2016 IQAP Review of Military Psychology and Leadership Programme
Final Assessment Report and Implementation Plan (FAR)
In accordance with the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP), this final assessment report provides a synthesis of the external evaluation and internal response and assessments of the psychology degree offered by the Military Psychology and Leadership Department. This report identifies the significant strengths of the programmes, together with opportunities for programme improvement and enhancement, and sets out and prioritizes the recommendations that have been 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 Programme Review Process:
The Programme Self-Study report was completed in June, 2017. For the programmes under review it contained the degree-level expectations for these programmes, an analytical assessment of the programmes, course outlines, programme-related data, survey data from the Office of Quality Assurance and appendices with sample examinations and CVs of faculty members.
One arm’s-length external reviewer (Dr. John Tivendell, Université de Moncton) and an internal reviewer (Dr. Chris Thurgood from RMC of Canada) were selected from a list of possible reviewers and approved by the Dean. They reviewed the self-study documentation and conducted a site visit to RMC on the 15th and 16th of January, 2018. The visit included interviews with the Dean of Arts, Vice-Principal Academic, Head of Military Psychology and Leadership Department, Chief Librarian, as well as several civilian and military members of the Military Psychology and Leadership Department faculty, and several students in the programmes. The ERC subsequently produced a report based on the Self-Study and site visit. The report was circulated to department members and discussed with members of the Military Psychology and Leadership Department faculty. The reviewers submitted their report in March 2018, in which they describe how the Military Psychology and Leadership Department programmes meet the IQAP evaluation criteria and the norms of psychology departments elsewhere in Canada.
The Departmental report and the External Review Committee (ERC) report together provide a thorough analysis of the current situation of the Department of Military Psychology and Leadership. All of the actors involved have seized the opportunity to provide useful and important analysis and recommendations about the current Departmental context and the way forward.
Significant Strengths and Weaknesses of the Programme:
The ERC identified a number of strengths of the Military Psychology and Leadership Department Programmes:
- “The psychology degree being offered at RMCC is consistent with the expectations proper to aCanadian University… The quality of the MPL staff and of the Faculty’s administrators all point to there being a serious commitment to offering a program that meets and indeed exceeds expected academicstandards and goals thus ensuring that the students that the department graduates are ready to meet the challenges of their military career and, at least for those students that we met, these cadets were also of a caliber to enter graduate programs at other universities if they chose to.”
- “the curriculum reflects what is being covered in most other Canadian universities and what the Canadian Psychological Association recommends.”
- “the MPL department can and should introduce a graduate program in psychology, in this case a master’s in psychology”
MPL identifies three primary areas of concern noted by the ERC that influence the status and quality of the programme:
- An increase in published and peer-reviewed research output and more and better funding opportunities provided by the Department of National Defence
- Teaching workload be fair, comparable and equitable
- The necessity of lab space for faculty and students to conduct research.
The Department Head, after consultation with faculty and staff in the programme, submitted a response to the Reviewers’ Report in June 2018. The Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities in consultation with the Heads (current and acting) of the Department prepared this Final Assessment Report in October 2019. Specific recommendations are discussed, and follow-up actions and timelines provided.
Summary of the Reviewers’ Recommendations with the Programme’s and Dean’s
Responses
The ERC identified the following areas of concern or issues that require attention:
Recommendation 1: The Committee recommends that the MPL department continue adapting Hewitt House in order to be able to fit in the modern equipment as it comes necessary for the research and pedagogical needs of today.
Departmental Response 1: The MPL Department agrees with this recommendation and has taken steps to improve the situation. In particular, we will try to obtain some new electronic devices used for teaching purposes (e.g., PowerPoint Projectors in Hewett House). Moreover, the MPL Department is looking at various options (dividing a big office into two) in order to create special purpose spaces specifically designated for labs.
Dean’s Response: The department is encouraged to continue developing Hewitt House for these specific purposes. In addition, opportunities are being sought to create dual-purpose space for both exam accommodations and a behavioural research lab, as the spaces have similar characteristics. Specifically, these include a large room for computer -based teaching/evaluation and a small room for individual assessments.
