Education Overview

Chartered Secretaries Canada offers three designations, Continuing Professional Development opportunities including small-group workshops, Symposium, luncheon speakers, online courses through Vubiz and webinars through CCH.

Please click on the respective header to link to more information.

Designations
 
ACIS and FCIS
The designations ACIS and FCIS are recognized in more than 70 countries, bestowed only on members of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), an international professional association with more than 45,000 members and 28,000 students. Passing the rigorous examinations of the International Qualifying Scheme (IQS), and satisfying work experience and membership requirements, will enable you to become a Chartered Secretary, a member of ICSA and to use the post-nominal ACIS (Associate) and ultimately FCIS (Fellow).
 
Chartered Secretaries Canada is the Canadian Division of ICSA. By obtaining the ACIS or FICS designation through Chartered Secretaries Canada, you are automatically applying for membership in ICSA on its Canadian register. You must maintain your ICSA membership to continue the use of the ACIS or FCIS post-nominal.
 
Acc.Dir
The designation Acc.Dir (Accredited Director) is achieved through completing the sharply focused Directors' Education and Accreditation Program (DEAP), which delivers critical content in a condensed period of time. It is designed for busy Directors of a public, private, not-for-profit or governmental organizations who want to get what they need in a timely fashion (Three full days with four manuals of pre-reading and exercises to be completed prior to attending). 
 
Upon completion, you will be awarded the Accredited Director designation (Acc.Dir.) and receive membership in our Affiliate Group, if you are not already an ICSA Professional member.  As an Affiliate Group member, you will have a subscription to Corporate Governance Quarterly, our premier publication on good governance practice; access to special rates for seminars, workshops and other continuing professional development opportunities; and the same benefits package extended to our professional (ACIS and FCIS) members. You must maintain your membership in the Canadian Division to continue the use of the Acc.Dir post-nominal.
 
P.ADM
The P.ADM. designation confirms experience, certifies competence and recognizes your qualifications to be a corporate, public sector, or not-for-profit administrator. Chartered Secretaries Canada has the exclusive right to designate properly qualified persons as Professional Administrators. Such persons may use the post nominal “P.ADM.” You must maintain your membership in the Canadian Division to continue the use of the P.ADM post-nominal.

Continuing Professional Development
 
Workshops
We accept only a limited number of registrants for our practical workshops which means that as a participant, you have a good opportunity to ask questions and hear cases relevant to your situation. Workshops designated as "Essentials of...", in addition to being practical, can be considered "prep courses" for the IQS Exams and are based on the IQS Exam Study Guides. However, you do not need to be registered in the IQS program or intend to write the IQS Exams in order to benefit from participating in the Essentials workshops. Our workshops can also be booked to be taught in-house. Go to our workshops overview page for details.
 
Symposiums and Forums
Symposiums and Forums are one or two day mini conferences where renowned speakers are invited to present the latest in governance topics.
 
Local Branch Events
Chartered Secretaries Canada's 5 branches, located in the various Canadian provinces and in Bermuda, offer local speaker sessions and other activities to broaden your knowledge and networking opportunities.

Lunch 'n Learn
Join us for a light lunch and discussion on various topical issues. Short and to the point to accommodate busy professionals.

On-line Education

Webinars
These are 60-90 minute online seminars that are conducted through the comfort of your office computer.

E-Learning Centre
A large number of online business courses through self-study are offered through Vubiz.

Please navigate through the left side menu for details on each of our Educational opportunities.