In accordance with the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP), this Final Assessment Report (FAR) provides a synthesis of the external evaluation and internal response and assessments of the undergraduate programs offered by the Faculty of Science in BSc Chemistry and BSc Honours Chemistry. This report identifies the significant strengths of the programs, together with opportunities for improvement and enhancement, and sets out and prioritizes the recommendations selected for implementation.
This report includes an Implementation Plan that identifies who will be responsible for approving the recommendations set out in the Final Assessment Report; who will be responsible for providing any resources entailed by those recommendations; any changes in organization, policy or governance that will be necessary to meet the recommendations and who will be responsible for acting on those recommendations; and timelines for acting on and monitoring the implementation of those recommendations.
Overview of Program Review Process
The Program Self-Study Reports were completed in October 2021. For the programs under review (the BSc and BSc Hon in Chemistry) 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 curriculum vitae (CVs) of faculty members. Two arm’s-length external reviewers (Dr. Dietmar Kennepohl: Professor of Chemistry, Athabasca University, and Dr. Andrew P. Dicks: Professor, Teaching Stream and Associate Chair (Undergraduate), Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto) were selected from a list of possible reviewers and approved by the Deans of Science. An internal reviewer, Dr. Catharine Marsden, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was also selected for participation on the External Review Committee (ERC). They reviewed the self-study documentation and conducted an on-line virtual visit to RMC from 22 to 24 February 2022. During the virtual site visit, the ERC met with the Vice-Principal, Academic, Dr. Phil Bates, the Dean of Science, Dr. Gregg Wade, the Associate Dean of Science, Dr. Jennifer Shore, the Program Chair, Dr. Olivier Lebel, the Department Head for Chemistry, Dr. Frank Zeman, 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 programs. The ERC subsequently produced a Report based on the Self-Study and on-line visit. The report was circulated to department members and discussed at a departmental meeting.
The reviewers submitted their report in March 2022. In their report, they found that overall, the chemistry degree programs offered at RMC are solid, high quality chemistry programs.
Significant Strengths and Areas of Concern of the Programme:
The ERC identified a number of strengths of the undergraduate Chemistry Programs:
- The laboratory upgrades since the last review are impressive if not amazing. Part of this has been in preparation for seeking CSC accreditation, but there also appears to be a strong internal drive for these improvements that we see reflected in the passion and pride encountered in our interviews with faculty, staff, and technicians.
- The attention on the learner in these chemistry programs is outstanding. Part of this is due to small class sizes, which naturally leads to more individual attention. However, small classes cannot be excellent ones just because of their size alone. The teaching, professional, and support staff within the department all seem to be really invested in student success and wanting them to flourish as chemists and as individuals more broadly.
- The faculty and staff in the department appear to work well together as a team. They are cohesive and effective in an environment that makes a lot of demands on their time. In the laboratory and faculty interviews everyone seemed self reflective, professional, and seemed to have a collective departmental spirit. Other areas of the university and the students themselves also spoke well of chemistry at RMC.
The ERC identified a couple of areas of concern for the undergraduate Chemistry Programs, and suggestion for program enhancements:
- The degree level expectations (DLEs) for both the Major and Honours four-year degree programs are summarized in Table 8 of the self-study. Table 8 attempts to address several things at once (stating expectations at different levels and curriculum mapping) and also really has too much detail gathered in one place. Both of these features work against clarity for the reader. In addition, the organization and framing of the information makes it far less lucid than it could be. Finally, the Program should develop a curriculum map to indicate where the program learning outcomes (PLOs) are being met.
- The ERC are concerned by the ‘fair’ ratings of Library (Subscribe to scientific journals) and Computing and AV Services. The student, alumni and faculty surveys in the self-study (pp. 35-44) also flag these areas. This might be coloured by the recent hacking incident described to us. However, we feel it is important to the chemistry programs that these resources are available, consistent and satisfactory in the longer term.
The Program Chair, after consultation with faculty and staff in the programs, submitted a response to the ERC Report in June 2022. The Dean of Science prepared this Final Assessment Report in December, 2022. Specific recommendations are discussed, and follow-up actions and timelines provided.
