Manual: Classification of Instructional Programs

The manual Classification of Instructional Programs, Canada, 2000 is available today. It provides a systematic classification structure to identify and categorize the entire range of instructional programs in Canada.

The manual presents the Canadian version of the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) first developed by the National Center for Education Statistics in the United States. It has been adopted by Statistics Canada as the official classification for collecting and disseminating field-of-study data.

This classification allows for comparison of field-of-study statistics between Canada and the United States. It also provides a consistent framework for the collection, analysis and dissemination of field-of-study data used by government policy analysts, academics and researchers, educational institutions and the public.

The classification replaces the Major Field of Study classification as the official classification used for field-of-study data in the Census of Population and other socio-economic surveys. It also replaces a number of other field-of-study classifications used for postsecondary-level education statistics.

It comprises 1,432 six-digit instructional program classes. These detailed classes are grouped, based on field of study, into 385 four-digit subseries and 49 two-digit series.

Classification of Instructional Programs, Canada, 2000 is the first ever Statistics Canada manual to cover this classification. The manual provides a detailed description of each of the classes within this classification, and supplies examples of the types of instructional programs included in and excluded from each class. The manual offers a detailed introductory text describing the classification, its development and its application. It also includes a special structure for the aggregation of field-of-study data into 13 summary groups.

The manual Classification of Instructional Programs, Canada, 2000 (12-590-XIE, $56.25; 12-590-XPE, $75) is now available. An HTML version is also available free on our website.

For more information, contact John Crysdale (613-951-3589; fax: 613-951-8578; john.crysdale@statcan.gc.ca), Standards Division.