Since its inception, the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council has responded to a number of issues which affect the federal information technology community. Some of these issues arise from information technology legislation, such as the Clinger Cohen Act of 1996. Others reflect broader areas of concern - such as project management, information systems architectures, security, capital planning, performance measurement, and information technology education. The CIO Council's focus on the latter issue, information technology education, has led to a specific initiative to address the needs of federal executives - The CIO University.

The process by which this special curriculum was developed was a careful one that involved senior executives, industry representatives and academic partners. Beginning with the good work done by the CIO Council to list a set of high-level competencies that met the requirements of the Clinger Cohen law, GSA and the CIO Council agreed that universities would need more specific guidance to guarantee the full intent of the law would be met. To do that, it was necessary to add specificity to these categories. Using a facilitated group process, each of the major content areas were reviewed using groupware to capture all the comments of focus groups consisting of representatives from academia, industry and senior executives from government. Following established principles based on adult learning theory, behavioral learning objectives were collected that were a product of the group consensus.

There is no enrollment process through the government. Students simply apply to one of our approved Master’s Programs and register for their “CIO University” specific program (the listed point of contact from each university can assist students with specific questions on courses.) After a student receives their graduate degree, their name is forwarded to GSA and the CIO Council. They are then instructed to fill out an online exit survey and invited to a graduation ceremony held in July in Washington, DC. For those unable to attend, CIO University certificates are mailed after the graduation. Note: all travel is the responsibility of the student.

Since The CIO University is not a degree granting institution, instead of a diploma, graduates receive a certificate signed by a signatory from the student’s graduate institution and the Chair of the IT Workforce Committee of the CIO Council.

No. CIO University does not grant degrees—it awards certificates to graduates whose names are submitted by their CIO University Partner University to GSA each spring. Students may of course get transcripts from their graduate university for courses taken, but the only paper record of having been awarded a CIO University Certificate is the actual certificate received.

Since CIO University graduates obtain graduate degrees we are not set up to award CEUs for any of the coursework.

It is each student’s responsibility to make financial arrangements. There are no government scholarships or grants available through CIO University. Many students negotiate with their employers to receive either tuition assistance or time off to take classes, but this must be arranged by the student.

The current competencies are listed at:
http://cio.gov/documents/2006ClingerCohenCoreCompsMemo.pdf

Anyone who graduates from a CIO University Partner School and receives a CIO University Certificate has attained knowledge, skills and abilities that are universally recognized. Students come from both industry and the government (federal, state, local and tribal). In a survey taken each year, recent graduates are asked whether they believe that their participation in the program has helped them progress in their career—overall 76% have answered with a resounding yes.

Certainly the CIO University Certificate is recognized in the federal sector because of its sponsorship by the CIO Council. Often hiring officials know that applicants having a CIO University Certificate learned very specific material which is immediately applicable. Our graduates serve in a myriad of IT related occupations and help their agencies achieve their missions. Federal Chief Information Officers Rudy Mazargiegos (Corporation for National Service), John Skudlarek (Defense Security Services) and David C. Anewalt (U.S. Agency for International Development) are CIO University graduates, and we predict that more graduates will move into CIO roles in the near future. In the private sector as well, prospective employers are increasingly aware of the value that CIO University graduates bring to their business.

The CIO Council’s IT Workforce Committee’s strategic goal is: The Federal Government has a cadre of highly capable IT professionals with mission critical competencies to meet agency goals. CIO University is one way that the committee is building that cadre one graduate at a time!

The way that new institutions are added to CIO University is through a process of responding to a Request for Information (RFI) which is may be issued by the GSA when there is a desire for more universities to become Partner Universities.

Approximately every two years GSA, together with the CIO Council's IT Workforce Committee, work together to update the Clinger-Cohen Core Competencies. The update introduces new learning objectives that the federal government deems necessary for prospective CIOs. The current competencies and their associated learning objectives are found at: http://cio.gov/documents/2006ClingerCohenCCLearningObj.pdf

Once that update is completed the current CIO University Partners Universities (who are invited to participate in the update by the way) are advised of the new competencies and update their curriculums accordingly. At this time also, GSA is free to put out an RFI for other interested institutions to apply to become CIO University Partner Schools. Interested respondents would have to show how they address the new competencies as a part of their application process. The CIO Council's IT Workforce Committee evaluates the proposals and in late spring, new schools are notified as to the outcome.

Here is some information that interested institutions should be aware of:

In response to a Request for Information for the CIO University, an institution of higher learning that wishes to be considered eligible for Academic Partnership must:

• Develop and be prepared to deliver a curriculum that addresses the Learning Objectives
• Indicate how their proposed curriculum meets each of the Learning Objectives for the core competency area(s)
• Indicate how they will measure student progress
• Agree to report student progress
• Agree to market the CIO University
• State the costs of the curriculum (tuition, books, materials and other costs), the duration of the proposed instructional period, the method(s) of delivery and what, if any, academic credit is earned
• Demonstrate standing as a nationally accredited institution of higher learning with a significant presence in the Washington, DC and other selected metropolitan areas where a considerable Federal workforce exists.

None of the instructional programs can exceed two years.

RFIs are released at the discretion of the government and there is no certainty as to when or if the government will release a new one in the near future. That being said, if your university program would like to be contacted in the event an RFI is released, please have an official in your graduate school send an e-mail to monica.fitzgerald@gsa.gov. Please ask them to include their name, title, address, phone and e-mail address.