APPLIED COMPUTER SCIENCE

Course Number: ACS-1803-050

Course Name: Introduction to Information Systems
Course Webpage: Nexus 1803-050

Instructor Information

Instructor: Dr. Arooba Zeshan

E-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00 - 2:00 pm 2Ax26
Class meeting time: Wednesday 6:00 – 9:00 pm 2D12

Important Dates

1. First Class: Wednesday, September 6, 2023

2. Reading Week (no classes): October 8-14, 2023
3. Final Withdrawal Date w/o academic penalty*: Monday, November 13, 2023
4. Mid-term Wednesday, Oct 18, 2023
5. Last Class: Wednesday, Nov 29, 2023
6. Final Exam (Comprehensive): TBD
7. University closures: Truth and Reconciliation Day Saturday, September 30, 2023
Thanksgiving Monday, October 9, 2023
Remembrance Day Saturday, November 11, 2023

*A minimum of 20% of the work on which the final grade is based will be evaluated and
available to the student before the voluntary withdrawal date.

Course Objectives / Learning Outcomes

The course provides students with a basic conceptual understanding of Information Systems
and the different elements including hardware, software, telecommunications, processes and
users. The course addresses the question: “how can computers help an organization”?
Highlights of business application systems that support the functions of accounting, finance,
marketing, human resource management and manufacturing will be provided.

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, Customer Relationship Management Systems, Executive

Information Systems, Decision Support Systems and Expert Systems are also covered. Further,
topics of eBusiness and eCommerce are covered. The final section of the course introduces the
student to the process of developing a customized computer-based information system,
presenting the system development life cycle and outlining the work of a systems analyst. In
this course students will develop a thorough overview of the different ways that computers can
be used in organizational management and operations

Evaluation Criteria

1. Assignments (15%)
- 3 assignments, worth 5% each
- Individual due dates will be posted on Nexus
- Assignments will be accepted up to 1 day late with a 20% penalty

2. Discussion topics/ reflections (10%)

- Students will be expected to read the lesson notes for each class, as well as the relevant
readings provided by the instructor. Students will be given 10 minutes to review the
questions/topics and share their point of view in the group discussion forum on Nexus.
- Students will be assessed and marked (maximum of 5 marks per topic) based on the
quality of their submissions. The key to a quality assessment is based on original thought
and subject matter relevance.
- The total number of topics for the term will be determined based on availability of time
and course content to be covered.
- Online participation requires students to attend the lectures that the topic is presented.
There will be no marks awarded for missed classes without prior approval from the
instructor and/or documented extenuating circumstances, such as a medical situation,
that prevented their participation and timely completion of their work.

3. Midterm Test (25%)

4. Final Exam (50%)
- Cumulative

Test / Exam Requirements

- Photo ID is required for the final exam.

- The use of computers, calculators, phones, or other electronic devices is not permitted
during exams.
- Midterm and final exams are closed-book.

Students should contact the instructor as soon as possible if extenuating circumstances require
missing a lab, assignment, test or examination. A medical certificate from a practicing physician
may be required before any adjustments are considered.
Students with documented disabilities, temporary or chronic medical conditions, requiring
academic accommodations for tests/exams (e.g., private space) or during lectures/laboratories
(e.g., note-takers) are encouraged to contact Accessibility Services (AS) at 204-786-9771 or
[email protected] to discuss appropriate options. All information about a
student’s disability or medical condition remains confidential.
https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/accessibility-services.

Students may choose not to attend classes or write examinations on holy days of their religion,
but they must notify their instructors at least two weeks in advance. Instructors will then
provide opportunity for students to make up work examinations without penalty. A list of
religious holidays can be found in the 2019-20 Undergraduate Academic Calendar online at
http://uwinnipeg.ca/academics/calendar/docs/important-notes.pdf

Final Letter Grade Assignment

Historically, numerical percentages have been converted to letter grades using the following
scale. However, instructors can deviate from these values based on pedagogical nuances of a
particular class, and final grades are subject to approval by the Department Review Committee.

A+ 90 – 100% B+ 75 – 79% C 60 – 64%

A 85 – 89 % B 70 – 74% D 50 – 59%
A- 80 – 84% C+ 65 – 69% F below 50%

Required Text Book / Reading List

- Fundamentals of Information Systems (9th edition), by Stair and Reynolds; Course

Technology, ISBN13: 978-1-337-09753-6.
- Lecture notes and additional readings will be made available on Nexus.

Prerequisite Information

(This information can be found in the UW Undergraduate Academic Calendar)

- There are no formal pre-requisites. It is assumed that students have basic knowledge on
computer usage including the internet, electronic files, and word processing applications.
- Students who require an introduction to personal computers and productivity software
should take ACS-1453(3).

Regulations, Policies, and Academic Integrity

Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Academic Regulations and Policies
found in the University Academic Calendar at:
https://uwinnipeg.ca/academics/calendar/docs/regulationsandpolicies.pdf
Particular attention should be given to subsections 8 (Student Discipline), 9 (Senate Appeals)
and 10 (Grade Appeals).