Summary of the Reviewers’ Recommendations with Dean’s Responses
The ERC identified a number of areas of concern or issues that require attention. These issues are discussed in the order that they appear in the ERC Report:
Recommendation 1
In the ERC report from the previous IQAP audit, a recommendation was made to improve coordination between academic and military activities. The ERC from the current review felt that this issue had not been adequately resolved and that this issue needs to be revisited.
Departmental Response:
The Department, and the Academic Wing as a whole, fully supports this recommendation. Ideally, communication and understanding between the two wings should be made a priority, and not just something that occurs over coffee at the mess. Academic and Training Wing relations are a challenge as neither side fully appreciates the importance of the other and there is little connection between the two. Work to bridge this gap is an ongoing process that is often hindered by high turnover on both sides. Strong administrative leadership will be necessary to start this process, but the examiners are correct in pointing out this persistent issue.. In addition, in light of the recent Arbour Report, there may be much larger changes to the cadet structure (including time commitments) on the horizon, and this issue will factor heavily into those discussions about what is best for RMC and what our priority as an institution should be.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response and noted that these issues are known to occur. Communication about student duty away events and in-class assessments occurs at the level of the Deans (which has representatives from the Training and Academic Wings) and instructors and Heads are encouraged to broadcast reminders of key event timings (such as duty weekends and significant exams). The issue has been exacerbated by the loss of the common and easily accessible College Activities Calendar. The new calendar system is currently under development, and we expect it to be online by the beginning of the next academic year. The high demands on students’ time at this unique university sometimes makes scheduling conflicts unavoidable. Conflicts can also be avoided by including the dates of important in-class events/activities in the syllabus at the beginning of the year, instead of deciding part way through the year, as the calendars fill up.
Recommendation 2
In the ERC report from the previous IQAP audit, a recommendation was made that the next hiring in the department be in the field of environmental studies. The formal response from RMC confirms three new hires in this area. However, the ERC commented that self-study was quite vague on this point, merely noting position attrition in this area with the comment that “we can prioritize candidates who possess an environmental or biological background.” However, on the visit, the ERC heard the next upcoming faculty hire would be in physical chemistry. The ERC recommended that the chemistry department have a list of resource priorities, which includes possible future hires. Such a wish list might be helpful to responding to recommendations like this.
Departmental Response:
Hiring at RMC is currently on a replacement basis with no retirements expected in the next five (5) years. A Physical Chemist (Dr. Patrick Julien) has been hired and started in summer 2022. In addition, we gained expertise in Environmental Chemistry with the latest hire in our Nuclear section (Dr. Francois Caron), which reinforces our commitment to increase our capabilities in the environmental field. As part of the 2023/24 RMC business plan, the department requested two (2) additional faculty positions: one in analytical chemistry and one in biology. Efforts will be made to highlight environmental research should these be approved.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response.
Recommendation 3
Develop 6-9 clearly articulated PLOs that align with institutional, provincial (Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents’ Undergraduate Degree Level Expectations) and national (Canadian Degree Qualifications Framework) standards.
Departmental Response:
The Dean endorsed this response. The CCE department has taken initiative and responded to this recommendation with a comprehensive evaluation of the PLOs of the PCHEM study stream. The Quality Assurance Office has supplied a template that delineates the connections between RMC’s DLEs and departmental PLOs which CCE is highly encouraged to use.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response. The CCE department has taken initiative and responded to this recommendation with a comprehensive evaluation of the PLOs of the PCHEM study stream. The Quality Assurance Office has supplied a template that delineates the connections between RMC’s DLEs and departmental PLOs which CCE is highly encouraged to use.
Recommendation 4
Develop a curriculum map to indicate where in the program the PLOs are being met. Specifically, generate a course/PLO table that indicates which course addresses a particular PLO and at what level (e.g. introductory, developing, mastery). If possible, also indicate key PLO assessment points throughout the program.
Departmental Response:
See response to recommendation # 3 above.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response.
