University of Guelph-Humber

Even after a three-decade career in policing, Bill Courtice felt he had more to learn.

Courtice’s career started in 1986 as a military police officer, and he joined York Region in ’89. Initially, he worked as a uniformed officer before joining the Criminal Investigations Branch, and he was subsequently promoted to homicide, where he’s spent the past nine years.

So when he decided to enroll at the University of Guelph-Humber’s Justice and Public Safety Degree Completion program in 2013, he was motivated less by trying to further his career and more by wanting to further his knowledge.

“Because I was near the end of my career, upward mobility wasn’t what I was looking for,” Courtice said. “It was more from a self-gratification perspective. As I continued on, I realized it would have been nice to have done that earlier in my career. It would have benefited me both from a personal perspective and a professional perspective.”

Still, Courtice certainly found inspiration in his return to an academic environment. He graduated from UofGH in 2015, and this past September enrolled at the University of Guelph’s MA Leadership program.

When Courtice first found himself on the University of Guelph-Humber’s Toronto campus, it was his first experience in academics since graduating from college in 1982. Quickly, he realized how much had changed.

“Obviously, 30-plus years had passed,” he said. “When I studied, computers didn’t exist, we were still using electric typewriters. From a research perspective, the internet didn’t exist. So obviously it was somewhat intimidating.

“But the way the course is structured for a person who’s been out of school for some time, it lessens the angst that comes with it.”

After years in policing, Courtice understandably felt comfortable with the practical side of his job. But attending UofGH sparked an interest in the theoretical aspect of justice.

“Although we have an understanding of what we’re doing here, from training and education in-house, you don’t really look at things as theoretical,” he said. “It was a theory applied to what we were doing from a practical perspective that I really benefited from.”

Certainly, Courtice’s ongoing study shows that he’s discovered a passion for education.

“If you look at it from a life perspective, you become a different person because of what you learned,” he said. “Pursuing my MA was driven from my experiences at Guelph-Humber. It’s a continuing process. It’s not something that stops. And then pursuing things on the academic side of things is always an option for me once I retire.”

Learn more about Justice and Public Safety Degree Completion at the University of Guelph-Humber.