The B.Sc.
programme in Information Technology in an application oriented
degree that covers a range of industry driven IT topics. The program
has the objective of educating students on the use of information
technology to solve industry-oriented problems. The student can
choose one or more of the four majors offered:
* Software Engineering: For students interested
in programming oriented careers such as programmers, software
developers, software engineers and software quality assurance
specialists.
* Information Systems: For students interested
in the application of computing in the business environment. This
option can be beneficial for those prospects looking for careers
as e-commerce specialists, web developer, system analysis, project
managers and system designers
.
* Computer Graphics & Image Visualization:
For students interested in careers in multimedia design, game
programming and graphics programming
.
* Computer Networks: For students interested
in network related careers as network administrators, network
specialists, security specialists and network programmers.
3. Entry Requirements.
The usual
minimum requirements for entry to the programme are as follows:
A first degree
in any discipline,
or,
Membership of a professional body whose qualification may be deemed
to be the equivalent of a degree.
Candidates
will normally have attained the age of twenty-four years. All
candidates will be required to show a proficiency in the English
language.
Each application
will be considered on its own merits, however, and admission to
the programme and all interpretations as to the eligibility for
such admission remain at the discretion of the University.
4.
Teaching and Learning Methods.
The delivery
of the teaching for programme is by distance learning. The material
is designed to give the student maximum flexibility as to the
pace of learning. Programme materials will consist of Topic Lists,
detailed directed reading from set texts and articles.
Topic
Lists. These will be a summary of the topics or sub-sections
that are to be covered in the relevant module.
Text
books. The second major element of teaching for the Course
is the Text Book. Because of the likely circumstances of students
studying away from access to major libraries, effort has been
made to concentrate teaching upon the standard classic texts for
each module that provide a sufficient coverage of the topics dealt
with in the Programme. Students will be directed to the relevant
portions of each text, in the order that these should be tackled
against each topic heading in the appropriate sequence.
Background
Reading. A list of general texts and articles, relating
to each module will also be presented to the student for further
reading, either during the programme or for follow up work.
Progress
Assessment Tests, (PATs). A further component of the
learning will be the PATs. These will normally take the form of
a series of complex multiple choice questions, designed to test
the student's grasp of the major concepts of each module. While
they will necessarily be of an "open book" nature, they
will require the student, not only to research the literature
of the subject presented but also to demonstrate understanding
and discrimination. While the results of the PATs will not count
towards final assessment, and may thus be seen as "non-punitive",
a student will be required to have achieved a satisfactory pass
in the relevant PATs for each module, before being allowed to
tackle the minor and major assignments for that module.
Minor
and Major Assignments. The requirements of these elements
of the programme are dealt with in detail in Section 5 - Methods
of Assessment. In terms of the teaching philosophy of the programme,
the following outlines apply:
The Minor
Assignment will consist of problems on the course work, and will
be designed to allow the student to demonstrate a grasp of the
basic principles of the main elements of that module, and to be
able to apply them to the solution of problems.
The Major
Assignment, on the other hand, will consist of a short project
designed to show how the course work can be applied in practice.
5.
Methods of Assessment.
Each student
will be examined in all core modules of the programme, and the
MINIMUM PASS (Grade "C" - 50%), must be achieved in
each module. There are no traditional "three hour" examination
papers, although students will be required to satisfy the examiners
as to their suitability to proceed to the Minor and Major assessment
stages of each module by satisfactory performance at the Progress
Assessment Test, (PAT) stage. A failure at this stage may be re-tested
on up to two subsequent occasions.
Over and
above this requirement all students will be required to submit
a short introductory paper, based upon guided reading, which will
assess their capability to deal with later work. A student who
fails to attain a satisfactory standard in this paper will receive
the appropriate guidance before being invited to proceed with
the main body of the programme.
The Dissertation
is seen as the student’s opportunity to apply the subject
matter of the programme to a particular Information Technology
topic that he/she is particularly interested in. As such, it will
be a negotiated process between student and supervisor, in which
the former offers suggestions for possible detailed study for
‘tailoring’ to meet the dual needs of academic rigour
and the student’s personal objectives. Here, suffice it
to say that the Dissertation will be written on a topic, agreed
between student and supervisor, that will be worthy of the attraction
of 1/3 of the overall marks for the programme, and will be between
10000 and 15000 words in length (excluding equations, bibliography
and appendices). While the supervisor will offer help on the formulation
and execution of the Dissertation, once the Dissertation is submitted,
it WILL be taken as the final submission.
6.
