CIPS - Professionalism: Information Systems Accreditation Questionnaire

Institutional Questionnaire

This questionnaire is intended to elicit information to help the Council appraise your program(s) against the criteria. If you choose to answer any of the questions outside of the provided spaces, please be sure to include question numbers with your responses.

You are encouraged to submit your responses and any background materials in electronic format (e.g. in CD/DVD format or set up a secure website use the Web template available from our website). If you submit your documentation in CD/DVD format, then please provide four (4) copies. If you submit your documentation in paper-based format, you also need to provide four (4) full copies.

You must also submit each of the following documents:

·  The official University calendar

·  Department handbooks

·  Latest annual report

·  Teaching assignments for the current academic year

·  Complete or abbreviated CVs for all faculty, including information on grants received, recent evidence of scholarship, and professional involvement

·  Recruitment Brochures and Materials; examples of all materials other than the official Calendar or Program Handbook which are used for recruitment purposes should be included, e.g. brochures, flyers, data-sheets etc.

·  Scholarships and Bursaries; list all scholarships and bursaries available to students enrolled in the program. Include the criteria associated with the award as well as the amount on the award.

·  Course Outlines; provide copies of course outlines for every course offered to students in the program(s). Sample copies of examinations used to determine student capabilities need to be made available to the team during the meeting. Note: One full copy of these materials should be made available to the visitation team in their meeting room during the accreditation visit.

·  Text Books; identify all text books and/or intellectual content used in the program and indicate the names of the course(s) where the texts are employed.

·  Collective agreement (this can be left in the team’s meeting room)

A. The University Environment

A1) Complete the following table to indicate the size of your operations (i) in absolute terms, (ii) as an approximate percentage of the operations of all units reporting to the same Dean (typically a Faculty), and (iii) as an approximate percentage of the total University operations:

A2) How do the Department's programs fit into the structure of the University? Please include explicit references to the University calendar or other submitted materials.

B. Faculty

B1) Complete the following table to indicate the financial resources allocated in support of faculty members:

B2) How many courses are taught annually by non-regular faculty?

B3) How is the administrative load distributed among the faculty? How is the teaching load distributed among the faculty? How are teaching assignments made?

C. Students

C1) Complete the following tables for each program for which you are seeking accreditation, using one row per program and including the name of the program in the first column:

NOTE: Prog. ID may be an acronym or short name by which the program is known. If such a name is not in common use, you may identify each program by any means you wish (e.g., short mnemonic or number) so that the entries in subsequent tables on this questionnaire may be easily related to the corresponding programs.

C2) What are the requirements to enter into or continue in the programs? Please include explicit references to the University calendar or other submitted materials.

C3) How are students advised about course and career selection?

C4a) Approximately what percentage of graduates continue in post-graduate studies?

C4b) How many graduating students received scholarships for post-graduate studies?

D. Curriculum

In judging curricula for accreditation, several aspects are considered: distribution of courses overall, training in communications skills, breadth and depth of courses within Information Systems, and breadth and depth of courses outside the discipline.

D1) Complete the following table to indicate how the minimum requirements in each program compared to the Accreditation Guidelines, using one row for each program being considered:

D2) Where minimum requirements do not meet the Guidelines, what compensating educational objective is met?

D3) How do the programs ensure that written and oral communications skills are developed?

D4) Complete the following table to indicate the required courses taken by students that significantly address each of the identified sub-areas within Information Systems, again using one row per program. Note: evidence of coverage of course topics can be demonstrated in a number of ways (e.g. the subject of assignments, background needed in other courses, assumed in courses where students must apply the concept in the course material etc.) It is up to the Department to describe how coverage is handled.

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D5) How do the programs ensure that students are exposed to state-of-the-art systems practices?

D6) How do the programs ensure that students are exposed to various aspects of professionalism?

D7) How do the programs ensure that students have direct experience with non-trivial problem-solving?

D8) Complete the following table to indicate the required courses taken by students that significantly address each of the identified sub-areas of technology, again using one row per program. Note: evidence of coverage of course topics can be demonstrated in a number of ways (e.g. the subject of assignments, background needed in other courses, assumed in courses where students must apply the concept in the course material etc.) It is up to the Department to describe how coverage is handled.

D9) Complete the following table to indicate the required courses taken by students in the broad disciplines within Business study, again using one row per program. Note: evidence of coverage of course topics can be demonstrated in a number of ways (e.g. the subject of assignments, background needed in other courses, assumed in courses where students must apply the concept in the course material etc.) It is up to the Department to describe how coverage is handled.

D10) How does the Department manage and review its curriculum?

D11) Are there other innovative aspects of the programs that deserve special mention?

D12) Complete the following table to indicate the required courses taken by students in each of the broad disciplines outside of Information Systems and Business, again using one row per program. Note: these courses may span many other departments within the University, such as Humanities, Social Science, Sciences, Arts, Engineering, Health Services, Education, Law, Linguistics and Computer Science.

D12. Required Courses vs. Other Non Business, non IS Topics

E. Resources

Please submit any publications describing physical, computing, library, and other physical resources. Answers to any of the following questions can be in the form of explicit reference to one or more pages in the submitted materials.

E1) Briefly summarize the physical facilities (including offices, laboratories, and classrooms) available to meet program needs.

E2) Briefly describe the computing resources (hardware and software) available to your undergraduate students. What policies and procedures are in place for maintaining and upgrading equipment?

E3) Complete the following table to indicate the size of the library budget:

Survey of Faculty and Staff

Complete the following form:

FACULTY

STAFF

RESEARCH FUNDING

What was the total research funding your Department received in the most recent period from 1 April to 31 March?

BUDGET

Annual budget for last complete fiscal year, ending on (date):

Are computing dollars transferable?

NOTES:

1. student T.A.s is all marking, lab demonstration, etc. exclusive of sessional teaching.
2. Computing is all expenditures in support of computing separate from Departmental equipment and support (e.g. funds for purchase of computer time on a central Computing Services facility).

GRADUATE PROGRAM

(most recent complete calendar year)

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

List all undergraduate programs offered through your Department, whether or not considered for accreditation:

Privacy Code Statement

The CIPS Accreditation Secretariat collects personal information through the accreditation questionnaire and during the site visit. This information is used solely by certain approved members of the CIPS national office staff, and member volunteers who are related to the accreditation process, for the purpose of:

1) assessing a faculty's ability to meet the accreditation criteria;

2) assessing student compliance with the accreditation criteria;

3) performing an audit of Accreditation Councils ' procedures and processes.

The Canadian Information Processing Society is committed to the principles of the Canadian Standards Association’s “Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information.” A copy of the full “Accreditation Information Privacy” document can be obtained by contacting CIPS Executive Director at or (905) 602 1370

Mailing Instructions

Accreditation materials and this questionnaire (soft and hardcopy format) to be couried at least three weeks prior to the visit to the following address:

CIPS
5090 Explorer Drive, Suite 801
Mississauga, Ontario L4W 4T9

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