Recommendation 5
Seek knowledgeable assistance in developing those PLOs and the curriculum map. While these documents need to be unique to undergraduate chemistry at RMC, there is quite a bit of art and science involved in getting well-worded and concise documents that articulate the learning in these programs for all stakeholders. The documents generated are intended to be actively used to guide course/program development and revision and in systematic assessment (both of the student and the program itself).
Departmental Response:
Chemistry program will work with the Quality Assurance Office at RMC to develop a curriculum map using DLEs and PLOs. A meeting will be scheduled with Kristan Miller (Director of Quality Assurance) in May 2023.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response and encourages the department to apply lessons learned from the MSc/PhD Chemistry programs currently undergoing their IQAP cyclical review as well as review the well-developed DLE/PLO table created for the BSc Physics IQAP document reviewed last year.
Recommendation 6
Prepare a study that surveys, evaluates, and documents the EDI and indigenous aspects of the chemistry programs and the learning environment of the students in the programs. This would include accommodation practices, raising awareness, student supports available, activities, and how those principles are incorporated into the academic program itself. This would strengthen an already strong program and set up the department for eventual program accreditation with the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC), which requires this for application (see Sections 3.13 and 3.14 in the CSC Accreditation Guidelines).
Departmental Response:
The Department will collaborate with the Office of Quality Assurance at RMC to prepare surveys to distribute to students about this. It is to be noted that EDI within RMC students is directly impacted by EDI within the Canadian Forces (CF) recruitment as a whole, as our students enroll through the CF prior to being accepted as prospective RMC students. That said, RMC is committed to improving our EDI practices and has recently unveiled our EDI policy. Our new Director of EDI started June 2022 and we will work with them, and other stakeholders at RMC, to develop and improve our EDI integration into our courses, programs and Department.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response. The Dean encourages the department to reach out to the Associate VP Indigenous Knowledges and Learning to seek their input and to consider establishing a working group with this AVP and the faculty association EDI representative to look for opportunities where EDII knowledge can be integrated into the CCE programs.
Recommendation 7
Generate a list of academic resources (e.g. scientific journals) needed to support the undergraduate chemistry programs and work proactively with the Library to seek access. An aspect of this work is to also understand how students are searching and analyzing information and if there are better ways to do this. [The Library notes that chemistry search terms are a rarity in EBSCO reporting for RMC.]
Departmental Response:
The Library already has access to the ACS, RSC, Elsevier and Wiley main Chemistry journals, which encompasses 90% of the most relevant journals in the field. However, it is true that the program could improve on teaching students how to search scientific literature. We do have access to SciFinder Scholar, which is a wonderful search tool. Prior to the pandemic and cyber attack, students were introduced to library resources during the first lab of inorganic chemistry in 2nd year. This included an overview of using SciFinder, and an associated assignment to get them to use the resource. However, it appears that students may have preferred other methods of researching online. We welcome the ERC’s idea above, and perhaps we should look more into what these methods of student searching are and how we can leverage that to improve their experience with library resources. We also recognize that it has taken RMC quite a while to re-establish our network capabilities, and VPN access, meaning there was a long period of time during which students did not have access to any journals or library resources at all. This may factor into the survey answers, and may also have impacted how they circumnavigated this issue to find their own solutions. We will survey our students to determine the methods they use to access academic resources.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response and notes that a review of departmental library journal requirements was completed by the departmental library representative after the IQAP review. This recommendation has been completed.
Recommendation 8
Arrange for there to be semi-regular and scheduled discussions between faculty, specifically regarding their teaching activities. These kinds of meetings are an opportunity to share tips/brainstorm ideas and can act as a catalyst to develop new initiatives. Given the demonstrated commitment of the technical staff to the teaching mission of the department it is suggested that they be involved in at least some of these discussions.
Departmental Response:
We thank the ERC for this excellent recommendation. There are many of us on the faculty and tech staff with an interest in educational practices and improving our curriculum for our students. At the moment, discussions such as these happen informally, between the 101 team, as well as between individual profs and associated lab techs. As a starting point, we will organize regular group discussions on this topic, where participants can be free to share experiences, provide suggestions, or just start general discussions on pedagogical techniques. Prior to the pandemic, RMC hosted its annual Teaching and Learning Pedagogical Workshop, which ran in a conference-format with opportunities for members of the college to present, more formally, on their work. This past year, the college has hosted virtual “Lunch and Learn” sessions, focused on teaching techniques, technology resources, and college services available to help instructors.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response. The Dean encourages the active participation of faculty and staff in the highly valuable Lunch and Learn sessions, as well as for the department to consider incorporating discussions on new pedagogical developments in the STEM field into their seminar series.
