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(For Engineering)
Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board
of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers
180 Elgin St., Suite 1100
Ottawa, ON K2P 2K3
Telephone: 613-232-2474
Fax: 613-230-5759
General Delivery e-mail: info@engineerscanada.ca
Assessment Program: evaluation@engineerscanada.ca
URL: www.engineerscanada.ca
(For Computer Science, Software Engineering)
Canadian Information Processing Society
5090 Explorer Drive, Suite 801
Mississauga, Ontario L4W 4T9
Telephone: (905) 602-1370
Toll Free: 1-877-ASK-CIPS (275-2477)
Fax: (905) 602-7884
E-mail: info@cips.ca
URL: www.cips.ca
Search for accredited programs
Accreditation Process:
The Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) was established by Engineers Canada in 1965 to accredit undergraduate engineering programs which provide aspiring engineers with the academic requirements necessary for registration as a professional engineer in Canada. Canadian institutions voluntarily request that specific engineering programs be evaluated by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). The CEAB is composed of fifteen professional engineers drawn from the private, public and academic sectors. The members are volunteers and represent different parts of the country as well as a
wide range of engineering disciplines.
The concept of accreditation was implemented by the profession to test and evaluate undergraduate engineering degree programs offered at Canadian universities and to award recognition to programs which meet the required standards. With the consent of the engineering associations, the CEAB was empowered to develop criteria for undergraduate engineering degree programs and, through a process of direct investigation, to provide engineering schools with a means to have their programs formally tested against these criteria. The criteria for accreditation are formulated to provide graduates with an education satisfying the academic requirements for professional engineering registration throughout Canada.
An accreditation visit is undertaken at the invitation of a particular institution and with the concurrence of the association having jurisdiction. A team of senior engineers is assembled consisting of a chair, specialists for each program to be assessed and one or more engineers who represent the local association. Provided with documents, including a detailed questionnaire completed by the institution beforehand, the team proceeds to consult with administrators, faculty, students and department personnel.
The team examines the academic and professional quality of faculty, adequacy of laboratories, equipment, computer facilities and more. They also evaluate the quality of the students' work on the basis of face-to-face interviews with senior students, assessment of recent examination papers, laboratory work, reports and theses, records, models or equipment constructed by students and other evidence of the scope of their education.
Furthermore, the team performs an analysis of the curriculum content to ensure that it meets the minimum criteria. Finally, the team reports its findings to the CEAB which then makes an accreditation decision. The CEAB may grant (or extend) accreditation of a program for a period of up to six years or it may deny accreditation altogether.
Computer Science, Software Engineering Accreditation Process:
The Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) established the Computer Science Accreditation Council (CSAC), the Information Systems and Technology Accreditation Council (ISTAC) as autonomous bodies. These are the lead councils
in CIPS that review and accredit Canadian publicly funded baccalaureate programs in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Management Information Systems, Computer Systems Technology, Applied Information Technology, and Post-Diploma
type programs at the college-level. The Councils are responsible for the development of accreditation criteria, selection of program evaluators, and ultimately the granting of the accreditation status. The accreditation process is voluntary.
CIPS accreditation is a non-governmental autonomous process for assessment of educational programs against industry accepted standards. It provides a professional judgment about the quality of the educational program and encourages continued improvement. It provides an indication for the public at large that a program accredited by CIPS is capable of producing graduates who can function at the required level of competence to enter the industry job market. There is no distinction between a first accreditation visit and any subsequent reaccreditation visits. The process followed remains the same. The only exception in
the process is that the CIPS Secretariat will contact a school, which has a program that is about to expire, 12 months prior to the termination date to determine if the school is intending to apply for re-accreditation.
Accreditation teams visit institutions for a two-day period to examine the program(s) and the institution in detail. The accreditation team then prepares a draft report and forwards it to the school to allow for a verification of factual
information. After this review the team prepares a final report, which is then presented to the Council for review. The Council then makes a recommendation on accreditation. To maintain its accreditation status, each program must be periodically reassessed for continuing compliance with the accreditation requirements. This re-assessment involves scheduled re-accreditation visits,
between three (for colleges) and five (for universities) years from the last assessment.
