In accordance with the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP), the Program Self-Study Report was completed in July of 2022. Two independent external reviewers (Dr Jane Koustas, Professor, Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Brock University, and Dr Élise Lepage, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies, Department of French Studies, University of Waterloo) and one internal reviewer (William D. E. Allan, Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Royal Military College) were selected from a list of potential reviewers and approved by the dean of Social Sciences and Humanities. The external review committee (ERC) reviewed the self-study documents and conducted a site visit on 12 and 13 December 2022. The ERC submitted their report on 2 February 2023.
In their report, the assessors describe how the French, Literature and Culture programs met the IQAP assessment criteria and the standards of French, Literature and Culture departments elsewhere in Canada. The ERC identified a number of strengths of the programs under review including that the curriculum compares very favourably with those offered at civilian universities in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada, since the previous cyclical review in 2015, several initiatives have been undertaken and completed within the department, and the current program emphasizes diversity and is better aligned with the College’s goals and mission. The ERC also identified several areas of concern such as: the department is currently in a period of transition following two departures, and it needs to ensure the stabilization of its faculty; It is essential that the course catalogue be downsized and streamlined, the program needs to strengthen ties with RMC Saint-Jean and with the public affairs officer military branch to optimize resources.
The Department Head, after consultation with Faculty and staff in the programs, submitted a response to the ERC Report on 6 March 2023. The Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, in collaboration with the department heads (current and interim), prepared this final assessment report on 17 March 2023. The report contains specific recommendations, action items and a timeline. The report concludes that the Department of French, Literature and Culture offers its students a rigorous academic program and that the curriculum compares very favourably with those offered at civilian universities, whether in Ontario or elsewhere in Canada.