The University of Waterloo has bumped the University of Guelph out of first place and into second in Maclean's magazine's annual assessment of comprehensive Canadian universities.

The University of Victoria claimed third place for the second year in a row.

The University of Toronto once again took first place in the medical doctoral category -- a position it has held since 1994. McGill University in Montreal again ranked second, while the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont., remained in third place.

Three Maritime schools grabbed the survey's top spots for undergraduate programs. St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S., placed first while Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., ranked second for the third year in a row. Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., placed third for the second year in a row.

The survey ranks the quality of undergraduate education at 47 public universities based on key factors such as average entering grades, class size, calibre of faculty and quality of libraries.

University of Waterloo president David Johnson says he's proud of the results.

"This is really a testimony to our people -- our students, faculty, staff and alumni around the world,'' he said Sunday in a statement. "We couldn't be more proud of them.''

This year, the annual ranking also included for the first time a survey of recent university graduates. It found that despite a sharp reduction in government funding for universities, a majority of graduates say their education was of value.

Of the more than 12,000 graduates polled, 77 per cent agreed that the experience benefitted their lives today, according to the survey. But fewer than half were fully satisfied with some key aspects of their academic and extracurricular activities.

Ann Dowsett Johnston, editor-at-large at Maclean's, told Canada AM Monday that the problems the students are describing can all be traced back to the stiff funding cuts from the 1990s. The result is that Canada is falling behind in comparison to the United States.

"Since 1980, the U.S. has reinvested in its public universities 25 per cent. In Canada, we've dropped 20 per cent -- and this is with largest number of students in universities ever, but it's the lowest per capita funding," says Dowsett Johnson.

"So while health care is the 800-lb gorilla that has stolen all the thunder, we have to start paying attention to what we're doing for our children and for our future.

"I think it sends a clear message to our politicians to start reinvesting in higher education," she adds.

"With that kind of demand, you're seeing larger classes, you're seeing fewer faculty and a desperate need to look at this crisis."