Business and Leadership
Continuing & Professional Education

Certificate
in Information Access and Protection of Privacy

Part-time, online study tailored for:

  • managers
  • government employees
  • auditors
  • marketers
  • lawyers

“The IAPP cer­tifi­cate com­plete­ly changed my career path. It opened new pro­fes­sion­al oppor­tu­ni­ties and allowed me to be a part of an excit­ing and fast-devel­op­ing field. 

The pro­gram was very engag­ing, and instruc­tors were able to cre­ate a sense of com­mu­ni­ty even though stu­dents were inter­act­ing online from all over Cana­da. I felt encour­aged and sup­port­ed by all instruc­tors and staff. I am cer­tain that future stu­dents will also find that this cer­tifi­cate equips them to embark on a cap­ti­vat­ing new career path.”

Prab­h­jeet Kaur

This award-win­n­ing, online pro­gram focus­es on the the­o­ries, con­cepts, prin­ci­ples, issues, and best prac­tices involved in the appro­pri­ate admin­is­tra­tion of access and pri­va­cy leg­is­la­tion such as FOIP, PIPE­DA, ATIA, and oth­ers. Com­plex leg­is­la­tion, prac­tices, and appli­ca­tion in the pub­lic and pri­vate sec­tors are also explored.

A bal­ance between pri­va­cy and trans­paren­cy is a cru­cial issue in a democ­ra­cy. Access and pri­va­cy leg­is­la­tion seeks to achieve this del­i­cate bal­ance. It is impor­tant as well as chal­leng­ing to clear­ly under­stand how access and pri­va­cy prin­ci­ples are applied.

The IAPP pro­gram has received numer­ous awards: 

  • Infor­ma­tion Rights Pio­neer Award (2015)
  • Robert C. Clark Award (2013)
  • Grace-Pépin Access to Infor­ma­tion Award (2011)
  • CAUCE/AÉPUC Pro­gram Award of Dis­tinc­tion for Aca­d­e­m­ic Excel­lence (2004)

This pro­gram will be of ben­e­fit for indi­vid­u­als inter­est­ed in pur­su­ing a career in access and pri­va­cy, as well as for professionals:

  • Fed­er­al, provin­cial, and munic­i­pal gov­ern­ment employees
  • Access and pri­va­cy admin­is­tra­tors in the pri­vate and pub­lic sectors
  • Human resources professionals
  • Audi­tors and man­age­ment consultants
  • Records man­age­ment professionals
  • Pub­lic­i­ty, mar­ket­ing, and tele­mar­ket­ing staff
  • Lawyers and legal professionals

Explore issues in privacy theories, best practices, and exercising sound judgment.

Develop the practical skills necessary to become effective information rights administrators.

Share information and network with information rights industry leaders and experts from across Canada as you learn and grow into this new profession.

Understand how access to information and protection of privacy impact information/records management, IT and security.

A note about COVID-19 measures

If you see a program on our website announced as an in-person or downtown Edmonton offering, please disregard the format—but not the program. Summer & Fall courses have been converted to remote delivery platforms. Register for a course online or apply to a program via email, and keep learning!

  • University of Alberta parchment in as little as 1 year
  • Pay as you go
Earn a Certificate
in Information Access and Protection of Privacy

This program is currently open for enrolment—apply now

Apply Now

5 courses needed to graduate with a UAlberta Certificate and become a UAlberta Associate Alumni.

Complete all four

Choose 1 option

You can register for a course without applying and enrolling in the program. If later you decide to apply for the full program, the course you’ve taken will be applied toward your Certificate.

Course planner schedule-at-a-glance

1. Download the Application for Program Admission form.

2. Submit your completed application, along with a $100 admission fee.

Enrolling in the pro­gram is a require­ment if you want to earn the cer­tifi­cate. You may apply for admis­sion as you start your stud­ies or, if you pre­fer, after you have tak­en one or more courses.

To enrol, you must have a high school diplo­ma or equiv­a­lent, four years of work expe­ri­ence, or a post-sec­ondary credential.

You are still invit­ed to apply if you do not meet the admis­sion require­ments. Your qual­i­fi­ca­tions will be reviewed, and con­di­tion­al entrance may be grant­ed. For details, please con­tact the pro­gram office at 780−492−5052.

CIAPP Cer­ti­fied designation

Stu­dents who com­plete the Infor­ma­tion Access and Pro­tec­tion of Pri­va­cy Cer­tifi­cate will be grant­ed the CIAPP Cer­ti­fied des­ig­na­tion upon appli­ca­tion to the Cana­di­an Insti­tute of Access and Pri­va­cy Pro­fes­sion­als (CIAPP).

The CIAPP Cer­ti­fied des­ig­na­tion is the lead­ing cer­ti­fi­ca­tion pro­gram for pub­lic and pri­vate sec­tor access and pri­va­cy pro­fes­sion­als in Cana­da, and result­ed from a part­ner­ship between CIAPP and the Cana­di­an Access and Pri­va­cy Asso­ci­a­tion (CAPA), the old­est and largest orga­ni­za­tion of access to infor­ma­tion and pri­va­cy pro­fes­sion­als in Canada.

This program is comprised of four core courses and one elective, all of them offered online through eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool. Each course is equivalent to 40 hours, for a total of 200 instructional hours.

Information Access and Protection of Privacy Foundations is a prerequisite to all other courses in the program. There is no specific order recommended for the remaining courses: as long as the prerequisite is met, students may choose the core courses or electives that best fit their schedule in any given term.

A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 is required to obtain the certificate.

Once you are admitted, you can verify your program requirements by logging into the University of Alberta’s student portal, Bear Tracks, to view your Academic Advisement.

  • An appli­ca­tion fee of $100 is required for admis­sion into the program.
  • Tuition is paid on a course-by-course basis as you reg­is­ter for your classes.
  • Cours­es are GST-exempt.
  • Eli­gi­ble for the Cana­da-Alber­ta Job Grant.
  • Cor­po­rate mul­ti-reg­is­tra­tion pack­ages are avail­able for most Exten­sion cours­es. Con­tact us at excorp@​ualberta.​ca for pre­ferred pricing.

  • All course materials are provided within the password-protected eClass at no extra charge.

Bursaries and funding opportunities
for enrolled students: Calytera Award for Alberta employers & employees: Job Grant for UAlberta alumni: PD Grant for UAlberta employees: HRDF

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