SBCC offers both an associate degree and a certificate program in Cancer Information Management (CIM). Both the CIM associate degree and certificate programs are designed to prepare you for a career working in hospital-based and population-based cancer registries. The certificate program is provided for students who already possess a college degree.

Please note that effective 2010, to be eligible for the national CTR credentialing exam, candidates will need to complete either one of the following two:

1. The CIM AS degree OR
2. The CIM Certificate plus a minimum of an Associate’s degree in any field (does not need to be health-related).

For more information on CTR exam eligibility, please see http://www.ctrexam.org/eligibility/index.htm#sub4

Cancer registries play an important roll in the fight against cancer. Cancer registration is the basic method by which information about the incidence, type, extent of disease at time of diagnosis, treatment methods used and survival of patients with cancer is systematically collected. Cancer registry professionals are responsible for the collection, analysis and dissemination of cancer data. Specific duties include:

• Identifying reportable cancer cases.

• Abstracting patient cancer data from patient records, pathology, radiology and surgical reports.

• Coding and staging primary site, histology and extent of disease.

• Monitoring timeliness, completeness and accuracy of cancer data.

• Performing cancer patient follow-up activities to identify second primaries, recurrence and spread of disease.

• Reporting cancer data to health care officials, hospital administrators, physicians and regulatory organizations for use in cancer prevention and control.

• Assisting medical staff and epidemiologists in special studies and research.

• Supervising staff.

• Assuring patient privacy and data integrity and security

Career Information

Cancer registry professionals are needed in hospital-based and central cancer registries throughout California and the United States. Since the passage of the Cancer Registries Amendment Act (Public Law 102-515) in 1992, the number of central cancer registries has increased dramatically. Legislation has been enacted throughout the country requiring health care facilities and physicians to report their cancer cases. Due to limited educational opportunities, there are not enough cancer registry professionals to fill available positions in this rapidly growing field.

Salary Ranges

$25,000 to $100,000

Online Learning

Courses in the CIM Program are offered totally online. All course content and exams are delivered online. Students interested in pursuing a degree must be highly motivated, independent learners, possessing excellent organizational and time management skills. Students must have email and Internet access.  No on-campus attendance is required.

Since these are entirely online programs, students must be familiar with how to use the internet, email, uploading and downloading files, and the use of various common word processing programs.

SBCC’s CIM Program Mission Statement
                                                 
SBCC’s CIM program provides high quality cancer information management education and training to a diverse population of students in order to fill community and employer needs for credentialed CIM professionals.

Accreditation/Certification

The CIM Program is approved by the National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA). As graduates, students are eligible to apply for the national examination for certification as a Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR).

Applying for Admission to the Program

Please go to our website for the instructions on applying to our program: http://www.sbcc.edu/hit/website/Admissions.html

Prerequisites/Transcript Evaluations

For procedures to verify completion of prerequisites and to view a specific list of CIM Program class pre-requisites, co-requisites and course advisories, please go to: http://www.sbcc.edu/hit/website/prereqs.html

Instructions for Completing a Transcript Evaluation can be found at http://www.sbcc.edu/hit/website/transfer.html

Financial Aid

SBCC's financial information is available online at: http://www.sbcc.edu/financialaid or call the office at: (805) 965-0581 x 2417. Advance planning is required to complete the necessary paperwork in short timeframes.

Orientation

Once you have registered and received confirmation from Admissions, send an email to hitcim@sbcc.edu and provide the HIT/CIM Department with your email address.  Logon and orientation information will then be emailed  to you. During the week prior to class and during the first week of class, you will complete online orientation exercises designed to familiarize you with the course and the online classroom. If you have any problems or difficulties with one or more of these steps, contact the HIT/CIM Department at hitcim@sbcc.edu.

Textbooks

Textbooks are available for online order at http://www.sbccbooks.com once you have registered and the online bookstore has opened for the semester.

CIM Associate Degree and Certificate Requirements

The following reflects the recommended order. Check out specific prerequisites and corequisites at http://www.sbcc.edu/hit/website/prereqs.html.

CIM classes, along with HIT 101 and HIT 240, are offered each Fall and Spring semesters.  HIT 135, BMS 146, HIT 204, and MGMT 101 are offered every semester including Summer.

General Education Requirements for the Associate Degree

With the exception of English and Math requirements, all of the General Education requirements can be fulfilled fully online through SBCC. English and Math should be completed at a local community college (you may email Dr. Gwyer Schuyler at schuyler@sbcc.edu with course descriptions to get courses approved).

Below are the required GE areas, with SBCC's fully online course options in parentheses following each category:

A. Natural Science with lab (BOT 121 or BIOL 122+123)

B. Social and Behavioral Science (HIST 100 or 101 or 102 or POLS 101)

C. Humanities (ART 215 or MUS 115 or 118)

D-1. English Composition (to be taken at a local college)

D-2. Communication and Critical Thinking (will be met with Math)

E-1. Elementary Algebra (to be taken at a local college)

AND Choose 4 out of the following 5 -

Intermediate Algebra

E-2. American Institutions (met with area B courses listed above HIST 100 or 101 or 102 or POLS 101)

E-3. PE/Health (PE 163A + HE 101)

E-4. Oral Communication (COMM 121 or 161)

E-5. Multicultural/Gender Studies (met with area C courses listed above - ART 215 or MUS 115 or 118)

AND you also need

F. Information Competency (LIBR 101)

Grade Requirements

Students must complete all department requirements with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0. Pass/No Pass grading is not permitted in a student’s major area of study.

Recommended Course Loads

Students who are newcomers to online learning or have a low comfort level with computers may want to limit their first semester to 3 units.  Students who work full-time and have family and personal commitments are advised to limit enrollment to 6 units per semester. Students who work 20 hours per week and have family and personal commitments are advised to limit enrollment to 9 units per semester. It is recommended that students limit their enrollment in SBCC's short 6 week summer session to one HIT/CIM class.

For more information, please go to http://www.sbcc.edu/hit/website/course_load.html.

Additional Information

For additional information, please contact:

Cancer Information Management
Santa Barbara City College
721 Cliff Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93109-2394
(805) 965-0581 x 2851
hitcim@sbcc.edu

Dr. Gwyer Schuyler
HIT/CIM Academic Counselor/Dept. Chair
Santa Barbara City College
721 Cliff Drive,
Santa Barbara, CA 93109
(805) 965-0581 x 2569
Fax: (805) 560-0591 ATT: Gwyer
schuyler@sbcc.edu