FAR - Results from the Graduate Programmes in Mechanical Engineering

2017 IQAP Review of Mechanical Engineering Programmes
Final Assessment Report and Implementation Plan

In accordance with the Royal Military College of Canada (RMCC) Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP), this Final Assessment Report (FAR) provides a synthesis of the external evaluation and internal response and assessments of the graduate programmes in Mechanical Engineering offered by the Faculty of Engineering. This report identifies the significant strengths of the programmes, together with opportunities for 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;
• Timelines for acting on and monitoring the implementation of those recommendations.

Overview of Programme Review Process:

The Programme Self-Study Report was completed in 2016. For the programmes under review - the MEng, MASc, and PhD in Mechanical Engineering - 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.

Two arm’s-length external reviewers (Dr. Ronald M. Barron, University of Waterloo, and Dr. Hakim A. Bouzid, École de Technologie Supérieure) were selected from a list of possible reviewers and approved by the Deans of Engineering and Graduate Studies. An internal reviewer, Ms. Margaret B.K. Shepherd of RMC’s Department of Management and Economics, was also selected for participation on the ERC. They reviewed the self-study documentation and conducted a site visit to RMC on 23, 24 February, 2016. During the site visit, the ERC met with the Vice-Principal, Academic, Dr. Phil Bates, the Vice-Principal, Research, Dr. Pat Heffernan, the Acting Dean of Engineering, Dr. Billy Allan, the Acting Head of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Dr. Manish Jugroot, the Chief Librarian, Ms. Sarah Toomey, as well as several members of the Mechanical Engineering faculty. The ERC also had the opportunity to meet with several students currently enrolled 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 at a departmental meeting.

The reviewers submitted their report in April, 2016. In their report, they found that the Mechanical Engineering Programme requirements were clear, and that the outcomes were clearly identified. The ERC identified strengths/exceptional achievement as well as areas that presented opportunity to enhance the programme. Issues with online journal access as well as times to completion were noted by some students and relayed by the ERC as ongoing concerns.

Significant Strengths and Areas of Concern of the Programme:

The ERC identified a number of strengths of the Mechanical Engineering Programme:

• The visitors noted that the department’s motivation and commitment to the education of mechanical engineers was exceptionally high. The department was described as cohesive and collegial and engaged in the active pursuit of excellence in research, teaching, scholarship and service with the benefit of excellent leadership.
• It was noted that the recent establishment of the Aeronautical Engineering Programme presented potential synergies between the programmes and noted several examples of new course developments that were available to students of both programmes.
• The ERC noted that the use of external examiners for Master’s thesis defences was effective in encouraging students to produce higher quality research and motivated the faculty to ensure the students were well prepared for their thesis defence.
• The graduate seminar is now mandatory for all graduate students and presented a quality venue to broaden the horizons of graduate students within their discipline beyond their specific area of research.

The ERC identified a number of areas of concern for the Mechanical Engineering Programme:

• It was felt that procurement, contracting and travel approval processes can be cumbersome at times, and can detract from research productivity and student progress;
• Library resources, especially access to key online journals, are inadequate;
• If research outputs are to be comparable to other Canadian Universities, RMC needs to invest in financial support to research scholarship funding and greater start-up funding for new faculty;
• Unfilled administrative positions within the department are critical and should be filled; and,
• Publication rates among faculty were low and lagging below the national average.

The Programme Chair, after consultation with faculty and staff in the programme, submitted a response to the Reviewers’ Report in June, 2016. The Dean of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the Dean of Engineering, prepared this Final Assessment Report in July, 2018. Specific recommendations are discussed, and follow-up actions and timelines are 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:

1. Time-to-Completion. It was noted that the times to completion appear to be longer than normal (MASc: ~30 months, PhD: 52-64 months).

Agreed. Graduate Studies implemented a school-wide programme of student monitoring and feedback in the fall of 2017. This programme addresses the challenges raised above. Departments will need to monitor progress to ensure students who are at risk of delayed completion are supported to complete their programme on time wherever possible. Progress reports will be reviewed by the Dean of Graduate Studies (DGS).

2. Resources are Critical. It is critical to fill the two administrative positions currently unfilled in the Department and to provide administrative supports necessary for students and faculty alike.

The senior administrative position has been filled on an indeterminate (permanent) basis. The junior clerical position has been abolished. This level of staffing is consistent with other Departments at RMC. Reestablishment of the junior clerical position is unlikely in the near term.

3. Streamlining Processes. It is clear that every effort should be made to streamline procurement, contracting and travel approval processes. Far too many levels of approval are required to process relatively small claims.

Approval processes are held to the highest level under Treasury Board (TB) and Department of National Defence (DND) policies which can result in long lead times and uninformed oversight to approvals. To address this challenge, RMC worked with DND to change the policy on conference travel, the result being that conference approval is no longer required, only travel approval is required, significantly reducing the time and effort associated with attending a conference. For procurement and contracting, researchers need to plan purchases with reasonable lead times to ensure their programmes are not affected. This challenge is well understood by the university.

