Report of the RMC Board of Governors By the Withers' Study Group
Balanced Excellence Leading Canada's Armed Forces In The New Millenium
4500-240 (ADM (HR-Mil))
24 September 1998
Background
1. Much has been written in recent years about the value of a military university education such as presently offered at RMC. The discussion culminated in a recommendation (number 12) in the Minister of National Defence Report to the Prime Minister 25 March 1997 to conduct a thorough review of the undergraduate programs at this institution.
2. This review will be conducted under the auspices of the RMC Board of Governors, henceforth called "the Board".
Aim
3. The aim of this review is to ensure for each graduate, a broad-based education well grounded in the sciences and the humanities, with special emphasis being placed on the development of values, ethics, and leadership skills needed for responsibilities and service to country.
Conduct
4. General Outline. To ensure an impartial perspective, the Board will commission a Study Group composed of members external to RMC, possessing the requisite expertise in academic and military matters. They will conduct investigation and research as necessary, and will be allowed free access to information as appropriate.
5. Composition. The final composition of the Study Group is as follows:
| a. | Gen Ramsey Withers (ret'd) | President |
| b. | Dr John Cowan | Member |
| c. | Dr Michel Gervais | Member |
| d. | Capt Chantal Pelletier | Member |
| e. | Norman Ross | Member |
| f. | Jennifer Tomlinson | Member |
| g. | Ken Smee | Board of Governors Member |
| h. | LCol Lorne W(Bill) Bentley (ret'd) | Senior Analyst |
(Copies of their Curriculum Vitae are attached)
Appropriate administrative/research staff will be provided.
6. Mandate. The assumptions/general guidance to the Study Group are as follows:
a. Assumptions
1) Current recruiting practices as concerns the Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP), Reserve Entry Training Plan (RETP) or University Training Plan Non-Commissioned Members (UTPNCM) terms of service will not change in the short term.
2) RMC attendance under these plans will lead to an undergraduate degree.
3) As well as meeting the requirements elucidated in the aim, RMC undergraduates will be bilingual and physically fit.
4. See also, as further guidance, the attached Appendix A from the Officer Development Review Board (ODRB) thoughts.
b. General Guidelines.
1. Examine all undergraduate academic, bilingual, military and physical education/fitness programs at RMC as to their applicability in meeting the aim of the review and in regard to the institutional requirement of an accredited Canadian university operating under a charter from the Province of Ontario,
2. Without meaning to limit the Study Group in its work, it is expected that the findings/recommendations will have addressed the following questions, among others:
a) Does the current system represent the optimum means of achieving the aim?
b) Does the Study Group have any guidance to offer to the recruiting process?
c) Could the aim be achieved with an alternative program of study? If an alternative program were proposed, the following considerations should be included in the analysis undertaken by the Study Group:
- What would be the course content of the program?
- What is the assessed effect on recruitment?
- What portion, if any, could or would be advantageously given at civilian university (ies)?
- Would this program be capable of achieving the aim set out in paragraph 3; certainly with respect to the delivery of a functionally bilingual graduate?
d) Can/should academic credit be granted for second language training and bilingual achievement?
e) Are there economies to be made in Alternate Service Delivery (ASD) options for academic and bilingual programs?
f) What is the optimum military wing staff requirement (staff/student ratio) to ensure adequate supervision, guidance and assessment for the resident student population?
g) Is the content of the military program appropriate to meet the requirements of the Canadian Forces?, and
h) What is the optimum physical education program to ensure both a high level of fitness and an enduring commitment to same?
c. Timelines. The Study Group will commence work as soon as possible and no later than 15 November 97, and terminate with the submission of a bilingual final report on or before 31 March 98. The chair of the Study Group will submit monthly progress reports to the Chairman of the Board.
Administration
7. The members of the Study Group will be paid in accordance with a Canadian Forces contract at a negotiated rate. The members of the Study Group will be reimbursed actual and reasonable travel expenses, miscellaneous and office expenses that may be incurred in the conduct of the review, in accordance with normal government practices.
8. Administrative support for the Study Group will be provided by RMC, to include office space as required. Appropriate funding will be provided by CFRETS for accounting by RMC.
Appendix A: Extracts from Officer Professional Development System (OPDS) Report
RMC: Entry Level. Based on analysis of several foreign entry-level military post-secondary institutions and our review of the Report of the Ministerial Committee of the Canadian Military Colleges, the ODRB has determined that the principal reasons for an entry-level capacity military college like RMC are that:
- the institution should develop in officer candidates the foundation elements of officership;
- graduate officers should exhibit better leadership ability (which included, inter alia, a higher degree of commitment to military ethos, second language communication ability, and physical fitness) and character as evidenced by a greater representation at all critical career selection points and within the colonel and general officer ranks than they represent at officer intake;
- graduate officers should exhibit significantly better retention rates following compulsory service than other officer intake plans;
- the institution should be amongst the very best of universities in the quality of its particular academic program;
- the institution should be bilingual and qualify graduate officers to the CF functional standard in their second language;
- the institution should offer a militarily focussed academic curriculum not attainable elsewhere;
- the institution should produce officers with academic qualifications who would not otherwise join the CF in the numbers required to meet CF needs; and
- the institution should be cost-competitive in terms of its academic program and contribution to the officer corps and military.