Programme Background and Rationale

The IS profession belongs to the broader Information Communication Technology/Information Technology (ICT / IT) profession and shares many core professional competencies with it. IT professionals use information systems (IS) to collect, organize, and distribute data. These systems are crucial to organizations that host a lot of data electronically as most government and private firms in Somaliland and the Horn of Africa region nowadays do. The information system of an organization consists of the information technology infrastructure, application systems, and personnel that employ information technology to deliver information and communications services for transaction processing/operations and administration/management of the organization. It utilizes computer and communications hardware and software, manual procedures, and internal and external repositories of data; and apply a combination of automation, human actions, and user machine interaction.

It is evident that information system is becoming increasingly ingrained in the everyday business, professional and personal lives. They have become more pervasive, and it is difficult to get through the day without interacting with an information system. The “user” in an IS has expanded from just the industry employees to now all types of individuals; IS while has become more society-centric than organization-centric. Therefore a computing curriculum for the IS discipline has become not just an added advantage but a necessity in the modern society. Competencies in IS foundations, data, technology, development, organizational and integration have become part and parcel of organization and individual’s daily lives.

From a global perspective, the role of information systems need not be overemphasized. Its influence in business enterprises, government sector and indeed personal lives speaks for itself. From an academic perspective, information systems in Africa at large and the horn of Africa region in particular has huge role to play in developing the content’s and the region’s own human resource in careers like web development, database administration, computer programming, and security. In the context of Somaliland, IS experts are required to develop a range of solutions for a myriad of challenges including in health information systems to supplement government efforts in bringing health services to the people, land information systems for planning and controlling the fast growing Somaliland cities coupled with land challenges. They are also required in the voting systems to support the fledgling political processes within the country among several other opportunities including banking, defense, research, transportation, mining, trade and industry. All these efforts are geared towards supporting human capital development, as espoused in Amoud University’s motto. Bachelor of Information Systems focuses on the technical and analytical skills of Information system design and management. The country and the region is in need of persons with ability to assess, evaluate, and communicate key aspects of Information Systems as enablers of modern organisations.

Amoud University and the faculty of computing and informatics through this programme will produce highly skilled and relevant Information Systems graduates who will have fundamental competencies in all core the areas of system and web programming, Databases, IT Infrastructure and integration, and Ethics, and Security, among others in line with Undergraduate Information Systems Curricula, ACM/AIS The Joint ACM/AIS IS2020 Task Force, December 2020 (Web link: https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3460863).

Programme Objectives
General Objective

The general objective of this programme is to produce Information Systems experts; with broad understanding of both the organizational and its computing/engineering needs and who can function effectively as database administrators, business analysts, programmers, network administrators, project managers and computer technicians.

Specific Objectives

By the end of the programme, students should;

1. Be able to demonstrate broad understanding of the strategic use of Information Systems in private organizations, public sector enterprises and non-governmental institutions.
2. Be able to competently use the systems development life cycle along with its appropriate tools, techniques, methodologies, and processes to develop information systems that meet the needs of businesses and organizations.
3. Be able to follow known research methodologies to identify research problems in Information Systems, conduct research and report the findings in standard scientific manner.

Programme Duration

The programme run on a semester basis consisting of four semesters each lasting 17 weeks, or part-time basis as appropriately structured by the Faculty of Computing and Informatics and department of Information Systems, and approved by Senate.

Programme Modalities

The programme shall be conducted by course work, examinations and project, based on credit units. The last two weeks of each semester of each academic year shall normally be used for end-of-semester examinations. Further,

1. A student shall take foundation/general courses in English, mathematics, science, Arabic, Islamic studies during the first one year in the freshmen. The freshman year also acts as a gateway to full admission into the bachelor of information systems programme.
2. By the end of junior year, a student shall attend at least 300 hours of internship in a real work environment.
3. A student shall come up with a well-written project in the area of Information Systems during the senior year of study.

Curriculum Plan

The programme shall run on a semester basis consisting of eight (8) semesters each lasting 17 weeks in a period of four (4) academic years, whether on full time, part-time, sandwich, or online or other modes as structured by the Faculty of Computing and Informatics, and department of Information Systems, and approved by Senate.

General Regulations

General University regulations and guidelines for undergraduate programmes shall apply with regard to application, registration, teaching, learning, examinations, research and graduation. A student is required to sign a memorandum of understanding during the registration process on pre-scribed forms.

Admission Requirements

This bachelor of Information Systems programme is best suited to students with interest in becoming future data scientists or big data analysts in business tech firms. To qualify for admission into the degree of bachelor of Information Systems, an applicant shall:

1. Hold a Somaliland GCSE of at least Grade “C”, or its equivalent from a recognized examination body.
2. Successfully complete a one-year freshman programme at Amoud University, and attain a GPA of at least 2.00.
3. Meet other conditions as spelt out by the Faculty of Computing and Informatics and the department of Information Systems, with approval of Senate.

Enrolment Types

There shall be three (3) categories of enrolments as follows:

1. Full-Time Day face-to-face enrolled students who shall attend classes between 7.30 am 4.30 pm from Saturday to Thursday.
2. Full-Time Evening face-to-face enrolled students who shall attend classes between 4.00 pm and 10.00 pm from Saturday to Thursday.
3. Sandwich, part-time, and other modes enrolled students who shall attend classes during specific periods as specified by the Faculty of Computing and Informatics and department of Information Systems, and approved by Senate.

Staff, Facilities and Equipment

The faculty of computing and informatics, and the department of Information Systems have adequate resources to offer this programme. The faculty has three (3) functional and well equipped computer laboratories fitted with over-head digital projectors and 35 work stations. There is free WiFi 24/7 on campus internet connections in all computer laboratories and surrounding areas hosted by two local internet service providers, with a total of 20Mbps download and 20Mbps upload internet speeds. The main university library has an array of information systems materials for further reading, and several electronic books and reference materials on IS are also available through Amoud University Google classroom suite. The faculty has a well balanced team of highly competent local and non-local staff, trained locally and abroad who are readily available to help students as needs arise. The programme has been allocated sufficient time and with efficient management, the faculty ensures that students complete their courses on time.

Funding

The programme of bachelor of Information Systems is sustained largely by funds from tuition fees and other relevant levies. The student must show proof of ability to pay tuition fees on time before being enrolled into the programme. There are no special funding arrangements for the students enrolled in the programme of bachelor of information systems. However, if and when, additional funds are available, they shall be dispensed according to the university financial policies.

Target Groups

The target group for the Bachelor of Information Systems programme includes but is not limited to:

1. Students who have successfully completed Somaliland General Secondary School Certificate (SGCSE) or its equivalent from a recognized examination body and who wish to pursue a career in information systems.
2. People already working in the field of Information Systems or related fields but would like to add new skills set to their professional work and attain formal certification in Information Systems.
3. Other persons with insight in Information Systems and would like to pursue the challenge of Information Systems at the undergraduate degree level.

Expected Programme Outcomes

The graduates of the Bachelor of Information Systems programme should be persons who are:

1. Consultants and information systems security professionals who assess, evaluate, and communicate key aspects of Information Systems as enablers of modern organizations.
2. Systems administrators with authoritative knowledge of operating systems, networks, and cloud computing systems and ability to securely administer both Windows and Linux systems.
3. Proprietors of their own business initiatives providing consulting services or carrying out qualitative analyses for the design and management of information systems in government organisations and business enterprises of various sizes.
4. Information systems analysts or architects, programmers, testers, database administrators or project managers in private or public organizations.
   11. Information security analysts, IS managers and IS security auditors in governmental and non-governmental firms