Office of the Dean of The Division of Continuing Studies

Professor Michael A. Hennessy, BA, MA, PhD.

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

The mandate of the Division of Continuing Studies is to make university education available to all members of the CF, spouses and DND civilian employees. From a small pilot project, more than ten years ago, the Division has undergone very rapid growth as demand for new offerings has virtually exploded.

The addition of Professional Military Education in January 2002 increased substantially the number of students, and the variety of locations where courses are now offered. In addition to the traditional method of classroom delivery, many courses are now offered packaged in correspondence form, and by electronic means, either via Internet or on CDs.

Our policies recognize CF and other professional training for credit towards undergraduate or advanced degrees. We also offer a growing number of unique degree programmes, specially tailored for CF members, such as the Bachelor of Military Arts & Science, the Master of Defence Management and Policy, and the Master of Arts in War Studies. These programmes provide an opportunity to combine professional career training with university courses, and offer the flexibility to undertake such challenging study at times and in formats suited to the circumstances created by life in the CF.

Learning at a distance, especially part time, can prove frustrating and very demanding but the completion rate by CF members is very good compared to similar civilian programmes. The rewards of success may not be clear immediately but you will possess a better prepared mind all the rest of your life. You may well find it a tiring and demanding journey but organization and perseverance will pay off.

The Canadian military community has clearly welcomed these new educational opportunities, and signed up in large numbers. However, as many of you have observed, such rapid expansion is not achieved without growing pains. Action is constantly underway to improve our programmes and administrative processes to enrich educational offerings and reduce the many frustrations that can accompany learning at a distance and dealing with an organization as distributed as ours. The Continuing Studies Team is dedicated to helping you achieve your educational aims. We look forward to your feedback as we strive to expand and improve our courses and degree programmes.

Michael Hennessy

Dean of Continuing Studies

Biography

Native to Vancouver Dr. Michael Hennessy is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and the University of New Brunswick. He lectures on naval history, low intensity conflict and the history of technology. His most recent publications include the titles Strategy in Vietnam: the Marines of Revolutionary War in I Corps, 1965-1972, (Praeger 1997); the co-edited work, The operational Art: Developments in the theories of war, (Praeger, 1996), and a number of articles on Canadian foreign, defence and naval history.