Recommendation 2: The Committee recommends an increase in published and peer-reviewed research output.
Departmental Response 2: The MPL Department agrees with this recommendation and is advocating for a reduced professor course load (from to 5 or even 4 as suggested in the report on page 12 and highlighted in rationale 14) in order to allow more time for research and dissemination endeavours (e.g., publishing and conference presentations). Moreover, the MPL Department also recognizes that a “research day” should be secured per semester - when timetables permit - for each full-time professor. A “research day” is a workday during which the member has no teaching and/or service duties. If it is not possible to accommodate all faculty members with one research day per semester, then we will rotate such that everyone should at least get one research day per year, either fall or winter. Also, a professor with a major grant should be allowed a course relief if funds are being secured for the College for those purposes.
Dean’s Response: Current course assignment is based on six courses per year, based only on the number courses and not on course size or other factors. There will be a joint workload committee established between university management and the faculty association to examine fair and equitable workload distribution that may impact the standard assignments for departments including MPL.
Recommendation 3: The Committee recommends that the MPL researchers have access to more important scientific journals in psychology.
Departmental Response 3: The MPL Department agrees that more resources should be allocated to the Library to support students and professors performing research in psychology (e.g., electronic journals). There are fields where electronic journals seem to be more accessible than others. For instance, O/B journals can be more readily accessed than journals for other psychology disciplines, such as clinical psychology and positive psychology. Also, resources in French are less abundant and less accessible. Moreover, electronic journals would be very important for students registering in the future Masters in Psychology Programme (see number 8).
Dean’s Response: The department is encouraged to work through the library committee to ensure that appropriate journals are available. The Chief Librarian continues to work towards improving access mechanisms for online journals, which has suffered due to lack of access to consortia.
Recommendation 4: The committee recommends that the changing interests of the MPL staff (faculty members) need to be regularly monitored at the departmental level and their needs passed on to the Faculty administrators.
Departmental Response 4: The MPL Department recognizes that the interests of MPL Faculty will likely change, or evolve, over time. Members will be encouraged to communicate their shifting interests as they occur and these changes will be discussed at the Departmental level. We view this monitoring of interests and needs as especially crucial with respect to our ongoing ability to serve the needs of our undergraduates and deliver a Master’s Degree programme. Where possible, the altered needs of our Faculty will be accommodated, with the understanding that the quality of existing programmes will need to be protected. When necessary, requirement for extra resources (e.g., lab equipment) would be reported to the Faculty administrators.
Dean’s Response: Indeterminate hiring is a critical point for any department, where program offerings can be reinforced or refocused based on the areas of expertise required from the new hire. The department is encouraged to identify the programs that they would like to offer, map their expertise of their current members against that ideal, and identify opportunities to hire initially determinately and ultimately indeterminately to reach that goal.
Recommendation 5: The Committee recommends allocating at least one lab per staff member.
Departmental Response 5: The MPL Department is taking into consideration this recommendation and is looking at accommodating staff members who need a lab for performing their research. At the moment we have secured a lab space for our new faculty member and, as stated in answer 1, are looking at various solutions in order to create more lab space. We had a departmental meeting to talk about this issue and the majority of faculty members agree that shared lab space (rather than each faculty member having his/her own lab space) would meet the needs of faculty and students. In the past, other departments on campus have allowed professors to use their facilities (when available) as labs; we intend to continue this practice when necessary.
Dean’s Response: The department is encouraged to submit Requests for Funds (RFF) to the RMC Foundation in order to support student travel and/or identify such student-focused activities in their own budget. The department is congratulated on their internal departmental research dissemination initiatives and encouraged to participate in faculty-level research fora.
Recommendation 6: The Committee recommends that the MPL staff address/discuss at a departmental meeting the issues of “small class sizes”.