Assessment Regulations. (Extract from the University's General
Regulations).
i. In order
to be eligible for the award of the appropriate qualification
a candidate must make the submissions as required by the relevant
Definitive Course Document within the prescribed time limit -
IN THIS CASE, THIRTY-SIX CALENDAR MONTHS - subject to any extension
granted.
ii. A candidate
for examination may, for reasons adjudged adequate by the University,
be exempted from any part of the normal examination or assessment
procedure.
iii. If an
essay or report is otherwise adequate but requires minor amendment,
such amendment may be made, within six weeks of notice to the
student.
iv. The marking
scheme of the University sets the pass mark for the Course at
C = 50%. The range of marks is as follows: A, B+ B, B-, C+, C,
C-, D+, D.
7.
Supervision and Cohorts.
The University
is aware of the need to provide first rate supervision to students,
given the fact that they are working in a distance learning mode.
Each student or cohort of students will be allocated a Supervisor
who is either an experienced academic or proven practitioner in
the field, or both. He or she will be the students' guide through
the programme.
Distance
learning can be a difficult and isolating experience, and it is
proposed that each cohort of students should receive a list of
its peers. These will be people who are undergoing the same stresses
and strains. They will be facing the same problems and the same
assignment difficulties at a similar time. Rather than feeling
isolated, it is the University's hope that students will wish
to join with others to share their experiences in a fellow feeling
of a community. Unless an individual student wishes to maintain
anonymity, each Cohort of students will be given a list of their
peers, in the hope that the over all standard of their work, their
performance on the programme and, above all, their experience
as a student is enhanced.
8.
Description of modules
IT-101
Introduction to programming
Students
will use programming languages to acquire fundamental programming
skills by writing assignment programs. Troubleshooting methods,
operators, expressions, conditional, repetitive statements, program
structure and organization will be covered. The module will cover
an introduction to classes and objects.
IT-102 Mathematics for information technology
Concepts
of mathematics for computer professionals as sets, predicate calculus,
Boolean algebra, functions, relations, basic probability and statistics.
IT-103
Introduction to Information Technology:
This module offers a global overview of core software and hardware
technologies. Areas covered include; computer architecture, algorithms,
languages, databases, operating systems, communications, computer
networks, artificial intelligence and the theoretical foundations
of computation.
IT-104
Database principles
This course covers the design of data models and the active implementation
of these models in database management systems. Data storage,
manipulation and query will be explored in detail. Distributed
database management systems, data mining, object-oriented databases
are introduced with real life examples.
IT-105
Computer Architecture & Operating Systems Principles:
Concepts of computer architecture as memory organization, interface
design, machine-level language and multiprocessing architectures
will be covered. Also this course explores resource management,
concurrency, file system design, security and system management
in the context of modern distributed and networked operating systems.
IT-201
Software Engineering:
This module covers all aspects of the software engineering process
including identification, definition, design, analysis, verification
and management of basic requirements, coding, testing, evaluation
and quality assurance.
IT
202 Object Oriented Software Development:
This module explores C++ and Java programming languages with an
emphasis on object-oriented design. This module aims to cover
the most advanced methods and cutting edge systems through both
theoretical and practical understanding of object oriented programming
and design.
IT
211 Computer Graphics:
The module will study the fundamental mathematics of three-dimensional
transformations, algorithms, digitizing, graphics software and
graphic file formats.
IT
212 Image Processing:
The objective of the module is to introduce students to the theoretical
foundations and modern applications of Digital Image Processing.
Main topics to be covered are image digitization, image representation,
image compression, restoration and reconstruction.
IT
221 E-commerce:
The module introduces to students the fundamental technical
and managerial issues concerning electronic business. Topics covered
include: e-business strategies and models; electronic commerce
technologies; knowledge management; customer relationship management;
e-money; security and integration models of electronic and brick-and-mortar
businesses.
IT
222 System Analysis & Design:
This module covers the preliminary survey, analysis of
existing systems and identification of deficiencies, the development
of functional specifications, feasibility and cost/benefit, Systems
design activities, System design methodologies., and Systems design
tools.
IT 231 Network security:
The aim of this module is to cover both the principles of building
secure network systems. Cryptographic security protocols, confidentiality;
authentication, integrity; access control, security mechanisms,
digital signatures and firewalls will be discussed in detail during
the development of this module.
IT 232 Computer Networks:
The aim of this module is to learn about the OSI model, LANs,
WANs, Internet applications, network protocols, computer security,
network management and network components such as switches and
routers.
IT 301 Dissertation:
This
module gives the student the opportunity show mastery in a specific
area of interest. Students will work on a project under the supervision
of a faculty member and submit a suitable written report on the
work carried out.
©Copyright
Knightsbridge University 2005. No part of this Course Outline,
in part or in whole, may be reproduced, distributed or used for
commercial purposes without the written consent of Knightsbridge
University.
