Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Education (Parkville Campus)
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Bachelor of Social Science (Information Management)


Overview

The Bachelor of Social Science (Information Management) is a four-year full-time course (or equivalent part time) in which you spend three years in academic studies and normally one year in paid supervised professional practice which is undertaken after satisfactory completion of the second year of the full time course. The course aims to produce graduates with a high level of general education and specific vocational skills. The new graduates will utilise these skills to act as facilitators in matching the information requirements of an organisation with the available information technology.

The course is designed to heighten and enhance students' communication and analytical abilities; for instance: to coherently and effectively express ideas, to draw proper inferences from information, to analyse situations, draw conclusions and develop strategies. In conjunction with developing these skills, you will undertake core studies in information management which aim to produce managers who will see the new technology systems in the context of either private or public sector organisation.

The academic component of the course consists of:

You are required to complete at least a second major study sequence in addition to the compulsory major in information management. The second major study may either extend or complement the compulsory core and would reflect your vocational intentions.

This course is in the process of being phased out. The last intake into this course was in 1994. All currently enrolled students will be able to complete the requirements of the course if normal academic progress is maintained.


Course objectives

On completion of the Bachelor of Social Science (Information Management) course graduates should be able to:


Course structure

The course is designed to provide a balance of professional studies, discipline studies and practical experience. The compulsory core subjects provide the vocational base in information management skills and foundation studies in accounting, economics, information management law and business communication skills. The elective discipline study provides you with the flexibility to extend the core into a second major sequence in either accounting or economics, to directly complement the core, by choosing legal studies or computer studies subjects, or to assist your vocational development through specialised studies in a chosen discipline area not necessarily directly related to the core.

The subjects themselves are divided into various groups or categories. The groups are:

Group 1:
First-year studies;
Group 2:
Studies requiring the completion of appropriate Group 1 subjects in the same or specified related area; and
Group 3:
Studies requiring the completion of appropriate Group 2 subjects, or other studies in Group 3, in the same or specified related area.

To qualify for the Bachelor of Social Science (Information Management) you must satisfy the following requirements:

Students enrolled before 1994 should refer to the Handbook of their year of first enrolment, as the compulsory subjects have changed over the years.


Compulsory subjects

The first year of Information Management introduces you to organisations, their information needs, their operating environments and how computer systems can contribute to information management.

In the second year, you will build on the concepts and skills developed in first year to become more competent in understanding organisational information needs and in studying the use of alternative systems and solutions for those needs. This second year of the Information Management major study comprises five compulsory subjects which focus on the structure and implementation of information systems, aiding business decision-making and strategic planning processes and records management.

In the third year of the Information Management major (after the year of Supervised Professional Practice) you will consolidate concepts and skills already introduced and develop expertise in a range of relevant information management fields.

Of the other two subjects in the compulsory core, first-year Accounting will contribute to your understanding of the effective use of information resources by highlighting the financial perspective of organisations, and Economics will contribute to your understanding of the broader economic environment in which all organisations operate.


Elective discipline study

A feature of the course is its combination of an information management core with an elective discipline study. Selections will be subject to special approval to ensure that the elective studies are appropriately related to the compulsory core and your vocational intentions and to eliminate any potential overlap of subjects.

Electives may be used to develop a discipline major outside the compulsory core or, alternatively, to complete major studies in accounting or economics. Total of points in elective units may vary depending on mix selected.


Supervised Professional Practice

This year of professional practice is an integral part of the total course program, and enables you to observe, in an organisation, many of the concepts and techniques studied in the first two years of the course. You have an opportunity to practise the skills gained in the first two years and to participate in organisational applications to information systems. This experience will in turn assist final-year subject selection, vocational orientation and general awareness of actual settings and problems as a basis for final-year studies.

Students are assisted by Faculty of Education staff in applying for suitable placements. Placements are generally of about 10-12 months.


Course structure

First year

480-102    Info Mgt A1 - Introduction to Business     25.0 points    
           Information Systems                                       
306-161    Accounting A1 - Introduction to           12.5            
           Accounting I                                              
306-162    Accounting A2 - Introduction to           12.5            
           Accounting II                                             
316-161    Economics A - Foundations of Economics    25.0            
           Elective Discipline Studies               25.0            
                                                     100.0           

Second year

480-218    Info Mgt B1 - Information Systems         13.9       
           Analysis                                             
480-215    Info Mgt B4 - Business Computing          13.9       
480-211    Info Mgt B6 - Business Communication      13.9       
           Skills                                               
480-208    Info Mgt B7 - Information and Records     13.9       
           Control                                              
480-203    Info Mgt B8 - Business Management         13.9       
           Elective Discipline Studies               30.5       
                                                     100.0      

Third year

480-306    Info Mgt C11 - Supervised Professional    30.0       
           Practice                                             
480-311    Info Mgt C12 - Supervised Professional    30.0       
           Practice                                             
480-302    Info Mgt C13 - Supervised Professional    30.0       
           Practice Project                                     
480-305    Info Mgt C14 - Supervised Professional    10.0       
           Practice Project                                     
                                                     100.0      

Fourth year

480-324    Info Mgt C1 - Organisational Behaviour    11.1       
480-315    Info Mgt C3 - Advanced Business           11.1       
           Computing                                            
480-320    Info Mgt C5 - Information Systems         11.1       
           Design                                               
480-319    Info Mgt C6 - Management Statistics       11.1       
733-340    Info Mgt C7 - Legal Issues in             11.1       
           Information Management                               
           Elective Discipline Studies               44.4       
                                                     100.0      


Table of subjects

You may select your subjects from a range of areas, as listed below:

Accounting              Arabic                  Australian Studies              
Business Studies        Chinese                 Cinema Studies/Media Arts       
Communication           Computer Studies        Drama                           
Economics               English/                French                          
                        Lang. & Literature                                              
German                  Greek                   Hebrew                          
History                 Human Sexuality         Indonesian                      
Information             Italian                 Japanese                        
Management                                                                      
Legal Studies           Library and             Mathematics and Statistics      
                        Information Studies                                     
Philosophy              Political Science       Psychology                      
Russian                 Sociology               Spanish                         

Quotas apply to first and second year Psychology. For advice, please contact the Education Faculty Office.


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Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Education (Parkville Campus)

Status:          Official 1996
Date created:    Oct 10 1995
Last modified:   Oct 10 1995
Authorised by:   Academic Registrar
Email enquiries: Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au
Maintained by: Faculty of Education (Parkville Campus)

Copyright © University of Melbourne 1995,1996.