is central to the mission of Canadian universities. Universities in Canada employ about one-third of the country's PhDs, who spearhead the national research effort. Students at Canadian universities are frequently involved in research projects, often during their early undergraduate years.
Professors see research as an integral component to their classroom teaching.
Canadian university research has yielded a wealth of innovations as important as insulin, Pablum, the artificial pacemaker, improved strains of wheat, and the identification of the genetic causes of diseases such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and Lou Gehrig's disease. Today, Canadian researchers are world leaders in areas such as helping people cope with pain and stress, improving human memory, pulp and paper chemistry, dealing with the impact of technology in the workplace, and finding new treatments for cancer, osteoporosis and arthritis. The System in Profile Universities in Canada operate under provincial government charters. There is no formal system of university-wide institutional accreditation. Instead, membership of AUCC, in conjunction with the university's provincial government charter, is seen as serving in lieu of institutional accreditation, both in Canada and abroad.