In accordance with the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP), the Program Self-Study Reports were completed in August 2019. For the program under review - the BSc in Computer Science - it contained the degree level expectations, an analytical assessment, course outlines, program-related data, survey data from the Office of Quality Assurance and appendices with sample examinations and CVs of faculty members of the program. Two arm’s-length external reviewers (Dr. Roger Villemaire, Département d'informatique, UQAM, and Dr. Will Traves, Department of Mathematics, United States Naval Academy) were selected from a list of possible reviewers and approved by the Deans of Science. An internal reviewer, Dr. Ryley Beddoe, Department of Civil Engineering, was also selected for participation on the ERC. They reviewed the self-study documentation and conducted a site visit to RMC on 12 and 13 December 2019. During the site visit, the ERC met with the Vice-Principal, Academic, Dr. Phil Bates, the Associate Vice-Principal, Research, Dr. Mike Hennessy, the Dean of Science, Dr. Gregg Wade, the Department Chair, Maj David Eisenhauer, Computer Science program coordinator, Dr. François Rivest, the Head Librarian, Ms. Sarah Toomey, as well as several members of department faculty. The ERC also had the opportunity to meet with several students currently enrolled in the program. The ERC subsequently produced a Report based on the Self-Study and site visit.
The ERC identified a number of strengths of the BSc in Computer Science Program including the dedication of all the faculty and staff (including military and civilian) to the unique mission of the RMC, that the department offers a comprehensive undergraduate degree that compares favourably with those of much bigger institutions, cooperation across departments and within programs provided an excellent educational product, and that students have the opportunity to take engaging and rigorous elective/optional courses in current subjects. The ERC also identified a number of areas of concern for the BSc in Computer Science Program, such as; the current level of teaching and service loads relative to the staffing level; the delivery of the program with a reduced full-time faculty of two; and the low number of graduates who use their computing skills/degree in their military careers.
Following consultation with the program faculty and staff, the Program Chair responded to the Reviewers’ Report and the Dean of Science prepared a Final Assessment Report (FAR). Specific recommendations, follow-up actions and timelines provided are provided in the FAR. In the FAR, it was concluded that the Faculty of Science is delivering an academically rigorous program to its students and that its standards meet those of similar programs in Ontario.