In accordance with the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP), the Program Self-Study Reports were completed in July 2022. For the programs under review (B.Sc. Physics, B.Sc. Physics (Honours), B.Sc. Space Science, and B.Sc. Space Science (Honours) it contained the degree level expectations for these programs, an analytical assessment of the programs, course outlines, program-related data, survey data from the Office of Quality Assurance and appendices with sample examinations and CVs of faculty members. Two arm’s-length external reviewers (Jean-François Bisson, Ph.D, Département de physique et d’astronomie, Université de Moncton and Marek Stastna, Ph.D. Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo) were selected from a list of possible reviewers and approved by the Dean of Science. An internal reviewer, Dr. Francis Okou from the Faculty of Engineering, was also selected for participation on the External review committee (ERC). The ERC reviewed the self-study documentation and conducted an on-site visit to RMC from 18 to 19 October 2022. The committee subsequently produced a Report based on the Self-Study and the site visit. They submitted their report on 30 November 2022.
In their report, the ERC expresses the opinion that the core physics programs of RMC are on par with similar programs offered in comparable Canadian institutions, and that the space science program is original and of high quality. The ERC identified a number of strengths of the Physics and Space Sciences programs including a large availability and high quality of lab equipment and broad range of experiments, strong content in mechanics and electromagnetism, uniqueness of the Space Science programs and corresponding courses, and a good link to practical R&D. The ERC also identified several areas of concern for the undergraduate Physics and Space Sciences Programs, such as: lack of students’ ability in mathematics adversely affecting the contents of senior theoretical courses; lack of stimulation of critical thinking, relative weakness in computational physics and programming, poor computer network, underutilization of research lab facility; and lack of availability of teaching documents in the self-study report.
The Program Chair, after consultation with faculty and staff in the programs, submitted a response to the ERC Report in January 2023. The Dean of Science prepared a Final Assessment Report (FAR) on 1 June 2023. In the FAR, it was concluded that the ERC Report provided positive feedback on the outcomes of the undergraduate programs in Physics and Space Science and confirmed that the RMC is delivering solid, high quality programs.