Recommendation 9
Incorporate more Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) into faculty and student research opportunities. In particular, consider SoTL projects for students to increase engagement and possibly also support curriculum development.
Departmental Response:
Excellent idea, it is especially appealing for 4th year projects. In addition to offering education-related honours projects to our students, we can also offer projects to Queen’s Chem 4th year students. Many of us already supervise Queen’s students for their projects, and some of them may be planning a career in teaching and therefore more interested and motivated in considering such a project.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response. Currently, the new hire in Physical Chemistry has acquired a summer student to help with the development of new laboratory experiments for the Physical Chemistry Laboratory course.
Recommendation 10
Establish ongoing connections with chemistry departments/programs at other military institutions, to share ideas and approaches to teaching, learning, and administration in that environment. Consider contact with comparator military colleges or academies in the United States first, where PLOs and their assessment are more established and better understood.
Departmental Response:
The Department welcomes this idea and will attempt to establish contact with various military institutions internationally. A starting point for this is the International Society for Military Sciences (ISMS), which has a Military Education Working Group. The first-year instructors have attended and presented at this conference in the hopes of establishing connections. Unfortunately, the virtual presence of this meeting made networking extremely difficult, but they have submitted an abstract to attend in person this year. There is also an existing exchange program that gets interest virtually every year. Unfortunately, these inquiries don’t result in exchanges owing to the specific course plans at the different institutions. Often, any exchange would result in the officer cadet requiring extra time to complete their degree. This extra year would be paid, in part, by the cadet. This financial burden acts as a deterrent. The idea itself is worth pursuing, but perhaps more with military institutions from other NATO or allied countries, including the UK, France, or Germany. We will need to survey other military universities to see which more closely align with our format, but even those that don’t may have something to offer in terms of establishing the balance between education (in some form) and military responsibilities.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response and fully supports participation of faculty members in the Military Education Working Group.
Recommendation 11
Increase context pieces even more into the program. Students reported to the ERC that they loved some of the connections being made for them throughout their program and wanted more. They specifically requested more CAF officers coming back to visit to talk about careers they might consider and also more industry site visits (like the engineers get).
Departmental Response:
We thank the ERC for informing us of the students’ interest in this aspect of the program. Over the years, we have made efforts to increase the military pieces specifically in select courses and labs, with the intention of using those as a model to approach the other courses. We will endeavour to increase these over the next few years. Besides courses, there are many other opportunities to increase context pieces, such as more research projects with military applications, site visits to chemical industries, and seminar speakers from the military environment. The department will discuss adding the chemistry students to the industrial tours with the Training Wing.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response. Of note, Officer Cadets are provided opportunities each year to discuss aspects of their Military Occupations with CAF members in similar occupations during formally designated weekend tours that are well received by the students. In addition, the CCE department is working toward having at least one Military Faculty present in the 1st year chemistry course (a core course for every Engineer and Science student) as an instructor to increase individual engagement. The Department is also encouraged to arrange a visit by CJIRU (or a visit to Trenton).
Recommendation 12
Integrate at least one completely online course in the program, and carefully consider how the pandemic-related online resources that have been developed can be best-utilized. Pandemic scenarios aside, the model in these RMC chemistry programs is a high level of in-person attention for students in small classes. This appears to work incredibly well. However, they are also students in the 21st century and are surely looking at lifelong learning as part of their future. Familiarity and knowing they can also function and flourish in an online course would be a useful if not necessary skill for a graduate to have.
Departmental Response:
Adding new courses or dramatically changing existing ones (e.g. changing delivery format) is a multi year process of getting the RMC Calendar changed via Syllabus Committee. We will discuss amongst the chemistry faculty and identify a suitable course/topic (e.g. molecular modelling) that could be well suited to online delivery.
