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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Information Systems 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
118408  Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Information Systems 
ORIGINATOR
University of Johannesburg 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
-   HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Honours Degree  Field 10 - Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences  Information Technology and Computer Sciences 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  120  Not Applicable  NQF Level 08  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Reregistered  EXCO 0821/24  2021-11-18  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:
The purpose of Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Information Systems is to advance the competencies of learners, following an academic route, and or employ individuals in a variety of business settings, who use and rely on computerised technologies and information systems to accomplish business goals. The qualification aims to provide the learner with hands-on technical, predictive and analytical skills, as well as research and decision-making skills anchored on organisational principles and the technology of systems. It prepares learners who will contribute to the continuing and changing business and technology needs, by planning for and implementing information systems at workplaces, dealing with people, business procedures towards meaningful participation in the management of information systems.

Upon completion of this qualification, the learner will be able to:
  • Apply a range of research skills based on quantitative and qualitative methodology as well as data analysis.
  • Analyse the interdependencies between business and information systems.
  • Critically judge new technologies and the benefit to the organization.
  • Implement and maintain an information systems project environment that is conducive to organisational success.
  • Develop and utilise information systems architectural paradigms that support organisational processes.

    Rationale:
    The emphasis of the Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Information Systems is to develop a deeper concentration of offerings in information systems that are fundamental to the discipline, as well as offering a specialisation of emerging fields in analytics and data learning.
    This qualification is designed to develop and deepen a specialisation in the emerging fields of analytics and data learning and will contribute to the economy of South Africa, which is currently experiencing a severe shortage of intermediate, high and scarce skills in this field. The qualification intends to transform learners by equipping them with the high order skills required to make a significant impact in their environments. It further develops the intellectual and professional skills of the learners to gain abstract knowledge.

    The learners could be either full-time or following an academic route, or employed individuals in a variety of business settings, who use and rely on computerised technologies and information systems to accomplish business goals. Full-time learners will have an appropriate qualification in information technology, information systems or informatics. The same applies to the part-time learners, but these learners will be employed by organisations and they will function within the IT department of the organisation. Learners who complete this qualification will typically be employed within the IT department of any organisation within the following positions to name but a few: Business Analyst, Project Manager, Data Analyst, Developer, Infrastructure Architect, Scrum Master and Release Train Engineer. 
    		•

    LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
    Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
    The institution accepts Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as an integral part of education and academic practice. It is acknowledged that all learning has value and will endeavour to assess prior learning and award credit where relevant. RPL thus provides alternative access and admission to higher education learning qualifications, as well as advancement within qualifications. RPL may be applied for access, credits from modules and credits for or towards the qualification.

    RPL for access:
  • Learners who do not meet the minimum entrance requirements or the required qualification that is at the same NQF level as the qualification required for admission may be considered for admission through RPL.
  • To be considered for admission in the qualification based on RPL, applicants should provide evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates that they have acquired the relevant knowledge, skills, and competencies through non-formal and/or informal learning to cope with the qualification expectations should they be allowed entrance into the qualification.

    RPL for exemption of modules:
  • Learners may apply for RPL to be exempted for modules that form part of the qualification. For a learner to be exempted from a module, the learner needs to provide sufficient evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates that competency was achieved for the learning outcomes that are equivalent to the learning outcomes of the module.

    RPL for credit:
  • Learners may also apply for RPL for credit for or towards the qualification, in which they must provide evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates prior learning through non-formal and/or informal learning to obtain credits towards the qualification.
  • Credit shall be appropriate to the context in which it is awarded and accepted.

    Entry Requirements:
    The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is:
  • Bachelor of Commerce in Information Systems, NQF Level 7. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 8 totalling 126 Credits.

    Compulsory Modules, Level 8, 126 Credits:
  • Information Systems Research Methodology, 12 Credits.
  • Cyber Security in Organisational Systems, 12 Credits.
  • Information Systems Architectures, 12 Credits.
  • Learning from Data, 12 Credits.
  • Strategic Information Systems Management, 12 Credits.
  • Information Systems Research Project, 30 Credits.
  • Information Systems Project Management, 12 Credits.
  • Information Technology Governance, 12 Credits.
  • Predictive Analytics, 12 Credits. 
    		•

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    1. Apply a range of research skills based on quantitative and qualitative methodology as well as data analysis.
    2. Analyse the interdependencies between business and information systems.
    3. Critically judge new technologies and the benefit to the organisation.
    4. Implement and maintain an information systems project environment that is conducive to organisational success.
    5. Develop and utilise information systems architectural paradigms that support organisational processes.
    6. Critique the role of cyber-security in ensuring the continuous operations of a business.
    7. Implement machine learning as a means to strategic decision-making. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
  • Ability to design, perform and write up a piece of research.
  • Use an appropriate research method/ technique to develop solutions to problems.
  • Care and accuracy in recording summarising the data is evident.
  • Draw conclusions about the significance and value of the research problem.


