SAQA

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.

SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED UNIT STANDARD THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE:

Explain how data is stored on computers

SAQA US ID	UNIT STANDARD TITLE
14944	Explain how data is stored on computers
ORIGINATOR
SGB Information Systems and Technology
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY
-
FIELD			SUBFIELD
Field 10 - Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences			Information Technology and Computer Sciences
ABET BAND	UNIT STANDARD TYPE	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	CREDITS
Undefined	Regular-Fundamental	Level 4	NQF Level 04	7
REGISTRATION STATUS		REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE	SAQA DECISION NUMBER
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		2018-07-01	2023-06-30	SAQA 06120/18
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2026-06-30		2029-06-30

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 unit standard does not replace any other unit standard and is not replaced by any other unit standard.

PURPOSE OF THE UNIT STANDARD

This unit standard is intended:

to provide conceptual knowledge of the areas covered

for those working in, or entering the workplace in the area of Information Systems and Technology Management

as additional knowledge for those wanting to understand the areas covered

People credited with this unit standard are able to:

Describe the roles of IS departments in organisations

Describe the structures of IS departments in organisations
The performance of all elements is to a standard that allows for further learning in this area.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

The credit value of this unit is based on a person having prior knowledge and skills to:

Demonstrate an understanding of fundamental mathematics (at least NQF level 3).

Demonstrate PC competency skills (End-User Computing unit Standards, at least up to NQF level 3).

Specific Outcomes and Assessment Criteria:

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 1

Demonstrate an understanding of computer data types.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

1. The demonstration distinguishes between data types and includes examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Bits (0,1) , Bytes, Numbers , Integers (+- values, whole items), Floating point (temperature, voltage, etc), Boolean (0/1 on/off).

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

2. The description of the use of coding systems in a business environment distinguishes categories of coding systems and includes examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

BCD, EBCDIC (IBM mainframes), ASCII (micro & mini computers), UNICODE.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

3. The demonstration illustrates how data manipulation operations are performed on data types.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 2

Describe computer data structures.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

1. The description distinguishes types of computer data structures and identifies examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Bits, Bytes, Characters, Fields, Records, Files, Databases.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

2. The description distinguishes types of computer files and identifies examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Master, Transaction, Temporary, Document , Serial, Sequential, Indexed, Direct.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

3. The description distinguishes types of computer databases and identifies examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Hierarchical, Network, Relational, SQL (Completeness, Non-redundancy, Structure).

UNIT STANDARD ACCREDITATION AND MODERATION OPTIONS

The relevant Education and Training Quality Authority (ETQA) must accredit providers before they can offer programs of education and training assessed against unit standards.
Moderation of assessment will be overseen by the relevant ETQA according to the moderation guidelines in the relevant qualification and the agreed ETQA procedures.

UNIT STANDARD ESSENTIAL EMBEDDED KNOWLEDGE

1. Performance of all elements is to be carried out in accordance with organisation standards and procedures, unless otherwise stated. Organisation standards and procedures may cover: quality assurance, documentation, security, communication, health and safety, and personal behaviour.
2. Performance of all elements complies with the laws of South Africa, especially with regard to copyright, privacy, health and safety, and consumer rights.
3. All activities must comply with any policies, procedures and requirements of the organisations involved, the ethical codes of relevant professional bodies and any relevant legislative and/ or regulatory requirements.
4. Performance of all elements should be performed with a solid understanding of the use of development tools needed in the areas applicable to the unit standard. Examples of such tools are, but is not limited to CASE tools, programming language editors with syntax checking, program source version control systems systems.
5. Performance of all elements should make use of International capability models used for Software Development. Examples of such models include (but is not limited to) the ISO SPICE model as well as the CMM model for Software Development.

Critical Cross-field Outcomes (CCFO):

UNIT STANDARD CCFO ORGANISING

Organise and manage him/her self and his/her activities responsibly and effectively.

UNIT STANDARD CCFO COLLECTING

Collect, analyse, organise, and critically evaluate information.

UNIT STANDARD CCFO SCIENCE

Use science and technology effectively and critically, showing responsibility towards the environment and health of others.

UNIT STANDARD CCFO DEMONSTRATING

Demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem solving contexts do not exists in isolation.

UNIT STANDARD CCFO CONTRIBUTING

Contribute to his/her full personal development and the social and economic development of the society at large by being aware of the importance of: reflecting on and exploring a variety of strategies to learn more effectively, exploring education and career opportunities and developing entrepreneurial opportunities.

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this unit standard was Reregistered in 2012; 2015.

UNIT STANDARD NOTES

Sub-Sub-Field (Domain):
Systems Development

QUALIFICATIONS UTILISING THIS UNIT STANDARD:

	ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	STATUS	END DATE	PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QA FUNCTIONARY
Core	24294	Further Education and Training Certificate: Information Technology: Systems Development	Level 4	NQF Level 04	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2010-01-23	Was MICTS until Last Date for Achievement
Core	78965	Further Education and Training Certificate: Information Technology: Systems Development	Level 4	NQF Level 04	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2023-06-30	MICTS
Core	78964	Further Education and Training Certificate: Information Technology: Technical Support	Level 4	NQF Level 04	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2023-06-30	MICTS
Core	24293	National Certificate: Information Technology: Technical Support	Level 4	Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L4	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2010-01-23	Was MICTS until Last Date for Achievement
Elective	50479	Further Education and Training Certificate: Advertising	Level 4	NQF Level 04	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2023-06-30	MICTS

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS UNIT STANDARD:

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.

1.	Academy at Vaal Triangle (AVT
2.	Atvance Institute (Pty) Ltd
3.	Balefile Trading and Services
4.	College Africa Group (Pty) Ltd
5.	CSL Accountants
6.	Ekasi IT Solutions Centre
7.	Ekurhuleni Artisans and Skills Training Centre Pty Ltd
8.	Elchees Software Solutions
9.	Eshybrand Pty Ltd
10.	EYETHU NATIONAL COMPUTER COLLEGE PTY LTD
11.	Finweb Business Consultancy
12.	Foster-Melliar (Pty) Ltd
13.	Fourways Private College
14.	Global Institute for Capacity
15.	HILLCROSS BUSINESS SCHOOL (PTY
16.	Hlanganani ICT (Pty) Ltd
17.	Ikusasalethu Youth Development Project NPC
18.	IT Academy
19.	Jeppe College of Commerce and
20.	K Boneng Consulting Services P
21.	Loomee Group
22.	Mogapi Education Group (Pty) Ltd
23.	Moving Ahead Development Agenc
24.	Musengavhadzimu Media
25.	Polokwane Technology Institute (Pty) Ltd
26.	Progressive School of Business
27.	QUALITATIVE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
28.	QUARPHIX (PTY) LTD
29.	Richfield Graduate Institute of Technology Pty Ltd
30.	Rostec Technical FET College (Pty) Ltd
31.	Sabile Human Resources Consult
32.	SANDM IT TRAINING (PTY) LTD
33.	Silulo Ulutho Technologies
34.	Spina Consultancy
35.	Techtisa (pty) Ltd
36.	The Finishing College (Pty) Lt
37.	Titan Trade Technologies
38.	TORQUE TECHNICAL COMPUTER TRAINING PTY LTD
39.	Varsity Institute of Science & Technology (Pty)Ltd
40.	VSS College (Pty) LTD
41.	Wellinkwise Pty Ltd
42.	Whitestone College
43.	ZA WIT (PTY) LTD