In accordance with the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP), the Program Self-Study Reports were completed in June 2021. For the Master of Public Administration program, the report contained the program degree level expectations, an analytical assessment of the program, course outlines, program-related data, survey data from the Office of Quality Assurance and appendices with sample examinations and CVs of faculty members.Two arm's-length external reviewers (Dr Malcolm G. Bird, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Winnipeg and Dr Nelson Michaud, Professeur titulaire, Ecole nationale d’administration publique) were selected from a list of possible reviewers and approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies. Dr Frank Zeman, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at RMC, was the internal reviewer for the External Review Committee (ERC). They reviewed the self-study documentation and conducted an on-site visit to RMC from 7 to 8 March 2023.They submitted their report on 15 April 2023.
In their report, the ERC finds that the MPA is a strong program that meets the requirements of a public administration program with an appropriate accent on the reality of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The ERC identified several strengths of the MPA program including the most valuable feature of this program is its remote course delivery model, the offering of elective course options which allows students to tailor their courses to their specific interests and strengths, and the plan to offer three specific streams to complement the general MPA Program is a very significant innovation. The ERC also identified several areas of concern such as: limited on-line support to students, the faculty complementing its current "Home" in the Department of Political Science and Economics does not sufficiently support this program, and the lack of administrative support services and associated faculty.
The Program Chair, after consultation with faculty and staff in the programs, submitted a response to the ERC Report on 30 May 2023. The Dean of Graduate Studies prepared a Final Assessment Report on 6 June 2023. The Dean concuded that the FAR that the MPA program is academically strong and an asset to RMC, and is aligning well with its institutional goals and Canada's overall public administration learning infrastructure. However, he also comcluded that there is room for improvement, and RMC has taken steps to address the issues raised. RMC will continue to work toward program enhancement and improve student success in the MPA program.