    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
  • Analyse the importance of information technology governance.
  • Evaluate and use the best approach for risk analysis and management in standards and best practices.
  • Ability to adequately report information security management concepts by using various models and frameworks.
  • Discuss the development of a policy framework on information technology asset security and the management of information technology security.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:
  • Analyse and report future trends within the information systems discipline.
  • Demonstrate ethical and professional awareness on how to approach information systems specific tasks within different contexts.
  • Apply knowledge and skills to determine the trend with the most likely impact on an organisation.
  • Examine the role of trends within an organisation based on formal models and frameworks.
  • Examine the complementary relationship between trends and IT strategy.
  • Motivate decision-making models to select trends that will suit an organisation the best.
  • Explain the impact of new technologies on the IT governance framework.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:
  • Explain the process for implementing a project management methodology.
  • Describe key elements of a project management office and their relationship.
  • Compare and evaluate project management offices to fit into the existing organisational structure.
  • Explain the need for different roles and the relationship between the roles.
  • Explain and compare leadership as a concept to management as a concept.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5:
  • Ability to differentiate between various architectural styles.
  • Ability to choose an architectural style within an organization and motivate their choice.
  • Explain the impact and consequences of designing information systems within the isolation of the other business.
  • Explain leveraging service-orientation principles and strategic goals into concrete links.
  • Align and explain business and technology through service-oriented design.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6:
  • Motivate why critical infrastructure attacks are a concern in the current economic and political context.
  • Formulate a network policy including design and implementation, maintenance and upgrade, security and customer service.
  • Implement advanced security techniques such as digital signatures and biometric identification.
  • Formulate and implement a network risk management strategy for the organisation.
  • Formulate and implement an effective disaster recovery plan for the organization's network infrastructure

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7:
  • Analyse the learning problem, pattern recognition of complex data using machine learning.
  • Understand data types and coding of data.
  • Apply future selection using, step-wise strategies, forward selection and backward elimination.
  • Develop skills necessary to identify missing data, using missing at random (MAR) and thinking systematic reasoning.
  • Utilise tools for predication and classification such as bayesian learning and d-separation. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    The Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Information Systems has been compared to the following international institution:

    Country: Mauritius
    Institution: University of Technology
    Qualification Title: BSc (Hons) Information Systems
    Duration: Three years
    Credits: The Mauritius qualification has 104 credits.
    Modules:
  • The proposed qualification consists of 9 modules versus the 28 modules of the University of Technology. However, the core focus areas in the content and outcomes are sufficiently similar to warrant comparison.

    Comparison:
  • This qualification from the University of Technology compares well with the proposed BComHons (Information Systems) offered by the Department of Applied Information Systems.
  • The proposed qualification will be one year full-time and two years part-time. This is in contrast with the University of Technology's qualification that takes 3 years full-time.

    Country: Brazil
    Institution: Universidade de São Paulo
    Qualification Title: Information systems (Bachelor´s degree)
    This qualification from the University of Technology compares well with the proposed qualification.
    Duration:
  • The proposed qualification is one year full-time and two years part-time. This is in contrast with the Universidade de São Paulo's qualification that takes four years full-time.
    Credits:
  • The proposed qualification is 126 credits versus 160 credits. Module/credit weights are not directly translatable across systems.
    Modules:
  • The proposed qualification consists of 9 modules in one year versus the 80 modules of the Universidade de São Paulo across four years. Nonetheless, the final year of this qualification from Brazil is sufficiently similar to the one-year honours degree proposed, both in outcomes and level of skills and academic demand.

    Country: Australia
    Institution: University of Queensland
    Qualification Title: Honours in Information Systems
    This qualification compares well with the proposed qualification with direct similarities in purpose, design and curriculum.
    Duration:
  • The proposed qualification is one year full-time and two years part-time. This is on par with the University of Queensland's qualification that takes 1 year full-time.
    Modules:
  • The proposed qualification consists of 9 modules versus the 16 modules of the University of Queensland.
  • Both qualifications are generic and offer specialisations in the subsequent masters-level qualification.

    Country: United Kingdom
    Institution: Heriott Watt University
    Qualification Title: BSc Hons Information Systems
    This qualification compares well with the proposed qualification with direct similarities in purpose, design, and curriculum.
    Duration:
  • The proposed qualification is one year full-time and two years part-time. This is on par with the Heriot Watt University's qualification that takes one year full-time.
    Modules:
  • The proposed qualification consists of 9 modules versus the 15 modules of the Heriot Watt University.
    Credits:
    > The proposed qualification is 126 credits versus 150 credits.
    > Both qualifications are generic and offer specialisations in the subsequent masters-level qualification. 
    		•

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    This qualification allows possibilities for both vertical and horizontal articulation.
    Horizontal Articulation:
  • Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Information Management, NQF Level 8.
  • Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Informatics, NQF level 8.
  • Bachelor of Arts Honours in Information Science, NQF Level 8.
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Management Information Systems, NQF Level 8.

    Vertical Articulation:
  • Master of Commerce: Information Technology Management, NQF Level 9.
  • Master of Commerce: Informatics, NQF Level 9. 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    NOTES 
    N/A 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    NONE 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.