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Professor & Head of Department
DA Sewry, PhD(Rhodes), FICSIT, MCSSA, MACM, MAIS
Associate Professor
GG Foster, PhD(Rhodes), MACM
Senior Lecturer
JB McNeill, BSc(Hons)(Rhodes), MS(SE)(Monmouth), MCSSA, MACM
Lecturers
RV Benyon, BA(Hons). MCom(Rhodes), MACM, MitSMF(SA)
DM Freeme, BSc(UNISA), MCom(Wits), MACM
L Palmer, BCom, MBA(Rhodes), MCSSA, MACM
K Rafferty, HDE(JCE), BSc(Wits), PBL(UNISA), MBA(Rhodes), MACM
C Upfold, Dip. Small Bus Mngt(Damelin), MBA(Rhodes), MACM
Senior Instructors
E de la Rey, BSc, BEcon(Rhodes), MACM
Visiting Professor
M Sainsbury, BSc(UNISA), MSc(Bath), MCSSA
Information Systems (INF) is a two-year major subject which is primarily studied for degree curricula in the Faculty of Commerce. The subject is also studied for the specialist BSc(InfSys) and BSc(Software Development) degrees in the Faculty of Science.
The courses offered in the Department concentrate on aspects of the development, application and management of Information Systems in organisations and the technology used in these processes. Other topics in the courses include corporate communications, project management and the audit and control of Information Systems. There is an emphasis on computer based information systems, and practical courses include the use of spreadsheets, financial modelling, database, decision support systems, IT project management tools, computer assisted software engineering, high-level systems construction tools and computer programming. In addition, various guest lecturers present seminars during the year on a variety of topics relevant to a full grasp of the area of Information Systems.
The management and strategy aspects are well complemented by courses in the Department of Management, while the technical and computer specific aspects are handled in more depth by courses in the Department of Computer Science.
See the Departmental Web Page http://www.is.ru.ac.za/ for further details, particularly on the content of courses.
The Department offers three second year level courses: INF 201, INF 202 and INF 203. Information Systems 2 consists of the two one-credit courses INF 201 and INF 202 or INF 201 and INF 203. Credit may be obtained in any of the courses separately and, in addition, an aggregate mark of at least 50% will be deemed to be equivalent to a two-credit course INF 2, provided that a candidate obtains the required sub-minimum in each component. Adequate performance in INF 201 is required before a student may register for INF 202 or INF 203. No supplementary examinations will be offered in any of the courses.
INF 202 is normally taken by students following a general or Information Systems professional route, whilst INF 203 is normally taken by students following an Accounting professional route as set out in the Bachelor of Commerce - Accounting Curriculum or with the intention to register later for the Post-Graduate Diploma in Accountancy or the Honours programme in Financial Management.
Students are also permitted to take both INT 202 and INF 203, in which case any one of the general or Information Systems professional or Accounting professional routes is available to them.
Students must normally gain credit in INF 201 and INF 202, or INF 2, with INF 201 and INF 202 aggregated, before being permitted to register for INF 301.
INF 201
IT in the Organisation; Information Systems Theory; End User Development Tools (data management, decision modelling); Information Technologies
The examination for the INF 201 course consists of not more than two practical examinations of two hours, and one theory examination of three hours. Outside of examinations there are various other assessments (short presentations, essays, tests, practical assignments, etc.) which will contribute towards a semester class mark which is incorporated into the course assessments.
INF 202
Information Systems Analysis; Application Development Tools.
The examination for the INF 202 course consists of not more than two practical examinations of two hours, and one theory examination of three hours. Outside of examinations there are various other assessments (short presentations, essays, tests, practical assignments, etc.) which will contribute towards a semester class mark which is incorporated into the course assessments.
INF 203
Accounting Information Systems; Accounting Support Tools; Information Systems Security and Control; Computer Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATS).
The examination for the INF 203 course consists of not more than two practical examinations of two hours, and one theory examination of three hours. Outside of examinations there are various other assessments (short presentations, essays, tests, practical assignments, etc.) which will contribute towards a semester class mark which is incorporated into the course assessments.
Information Systems 3 consists of the two one-credit courses INF 301 and INF 302. Credit may be obtained in each course separately and, in addition, an aggregate mark of at least 50% will be deemed to be equivalent to a two-credit course INF 3, provided that a candidate obtains the required sub-minimum in each component. Adequate performance in INF 301 is required before a student may register for INF 302. No supplementary examinations will be offered in either course.
INF 301
Corporate Communications for Information Systems Professionals; IT Project Management; Requirements Elicitation; Advanced Information Systems Theory; Information Systems Design.
The examination for the INF 301 course consists of not more than two practical examinations of three hours, and two theory examinations of three hours. Every student is expected to research and submit a written assignment on a specific topic and complete a specific group systems development project. This project continues in the second semester. This, in conjunction with other assessments (short presentations, tests, practical assignments, etc.) during the semester, contributes towards a semester class mark which is incorporated into the course assessment.
INF 302
Advanced Data Manipulation; Advanced Application Development Concepts and Tools; E-Business; Data Communications; Information Security.
The examination for the INF 302 course consists of not more than two practical examinations of three hours, and two theory examinations of three hours. Every student is expected to complete a specific group systems development project. This project continues from the first semester. This, in conjunction with other assessments (short presentations, tests, practical assignments, etc.) during the semester, contributes towards a semester class mark which is incorporated into the course assessment.
INF 4
A fourth-year level course in Information Systems is taken by students following the BSc(Software Development) curriculum, together with Computer Science 4.The course consists of six modules covering a range of Software Engineering topics, including formal methods, unit-testing and IS management, as well as electives from the Computer Science and InformationSystems Honours modules, dependent on staff availability. There may be a practical internship module. In addition, there may be written essays and a series of seminars throughout the year, which covers a range of general topics in Software Engineering. Students are also required to undertake a software development project.
INF 201 : CSC 101
Candidates deemed to be in their first year of study are
not permitted to register for INF 201
INF 202 : sub-minimum in INF 201
INF 203 : sub-minimum in INF 201
INF 301 : INF 201 and INF 202, or INF 2 with INF 201 and INF 202 aggregated
INF 302 : sub-minimum in INF 301
INF 4 : INF 301 and INF 302, or INF 3 with INF 301 and INF 302 aggregated
The Honours course is a one-year, full-time programme and consists of a coursework component and a project component. Students may also register for joint Honours in which the honours' programmes of two departments, for example, Information Systems and Management are taken 50%:50% or 60%:40% with some coursework and some project components selected from both departments.
Coursework component
Students must take all the core and all the supporting modules, and an agreed selection of the elective modules. In the case of electives, a student may take any one equivalently weighted Honours level module from another department, provided that it is approved by the Head of Department, in consultation with the Head of the other department.
Modules offered by the Department include:
In addition to the modules listed above, students are required to attend any other activities as may be deemed appropriate by the Head of Department.
Project component
All students are required to undertake a Research Project/Essay in a given area and produce a written report. Additionally, students are required to undertake a major Systems Development Project in which an information system is developed for a client.
[not currently offered]
The Department, in conjunction with other departments, offers a two-year post-graduate Diploma in Management of Information Systems. Candidates for the Diploma should have an initial degree from the Commerce Faculty, or other faculties, subject to the Dean's approval, as well as proven computer literacy and/or accounting literacy. The course comprises primarily topics from the Department's undergraduate programme as well as from other departments. For further details see Faculty of Commerce calendar entry.
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