Departmental Response 6: The MPL Department has discussed this issue in the past and will continue to address it when necessary. Mandatory courses, such as PSE103 - Introduction to Psychology, and PSE301 – Organisational Behaviour, as well as popular courses, such as PSE330 - Abnormal Psychology normally have a larger number of registered students. At the moment, the number of students permitted in a PSE 301 section, as an example, is capped at 25. If members of the MPL Department decide that multiple sections of one course should be combined, a teaching assistant should be hired to accomplish such duties as marking papers and exams. Another possibility could be that graduate students for our future Master’s degree programme (civilian students) might be interested in a TA-ship.
Dean’s Response: Teaching assistants will be funded for any class with more than 24 students. The judicious use of course size caps at senior seminars is encouraged. It is recognized that as courses become larger, there is a requirement to shift expectations regarding pedagogy and assessment. Introductory Psychology class sizes average approximately 30 students, which is exceptionally small in the discipline; the entire cohort of 220 students in PSE103 in seven course sections is smaller than some sections of comparable courses in larger universities. That being said, there are very few large classrooms remaining at RMC that would allow larger sized first year classes.
Recommendation 7: The ERC Committee recommends looking at the way courses are scheduled across campus.
Departmental Response 7: The MPL Department recognizes that scheduling courses in the College timetable is often a challenge. Most recently, a new system has been implemented to avoid timetable course conflicts which allows for a better distribution of mandatory and elective courses over a given semester. The timetable committee, which includes a member of the MPL Department, is very engaged in finding ways to improve the timetable structure.
Dean’s Response: The department is encouraged to work through the timetable committee to address any discipline-specific issues related to the distribution of common core sections between SSH, Science and Engineering faculties. In addition, the department is encouraged to be rigorous in their schedule planning and data entry to ensure that conflicts are not introduced by recognizing various program constraints.
Recommendation 8: The Committee recommends creating venues to present research results of students and staff.
Departmental Response 8: The MPL Department has already established venues for students to present their research. As part of the Honours’ Programme, students already have to present their thesis to their peers, professors, and the College community at large. Francophone students taking PSF211 usually present their research at the Société Quebecoise pour la Recherche en Psychologie (SQRP). For a few years now, professors have been invited to present their research to other colleagues at “brown bag” luncheons. Moreover, some professors have been presenting their research at the Humanities and Social Sciences Colloquium, an event open to all members of the Faculty of Arts and held at RMC twice a year. While some members of the MPL Department are engaged in the above activities, it has been recognized that other venues should be sought in order to disseminate their research.
Dean’s Response: The department is encouraged to submit Requests for Funds (RFF) to the RMC Club Foundation in order to support student travel and/or identify such student-focused activities in their own budget. The department is congratulated on their internal departmental research dissemination initiatives and encouraged to participate in faculty-level research fora.
Recommendation 9: The Committee recommends that the MPL members should be better “utilised” by RMC and researchers from other disciplines.
Departmental Response 9: The MPL Department acknowledges that their expertise is already sought and utilized by the Training Wing, as well as the Academic Wing. The MPL Department members are often asked to provide occasional, informal advice, such as: how to design a survey, or a study, and/or feedback when other disciplines apply psychological studies in their own work. Formally, MPL Department members are involved in many College activities, such as the Harassment Survey, the Exit Survey the Peer Assistance Programme (PAG) (under the supervision of a MPL Military Member), delivering Bystander Intervention workshops, and the Research Ethics Board (REB) (Members). While MPL Department members acknowledge that their expertise could be used for the benefit of students (OCdts), especially for presentations on various topics during the Professional Military Training (PMT), should time resources and expertise be available, these types of opportunities will continue to be assessed. Furthermore, members of the MPL Department will explore the possibility of increasing visibility by collaborating with other military units who do research, such as DGMPRA and DRDC.
