Program Structure

Students are required to complete 12 credits (four courses) in the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Information Technology Management program.

Program Status

To maintain program status, students must complete at least 6 credits of course work during each academic year—September 1 to August 31 or January 1 to December 31—depending on when the student was admitted to the program.

In core courses, the lowest acceptable grade is B-. Students who receive a grade lower than B-, or receive more than one grade of B- or lower, may be required to withdraw from the program.

In electives courses, the lowest acceptable grade is C+. Students who receive a grade lower than C+, or receive more than one grade of C+ or lower, may be required to withdraw from the program.

Full- and Part-Time Involvement

Students may study in the program on a full- or part-time basis. Part-time students must complete a minimum of six credits (two course equivalents) per calendar year. In order to comply with Alberta Students Finance Board requirements, and to qualify for full-time status at the graduate studies level for funding and T2202A purposes, students must complete a minimum of nine credits (three courses) per calendar year (one course per term).

Definitions

Guidelines

To be considered for a 60 per cent course load, students are required to register in at least one three-credit course per term to be considered full time.

To be considered for a 100 per cent course load, students are required to submit a full year's study plan (three terms). Students will need to identify at least 12 credits of study covering a full 12-month period.

Students who request certification of a 100 per cent course load must identify their full 12-month study plan at the commencement of their first term of studies. Students are permitted to use any number of combination of credits in their three identified terms, provided the total number of credits is equal to 12.

Residency

To meet the residency requirements, students must complete a minimum of two courses (six credits) through Athabasca University.

Relationship to MSc Information Systems (MSc IS) Program

Students who complete the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Information Technology Management (PCB ITM) program successfully, may apply for admission to the MSc Information Systems (MSc IS) program. If admitted, credits completed by the student towards the PCB ITM will be accepted for credit towards the MSC IS degree in accordance with the MSc IS program regulations. Please not that students must achieve minimum required grades in various courses as per the MSc IS program regulations to be able to count the credits towards the MSc IS program.

Courses

PBC ITM students take their courses alongside MSc IS students, and are required to complete the same activities and achieve the same standard. Courses are designed to encourage self-study either at home or in the workplace. Students will be supplied with a basic course package of print and other media, if required, and access to a course website for each course. In addition, students are expected to use computer mediated communications for the following purposes:

• instructor and student-to-student interactions in computer conferences;
• email, both with in and outside of the course structure;
• file transfer or file attachment of assignments and feedback between instructor and students and between students on joint projects; and
• accessing electronic databases (for example, Athabasca University's library).

Curriculum Content

The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Information Technology Management will be awarded upon completion of 4 courses (12 credits). Students are required to complete the following:

The core courses in operations management and organizational behaviour are intended to provide the core competencies needed in the information technology management in organizations. The effective management of operations, through the application of tools and processes to develop competitive strategies, is critical to organizational success. Organizational behaviours course adds to the understanding of IT issues such as technology design, implementation, and adoption. The course on ethical, legal, and social issues in information technology is designed to equip students with the intellectual tools to make effective, reasoned and justifiable moral decisions relating to the IT domain within the appropriate legal and social frameworks.

The COMP 635 option represents an emerging discipline, which givens students a technical edge. Project management, on the other hand, will assist students to grasp the skills needed to move from conceptualization through implementation—key in the workforce. It is expected that some students may already have project management expertise.

Permission of the program director is required before courses are taken for PBC ITM program credit outside Athabasca University.

Transfer Credit

Some applicants to the program may have completed graduate-level course work at other post-secondary institutions that is applicable to the PBC ITM program. Those applicants must submit official transcripts of such course work at the time of application, along with a letter explaining which of the PBC ITM courses they think the externally-completed courses are equivalent to and why. The admission committee will review such work to determine if the student should be awarded transfer credit.

Students will also be required to submit detailed course descriptions for such courses. Failure to supply the transcript and detailed course descriptions shall result in no transfer credit being awarded. Students will not be awarded transfer credit for courses previously used towards the granting of another credential. For more information, please contact the School of Computing and Information Systems.

Letter of Permission

Students enrolled in the PBC ITM program may take courses from other post-secondary institutions in fulfillment of the program requirements, provided such courses are applicable to Athabaca University's PBC ITM program and residency requirements are met.

• Students wishing to take courses from other institutions must submit:
• a Letter of Permission Request Form and applicable fee;
• a written request; and detailed course outlines

to the Graduate Program Director for review. If approved, the School of Computing and Information Systems will issue a Letter of Permission. To allow for mailing time, requests for a Letter of Permission should be made at least one month before the registration deadline at the institution where the student will be taking the course. Upon completion of the course, the student must submit an official transcript to the School of Computing an Information Systems in order to obtain credit for the course.

Time Limit

The changing nature of the subject matter requires that the PBC ITM program must be completed within two academic years. In exceptional circumstances, this time limit may be waived with approval from the Chair of the School of Computing and Information Systems (SCIS) and the continuation fee will apply. Students authorized to extend their programs will be required to replace credit for courses that are deemed to have lost their currency. In no circumstances will students be allowed to extend the program by more than two years.

Program Delivery

The program is offered during three semesters each year. The fall semester begins in September. The winter semester begins in January. The spring sessions begins in May. Each semester is 13 weeks in length.