Dean’s Response:
The Dean endorsed this response. This recommendation is partly accepted. Experiential learning is a key component for foundational learning in Chemistry and an analysis of the credibility of a fully online course would need to be thoughtfully pursued. Also, CAF members receive several DL courses during their careers, outside of traditional academic programs.
Implementation Plan
| Recommendation | Proposed Follow-up | Responsibility for Leading Follow-up | Timeline for Addressing Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Improve coordination between academic and military activities. | As an institution, RMC is improving its communication through the use of a master calendar. | All faculty are encouraged to proactively talk to training wing and identify important course dates in the syllabus in order to avoid calendar conflicts. | Will review annually during implementation update (June 2024) |
| 2. Develop a list of resource priorities, which includes possible future hires. | Hold a Spring Meeting in late May 2023 to establish list. | Program Chair | May 2023 |
| 3. Develop 6-9 clearly articulated program learning outcomes (PLOs) that align with institutional, provincial (Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents' Undergraduate Degree Level Expectations), and national (Canadian Degree Qualifications Framework) standards. | Hold a Spring Meeting in late May 2023 to establish list in consultation with Head of the Writing Center. | Program Chair | May 2023 |
| 4. Develop a curriculum map to indicate where in the program the PLOs are being met. | Hold a Spring Meeting in late May 2023 to establish list in consultation with Head of the Writing Center | Program Chair | May 2023 |
| 5. Seek knowledgeable assistance in developing those PLOs and the curriculum map. | Invite Head of the Writing Center to present to the faculty on normal procedures and methodologies. | Program Chair | May 2023 |
| 6. Prepare a study that surveys, evaluates, and documents the EDI and indigenous aspects of the chemistry programs and the learning environment of the students in it. | Begin consultations with the RMC EDI officer (Ana Androsik) as well as AVPIKL (Dr. Daniel Lussier) to establish the parameters of the study. | Head of the Department | June 2023 to be completed by December 2023 |
| 7. Generate a list of academic resources (e.g. scientific journals) needed to support the undergraduate chemistry programs and work proactively with the Library to seek access. | Faculty in Chemistry will be asked to identify missing resources. Students will be surveyed during the seminar course (mandatory for all senior year students). |
Departmental Library Committee Member |
Completed |
| 8. Arrange for there to be semi-regular and scheduled discussions between faculty specifically regarding their teaching activities. | To be discussed at the spring meeting. Also, encourage attendance at the Lunch and Learn sessions. | Program Chair | May 2023 |
| 9. Incorporate more Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) into faculty and student research opportunities. | To be discussed at the spring meeting. Identify a standing senior year project (CCE420) on SoTL | Program Chair | May 2023 |
| 10. Establish ongoing connections with chemistry departments/programs at other military institutions, to share ideas and approaches to teaching, learning, and administration in that environment. | To be discussed at the May 2023 meeting, where a person in charge will be identified to attempt this recommendation. We are the only Canadian institution and other\NATO sites have shown reluctance in the past. | TBD | Will review annually during implementation update (June 2024) |
| 11. Increase context pieces even more into the program (more CAF officer visits and industry site visits). | Request permission from the Training Wing to include Chemists in the industrial 2nd year tours. Consider creation of a zero-credit course for the tour. | Person responsible for Academic visits | Industrial Tours are May 3rd 2023. |
| 12. Integrate at least one completely online course in the program, and carefully consider how the pandemic-related online resources that have been developed can be best-utilized. | There is no proposed follow-up. CAF members receive several DL courses during their careers, outside of traditional academic programs, so this recommendation will be fulfilled elsewhere. | N/A | Completed |
Conclusion:
The ERC Report provided positive feedback on the outcomes of the undergraduate programmes in chemistry. It confirmed that the RMC is delivering solid, high quality chemistry programs. However, the ERC did identify areas that had room for improvement, and RMC is, or has already taken, taking steps to address the issues raised. RMC will continue to work toward program enhancement and improve student success in chemistry.
The Dean of Science, in consultation with the Program Chair and the Head of the Chemistry, is responsible for monitoring the Implementation Plan.