Dean’s Response: There is a fine line to be walked on this recommendation. An historic problem has been a view of the MPL department as a source of practitioner expertise rather than as researchers and instructors. As such, any initiatives with a psychological, organizational or mental health orientation may have been directed to
MPL, often outside of the academic chain of command and frequently directly to military faculty. This has reduced over the last few years, with the department head exerting more of a gatekeeper function for these kinds of requests, but there is a constant requirement for mindful evaluation of requests and vigilance of direct “reaching-in”. That being said, where practical and aligned with faculty member interest and expertise, opportunities to create or contribute to practical outcomes may be valuable.
Recommendation 10: The Committee recommends the implementation of a graduate programme. Departmental Response 10: Since September 2017, the MPL Department has been discussing and working on the possibility of having a Masters Degree Programme in Psychology. An initial proposal has been accepted by the Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities. An MPL committee is, at the moment, writing a new program proposal according to RMC’s Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP).
Dean’s Response: The department is encouraged to continue their efforts with the support of the Deans of SSH and GS. There is a gap in DP3 education on behavioural approaches to command and leadership which would be well-served by such a graduate program. In parallel to the development of a Masters, the department is also developing courses in support of the War Studies program.
Recommendation 11: The Committee recommends including an important research activity to the Major in Psychology.
Departmental Response 11: At the moment, PSE/F211 - Research Methods – (a mandatory course for all students pursuing a major or honours psychology degree) includes a major assignment which could satisfy the requirement of a “major student research project” as suggested above. However, the members of the MPL Department need to engage in further discussions before reaching a conclusion regarding this recommendation.
Dean’s Response: We have recently conducted a review of our stats and research methods and have made some changes to them to make them even better. PSE211 will ensure diverse laboratory experiences. PSE213 will ensure learning APA format of results and we will be testing this upcoming year whether we can include students learning excel as this is a useful tool in the CAF and civilian domain. The department is encouraged to undertake these discussions and identify whether the major research activity is a requirement for the Major or only the Honours program.
Recommendation 12: The Committee recommends a fair, comparable and equitable teaching workload for all MPL professors.
Departmental Response 12: The MPL Department recognizes that workloads should be fair, comparable and equitable between all members. However, it also acknowledges that some factors, such as research, lab hours, service to the College and so on, impact the way workload is assigned. At the moment, the MPL Department manages members’ workload by considering the above factors and available resources. Another factor that needs to be considered when developing teaching workloads is whether a Faculty member can teach in French
or not. French classes tend to be smaller; however, course-related resources available to faculty teaching in French are very limited in comparison to those available for English courses. Therefore, organizing and developing course material for French courses can require substantially more time.
Dean’s Response: Please see recommendation 2.
Recommendation 13: The Committee recommends that every staff member should be involved in supervising undergraduate students and be pedagogically active at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Departmental Response 13: The MPL Department agrees with this recommendation. We have developed an MA programme and hope to have graduate students to supervise in the future. All faculty members are encouraged to supervise undergraduate honours theses, and, indeed, the majority have supervised numerous theses. Military members who have a PhD or have extensive experience with research have supervised undergraduate honours theses. Military faculty who hold an M.A. are initially encouraged to co-supervise theses.
Dean’s Response: Department members are encouraged to supervise at both the graduate and undergraduate levels as this is an important part of their scholarship and obligations to the discipline.
Recommendation 14: The Committee recommends an incentive for each MPL staff member participating in the new graduate programme; supervising one undergraduate honours ‘thesis and/or undergraduate major student’s research project per academic year.
Departmental Response 14: The MPL Department suggested that a “recognized reduced course load” (from 6 to 5 and even 4 as recommended by the report) would be, at the moment, a major incentive for all members. However, a teaching load of 4 – as recommended by the report – should be supported especially for members who are teaching an additional one-hour lab in addition to their regular teaching load. It is understood that members participating in the new graduate programme should have a reduced undergraduate course load. A course relief should be accorded if members are actively involved supervising numerous students at the graduate level.
Dean’s Response: Please see recommendations 2, 10 and 13.
Recommendation 15: The Committee recommends regular departmental meetings.