Avoiding Academic Misconduct: Academic dishonesty is a very serious offense and will be
dealt in accordance with the University’s policies.

Detailed information can be found at the following:

 Academic Misconduct Policy and Procedures: https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/institutional-

analysis/docs/policies/academic-misconduct-policy.pdf and
https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/institutional-analysis/docs/policies/academic-misconduct-
procedures.pdf
 About Academic Integrity and Misconduct, Resources and FAQs:
https://library.uwinnipeg.ca/use-the-library/help-with-research/academic-integrity.html

Uploading essays and other assignments to essay vendor or trader sites (filesharing sites that
are known providers of essays for use by others who submit them to instructors as their own
work) involves “aiding and abetting” plagiarism. Students who do this can be charged with
Academic Misconduct.

Academic Integrity and AI Text-generating Tools: Students must follow principles of academic
integrity (e.g., honesty, respect, fairness, and responsibility) in their use of material obtained
through AI text-generating tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Bing, Notion AI). If an instructor prohibits the
use of AI tools in a course, students may face an allegation of academic misconduct if using
them to do assignments. If AI tools are permitted, students must cite them. According to the
MLA (https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/), writers should
 cite a generative AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own
work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it
 acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing your prose or translating words)
in a note, your text, or another suitable location
 take care to vet the secondary sources it cites
If students are not sure whether or not they can use AI tools, they should ask their professors.

Non-academic misconduct: Students are expected to conduct themselves in a respectful

manner on campus and in the learning environment irrespective of platform being used.
Behaviour, communication, or acts that are inconsistent with a number of UW policies could be
considered “non-academic” misconduct. More detailed information can be found here:

 Respectful Working and Learning Environment Policy

https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/respect/respect-policy.html,
 Acceptable Use of Information Technology Policy
https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/institutional-analysis/docs/policies/acceptable-use-of-
information-technology-policy.pdf
 Non-Academic Misconduct Policy and Procedures: https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/institutional-
analysis/docs/student-non-academic-misconduct-policy.pdf and
 https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/institutional-analysis/docs/student-non-academic-misconduct-
procedures.pdf.

Copyright and Intellectual Property: Course materials are the property of the instructor who
developed them. Examples of such materials are course outlines, assignment descriptions,
lecture notes, test questions, and presentation slides—irrespective of format. Students who
upload these materials to filesharing sites, or in any other way share these materials with
others outside the class without prior permission of the instructor/presenter, are in violation of
copyright law and University policy. Students must also seek prior permission of the
instructor/presenter before, for example, photographing, recording, or taking screenshots of
slides, presentations, lectures, and notes on the board. Students found to be in violation of an
instructor’s intellectual property rights could face serious consequences pursuant to the
Academic Misconduct or Non-Academic Misconduct Policy; such consequences could possibly
involve legal sanction under the Copyright Policy:
https://copyright.uwinnipeg.ca/basics/copyright-policy.html

Privacy

Students have rights in relation of the collecting of personal data the University of Winnipeg
- Student Privacy: https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/privacy/admissions-privacy-notice.html
- Zoom Privacy: https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/privacy/zoom-privacy-notice.html

Class Cancellation, Correspondence with Students and Withdrawing from Course

When it is necessary to cancel a class due to exceptional circumstances, the course instructor
will make every effort to inform students via uwinnipeg email and Nexus.
Students are reminded that they have a responsibility to regularly check their uwinnipeg e-mail
addresses to ensure timely receipt of correspondence from the University and/or the course
instructor.
Please let course instructor know if you plan on withdrawing from the course. Note that
withdrawing before the VW date does not necessarily result in a fee refund.

Topics to be covered (tentative)

1. Definition of Data, information, and Information System

2. Database concepts; database modeling, data warehousing and mining. Database
Management Systems.
3. Information needs at different levels in the organization. Operational, Tactical and
Executive information Systems. Information Processing modes (Batch, Online, etc.)
4. Basic transaction processing and management reporting systems in: accounting, finance,
marketing, human resources, manufacturing and supply chain management.
5. Functional Area Systems: Accounting, HR, Marketing, Operations
 6. Enterprise Systems: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems, Supply Chain,
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Enterprise Resource Planning, Value Chain
7. Decision Support Systems
8. Expert Systems, Knowledge Management Systems, AI
9. Hardware and Software
10. Telecommunications
11. The Internet
12. eCommerce
13. System Acquisition and Development
14. Security, ethics and internal control in organizational information systems. System
security components. Access controls, application controls, system controls. Information
system auditing. Trust Services (e.g., WebTrust) and seals.
15. Social Impact of IS
16. Careers in Information Systems

A permitted or necessary change in mode of delivery may require adjustments to important

aspects of course outlines, like class schedule and the number, nature, and weighting of
assignments and/or exams.