It was a little after 10 p.m. last week when it happened. Lolling lazily with a newspaper, I was introduced to a hearty advertisement extolling the virtues of Carleton's business school.

Notwithstanding the pain and suffering the ad invoked – back to school, after all, means back to mittens, boots and the rest of winter – it also got me to thinking: does intense, free-market competition amongst universities, specifically business schools, benefit students or the universities themselves?

The answer, especially when put to a business crowd, is fairly straightforward: it benefits both. More competition forces schools to pump up their programs in hope of scooping the best and brightest students. Better and more students mean higher revenues, with which universities can invest in academic programs.

Indeed, those in Ottawa have witnessed a book-fuelled battle royale on a nearly unprecedented scale over the past few years. First, the University of Ottawa branded itself "Canada's University." Not to be outdone, Carleton quickly christened its hallowed halls "Canada's Capital University."

Lately, competition between Carleton and U of O has entered an even more intense phase, with the deployment of platoons of ads by those and other biz schools such as Queen's, Concordia and McGill. Queen's even has an executive MBA office on Albert Street, with supporting advertising on Bank Street.

It makes one wonder how much money and time is spent on flashy marketing and PR efforts within various universities, as opposed to the programs themselves.

Indeed, ever since Maclean's began ranking schools back when Kurt Cobain and flannel shirts were hip, universities have lived and died by those numbers.

But Maclean's rankings are just the beginning. Magazines like BusinessWeek and Canadian Business also rank MBA and EMBA programs across the country. The Wall Street Journal does its own business school rankings, and many other U.S. outlets also rank schools, along with the Financial Times of London.

Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say. Many media outlets have, however, faced a growing backlash in regard to rankings, the most obvious measure of interuniversity academic competition.

A dozen U.S. colleges last year boycotted a U.S. ranking, and a cadre of Canadian schools – including Sudbury's Laurentian University, which often finishes near the bottom – in 2006 boycotted Maclean's rankings, calling them unfair.

Last year Laurentian finished in the top 10. The university's response? It was "delighted."

It seems, when it comes to universities, competition is a good thing – but only if you're at the top of the class.