Departmental Response 15: The MPL Department members agree to meet on the third week of each month and to have it scheduled officially.
Dean’s Response: The department is encouraged to hold regular meetings in order to collaboratively discuss and address issues of interest to all department members.
Implementation Plan
| Recommendation | Proposed Follow-up and Resource Implications | Responsibility for Leading Follow-up | Timeline for Addressing Recommendation |
| 1. The Committee recommends that the MPL department continue adapting Hewitt House in order to be able to fit in the modern equipment as it comes necessary for the research and pedagogical needs of today. |
a. Contact Registrar’s office and CIS for updating equipment in Hewett house b. Division of offices will be assessed once needs of faculty have been clearly identified |
a. Dept head b. Dept head |
a. Resolved: The three classrooms have been renovated. New monitors that are directly hooked-up to laptops have been put in the classrooms (no more projector units), new b. The basement has been renovated and can be used to test 1-2 participants MPL has written a plan to create a multi-use laboratory space that has been submitted to senior management. The plan is to incorporate it in the swing space and that other departments will also have access to it. The classroom on the second floor in Hewett house is tagged to be converted to a dualdelivery classroom. |
| 2. The Committee recommends an increase in published and peer-reviewed research output. |
a. Discussion with the Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities to work at reducing teaching load b. Timetable discussion to ensure each faculty member has a research day c. Stronger research culture within MPL needs to be encouraged |
a. Dept head b. Timetable co-ordinator c. Dept head |
a. 2019 and on – Workload will be examined as part of the joint workload committee established between management and the faculty association. a) New faculty hires with strong, peer-reviewed publications are being sought |
| 3. The Committee recommends that the MPL researchers have access to more important scientific journals in psychology. | Discussion with the librarian and Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities. Cost is often a barrier. | MPL library rep, Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities and Chief Librarian. |
Ongoing. Presently, the resources are adequate as faculty are accessing articles via alternate |
| 4. The committee recommends that the changing interests of the MPL staff (faculty members) need to be regularly monitored at the departmental level and their needs passed on to the Faculty administrators. | Discussions with faculty members | Dept head and Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities |
Completed. Since Dr. Nicol has been departmental head she has held monthly meetings. She also regularly seeks input from members outside those meetings. The Dean of SSH has held weekly meetings and shared the notes with heads which has subsequently been promulgated to MPL faculty. |
| 5. The Committee recommends allocating at least one lab per staff member. | This is not necessary. The faculty requested a multifunction laboratory. | Dept head and Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities |
Ongoing. The basement has been renovated and can be used to test 1-2 participants. |
| 6. The Committee recommends that the MPL staff address/discuss at a departmental meeting the issues of small class sizes. | The MPL Department has discussed this issue in the past and will continue to address it when necessary. Availability of classrooms remains an issue. | Dept head |
Completed. Although faculty are willing to teach PSE103, in particular, as larger classes, the registrar’s office has made it clear that classroom availability is limited. |
| 7. The Committee recommends looking at the way courses are scheduled across campus to allow faculty members to have one-day without teaching duties. | The MPL Department has discussed this issue in the past with the Registrar’s office. The Timetable Committee needs to address if possible. | MPL Timetable Committee rep | Dec 2021 |
| 8. The Committee recommends creating venues to present research results of students and staff. | The MPL Department discussed this and identified a number of options. | Dept Head |
Completed. We have developed and are further identifying venues whereby our cadets can For 2022:
|
| 9. The Committee recommends that the MPL members should be better “utilised” by RMC and researchers from other disciplines. | We agree it is important to provide service to the college, but a balance is required between offering services and dedicating time to research activities. |
Dept head and faculty members |
Completed. Of most importance are:
Other activities include:
|
| 10. The Committee recommends the implementation of a graduate programme. | A new program proposal as per our IQAP for the MA degree is in progress. This process will outline the resource implications and seek to establish RMC’s commitment to account for them. | Dept head and Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities |
On-going. With the existing number of faculty we were not able to do this. However, we added three new graduate courses to War Studies in an effort to gain experience teaching graduate level courses online. Two of the three will be taught for the first time in 2022-2023. The courses are: WS 557 Advanced topics (Psychology of Peace and Conflict), WS 557 Advanced topics (Leadership principles and Theories) WS 557 Advance topics (Advanced Leadership principles and Theories) We will work towards making these courses stand-alone as opposed to special topics. Once the two new faculty members have been established in their positions, we will advance the graduate psychology programme. The proposal has been written, it will just require revisions. Next step will be to identify if an external sponsor would support (with resources) a Master’s program in Military Psychology. |
| 11. The Committee recommends including an important research activity to the Major in Psychology. | All psychology students get research experience in PSE/F211 and PSE/F236 as well as in other courses listed to the right. | Dept head |
Completed. We have recently conducted a review of our stats and research methods and have made some changes to them to make them even better. PSE211 will ensure diverse laboratory experiences. PSE213 will ensure learning APA format of results and we will be testing this upcoming year whether we can include students learning excel as this is a useful tool in the CAF and civilian domain. PSE236 has three in-class laboratory exercises. Each lab includes running an assigned experiment, subsequent data collection and analysis, and write up as an experimental study using APA format PSE350 Changes have been made to the course description in order to ensure that it incorporates laboratory experience. PSE352 will incorporate more advanced stats. Further improvements: We have included more courses that will provide a broader scope of psychology for cadets, relevant material specific to the CAF, and additional laboratory experiences in PSE394 Special Topics in Psychology, PSE493 Directed Research in Psychology, PSE422 Psychology of Environmental Sustainability, PSE440 Forensic Psychology, PSE484 The Psychology of Gender in the Military, PSE493 Directed Research in Psychology. |
| 12. The Committee recommends a fair, comparable and equitable teaching workload for all MPL professors. | These involve ongoing discussions with faculty members | Dept head and Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities | Ongoing. This will be examined as part of the joint workload committee established between management and the faculty association. |
| 13. The Committee recommends that every staff member should be involved in supervising undergraduate students and be pedagogically active at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. | Faculty members agree. MA programme has been discussed as well as the development of more courses for War Studies that more MPL faculty can teach in accordance with the Collective Agreement. |
Dept head |
In progress We added three new graduate courses to War Studies in an effort to gain experience teaching graduate level courses online. Two of the three will be taught for the first time in2022-2023. The courses are: WS 557 Advanced topics (Psychology of Peace and Conflict), WS 557 Advanced topics (Leadership principles and Theories) WS 557 Advanced topics (Advanced Leadership principles and Theories) We will work towards making these courses stand-alone as opposed to special topics. Once the two new faculty members have been established in their positions, we will advance the graduate psychology programme. The proposal has been written, it will just require revisions. |
| 14. The Committee recommends an incentive for each MPL staff memberparticipating in the new graduate programme and to also have to supervise an undergraduate honours ‘thesis or research project per academic year. | MPL faculty agree in accordance with the Collective Agreement. | Dept head and Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities | See points 2, 10 and 13 above. |
| 15. The Committee recommends regular departmental meetings. | Regular meetings will be held by the department head or the deputy head every month | Dept head or Deputy head | Completed. |
Conclusion:
According to the Report, the MPL is an “energetic and optimistic” department with a strong interest in delivering a sound undergraduate psychology program to OCdts. The Report found that the MPL members, both military and civilian, are dedicated to provide a program of quality and found the programme to be on par with those of existing institutions. While there are no graduate programs at the moment, there is a growing interest in offering such programs for students keen in pursuing research in Military Psychology. Although the Report highlighted the strengths of the department, it also underlined some issues that need to be addressed such as engaging in regular meetings, showcasing faculty and student research better, updating classroom equipment, increasing research productivity, reducing teaching load, gaining experience teaching at the graduate level, and the necessity of a lab space. Improving on these aspects will provide cadets with an even better academic experience that will provide them with the skills necessary for their future as officers.