First time Accreditation Review

Programs seeking accreditation must submit a request for accreditation by April 30 to secure a review between September and December. The request can be submitted via mail or email and needs to be submitted by the senior program administrator (i.e. Chair, Program Head). Visits can also be scheduled in January, February or March. One official (anonimyzed) graduate’s transcript must accompany each program’s request for evaluation.

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Renewing a Program’s Existing Accreditation

Programs with an existing accreditation must submit a request for re-accreditation by April 30 to secure a review between September and December. Visits can also be scheduled in January, February or March. The request can be submitted via mail or email and needs to be submitted by the senior program administrator (i.e. Chair, Program Head). Visits can also be scheduled in January, February or March.

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When can a new program seek initial CIPS accreditation?

CIPS accreditation can be granted only if at least one student has graduated from the designated program. However, an accreditation visit for a new program may be undertaken during the final academic year of the first graduating class of that program. Accreditation of such a new program is granted only if and when students graduate from the program in the year in which the accreditation visit takes place. The effective date of such accreditation will include the first graduating class. Should the program fail to produce graduates in the academic year of the visit, accreditation will be denied.

Consider programs in the Canada where the academic year typically starts in late August and ends in mid-April the following year. If a program expects its first graduate in May 2015, the program should submit a request for accreditation in late 2014 in order for the first graduate to be covered by accreditation.