4. Library resources are inadequate.

RMC has requested increased funding from higher levels in DND for several years. Last year, the Library received $300K of additional funding, which went towards electronic
journal archives from the publishers Sage (17 new titles) and Taylor & Francis (43 titles). The library is currently working to identify gaps in coverage beyond the normal Library budget, and will request additional funding as necessary. The College has been generally very supportive with funds for the Library. More ebooks and other electronic content are in the future as well, including e-audiobooks and ebooks for students who may have visual or learning disabilities.

5. The inconsistent and lack of a funding model for start-up funds poses a constraint for recruitment and retention.

The Principal has recently established a hiring review committee consisting of the VPA and VPR and the Dean of the Faculty to review starting salaries. This committee will also serve to assign start-up funds based on the projected needs of the new hire. While currently there is not an envisioned short-term infusion of funds, the process will ensure that maximum flexibility is exercised for those funds that are available.

6. More support for non-engineering aspects of the programme would be beneficial.

The Department has committed to looking at the development of a workshop dealing with thesis writing skills. The Writing Centre, while used by some students, their capacity is not well understood by some of the faculty. Information sharing on the opportunities in the Writing Centre will be better communicated to both students and faculty.

7. Insufficient financial supports for civilian students.

A formal request to have RMC added to the list of institutions eligible for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship was made and has been denied, as we are not a provincially funded University. Internal financial supports to graduate students face many challenges due to the nature of the institution. The DGS will continue to lobby for the use of civilian graduate student tuition revenues for their support.

8. There is a need to enhance and put in place a programme to increase the number of graduate students at both the Ph.D and M.A.Sc levels.

The Department has an ongoing programme of graduate recruiting. They have produced and distributed recruiting posters to other Canadian universities and discipline-related conferences, participated in international recruiting events, and increased the numbers of undergraduate students participating in summer research programmes.

9. Add a course on methodology in research.

A compulsory zero-credit seminar course, ME585, has been created to give students broader exposure to research in the Department. The Department is investigating expanding this course to include a research methodology component.

Recommendation	Proposed Follow-up	Responsibility for Leading Follow-up	Timeline for Addressing Recommendation
1. Time-to-completion	Implement a robust student progress reporting process across the Graduate School.	DGS	Completed. Will required ongoing monitoring and adjustment.
2. Resources are Critical	Fill and/or resolve the HR challenges associated with the two administrative positions (AY 2016/17) .	Department Head, Dean of Engineering and VPA.	Completed. Senior position filled, junior position abolished.
3. Streamlining Processes	Efforts are underway to shorten the approval process at the top end through greater delegations.	Principal	Completed.
4. Inadequate library resources	Funding for additional electronic journals has already resulted in 60 new titles. Other titles are currently being identified.	VPA and Chief Librarian	On-going.
5. Coherent plan for startup funds allocation	1. Incorporate start-up fund proposal and allocation in the hiring process. 2. Establish a more realistic budget line for start-up funds to enhance attraction of new faculty and ensure their early success.	1. Principal 2. VPR, Principal.	1. July 2018 (completed) 2. Under review
6. More support for  non-engineering aspects of the program	Consider better supports for professional development courses. Ensure both students and faculty are better informed as to student support services  (including the Writing Centre).	Department Head, Dean of Engineering	On-going.
7. Insufficient financial support for civilian graduate students.	Lobby the provincial government to make RMC eligible for OGS for their civilian graduate students. Consider a revenue sharing model for graduate student tuition that would deliver better pedagogical supports, especially conference attendance.	DGS	OGS lobby was unsuccessful and is considered closed. BP 2019/20 for revenue sharing model.
8. Graduate recruitment.	Advertise at other Canadian universities and relevant conferences. Seek opportunities to engage undergraduate students in research.	Department Head	Completed. Requires on-going action.
9. Course on methodology in research.	Introduce a research seminar course with material on research methodology.	Department Head	Ongoing. Seminar course introduced, research methodology component in progress.

Conclusion:

The ERC Report provides positive feedback on the outcomes of the various graduate programmes in Mechanical Engineering. It confirms that Mechanical Engineering is delivering an academically rigorous programme to its students and that its standards meet those of similar programmes in Ontario. However, the ERC also identified some areas requiring improvement, and some dangers to the future health of the programme. RMC is already taking steps to address the issues raised, such as filling vacant administrative positions, the monitoring of student progress, and the reinvestment into enhanced library offerings. RMC will continue to work toward more streamlined administrative approval processes for the programme. The Dean of Graduate Studies, in consultation with Dean of Engineering and the Head of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is responsible for monitoring the Implementation Plan. The other recommendations have either already been considered or implemented.