Report of the RMC Board of Governors By the Withers' Study Group
Balanced Excellence Leading Canada's Armed Forces In The New Millenium
4500-240 (ADM (HR-Mil))
24 September 1998
Cross-reference p. 22 of 63 of official printed copy of report
The preparatory year at St Jean is intended for students graduating from secondary school systems which do not normally bring students to the level of educational achievement required for entering RMC. This may be true in an entire province, or merely in a region of a province. In Quebec the existence of the CEGEP system as a transition to higher education means that high school graduates (at grade 11) are also a year or more younger than they would be if graduating elsewhere.
St Jean is intended to deal with significant systemic preparatory issues, by adding an entire year to the sequence. The Corporation Fort St-Jean is the vehicle established by two levels of government to keep activity at the former CMR campus site. The Corporation uses about 16% of its annual federal grant to fund the academic component of the Prep year, by contracting the academic component to the CEGEP St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. It in turn contracts the academic component of the program to an independent academic organiser. The military component, or pillar, which includes the physical education pillar, is under a Regular Force captain reporting through the chain of command to the Commandant of RMC.
This year the intake was 132; approximately 75% Franco-phone with the remainder coming from many places across Canada, the majority of these from Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Ontario. Well over 90% of the approximately 100 successfully completing the Preparatory Year will proceed to RMC. This is accomplished with a largely part-time academic staff of 14 and a full time staff in the military pillar of 5 (Company Fort St-Jean).
The current academic program itself is sound but lacks choice in courses. The military component of the operation in St-Jean is excellent. The Commanding Officer of the Company Fort St-Jean has been active this past year in recruiting for the program, and involves the officer cadets in this. His activities are crucial to securing an adequate flow of officer cadets from Quebec. Prep year cadets choose their MOC in second term and mentoring is of a very high standard.
The program at St-Jean will remain a critical part of the Balanced Excellence Model recommended for adoption in this Report. It will, of course, have to be expanded. The intake should be increased to 210 and more full-time academic staff employed. Military staffing of the Company Fort St-Jean should be expanded to 9, including the Company Commander. The cost per annum of the larger academic program will rise to $1.25 million from its current level of $780,000. A greater diversity of academic courses will be necessary to adjust for the core curriculum at RMC recommended in the Balanced Excellence Model.
The current contractual arrangements for delivery of the Preparatory Year at St-Jean will expire in two years. It should be noted that this is already causing a degree of uncertainty for the academic staff. There are a variety of options for how the academic program could be delivered beyond this date. Three have been mentioned to us: (a) retaining the status quo, adjusting for the necessary increase in enrolment and choice; (b) contract for the desired program with the CEGEP directly or, (c) handle the academic program hiring and decisions through RMC. A thorough analysis of these options will be required to determine the most cost-effective solution which at the same time responds directly to the needs of the CF.
The Prep Year at St-Jean is sound and can be made excellent in conjunction with the implementation of the Balanced Excellence Model. It is absolutely required if RMC is to be a truly national institution.
An entire extra year, however, is not the appropriate way to deal with the issue of otherwise accomplished students whose personal choices in secondary school, regardless of province, or region, left them somewhat under-prepared to cope with the mathematics and science components of the enhanced core curriculum advocated in this report. Nor is it appropriate for students from any region with systemic preparatory issues which are minor in nature.
Both such difficulties must be resolved at RMC itself, by the availability of some courses which are somewhat remedial, or represent a slower start in a particular discipline. These courses are not intended in any way as a compromise on the high standard which must be achieved in core subjects by the end of the program, but rather make it more likely that a high final standard can be maintained for all excellent candidates regardless of diversity of prior exposure. This process, primarily carried out in the first academic year is a levelling of the playing field necessary for a national institution.