This course aims to provide students from all business disciplines with a general background of BIS. An understanding of BIS is important to the work of business professionals because BIS serves as a bridge between management and operation. For instance, accountants use information systems for business reporting; financial managers use information systems for market forecast; sales managers and marketers use information systems to track customer purchases and to promote new products; information systems designers build and deliver new information services; and executive managers use strategic information systems to determine the company’s strategic position. Mastering both business and technology skills and knowledge builds job opportunities, because they can better contribute to shaping their company's strategy and operation.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the foundations of information systems, and explain the reasons for the current design and use of information systems;
2. Demonstrate an understanding of and interpret the personal, social, ethical, and business implications of using information systems;
3. Observe and explain the real-world use of information systems, citing practical examples;
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles of modelling information systems processes and outcomes;
5. Evaluate and critically analyse problems.

Research-Led Teaching

Students undertaking this course will be introduced to some of the fundamental principles and phenomena that underpin many theories of business information systems practice and research. Students will learn how these principles and phenomena manifest themselves in real world activities, behaviours and interactions. Where feasible, students will be introduced to relevant academic and industry literature.

Field Trips

No field trips

Additional Course Costs

No other additional courses costs are expected for this class.

Examination Material or equipment

The Final Examination will be held during the final examination period. Details will be provided via the course Canvas site by the end of Week 10.

Required Resources

Reading material will come from a variety of sources. We will use a textbook for background material, and research and practitioner literature for grounding in additional topics.

The textbook is:

Stair, R. M., Reynolds G., Principles of Information Systems, Latest Ed., Cengage Learning.

The textbook is available on-line and can be accessed via the link on the course Canvas page. A copy of the textbook will be held in the ANU library reserve & short loan collection.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Written comments
• Verbal comments
• Feedback to the whole class, to groups, to individuals, focus groups

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Note in the event of high similarity scores and/or an indication of the use of an AI tool to write the report, as part of an academic integrity case, you may be required to meet with the lecturer and/or tutor in an individual meeting to review your submission and to provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate a depth of understanding and analysis of the submission topic(s).

Support of students: The University offers a number of support services for students. Information on these is available online from http://students.anu.edu.au/studentlife/.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Week 1: Business Information Systems (BIS) - Course Introduction and Approach	-
2	Week 2: BIS and Social Media Strategies	Assessment Task 1: Tutorial Participation
3	Week 3: e-Commerce and Enterprise Architecture	Assessment Task 1: Tutorial Participation
4	Week 4: ERP and Systems Development	Assessment Task 1: Tutorial Participation
5	Week 5: Stakeholder Engagement in IT Project Development	Assessment Task 1: Tutorial Participation
6	Week 6: Ethics and the IT Organisation	Assessment Task 1: Tutorial Participation
7	Week 7: Data and Knowledge Management	Assessment Task 1: Tutorial ParticipationAssessment Task 2: BIS Analysis Report due at 5 pm on Wednesday
8	Week 8: Organisations and Leadership	Assessment Task 1: Tutorial Participation
9	Week 9: Cybersecurity, Ethical Hacking and Risk Management	Assessment Task 1: Tutorial Participation
10	Week 10: Emerging Technology Themes (Public Holiday)	Assessment Task 1: Tutorial Participation
11	Week 11: Course Summary (Part 1) and Exam Prep	Assessment Task 1: Tutorial Participation
12	Week 12: Course Summary (Part 2), Exam Prep and Conclusions	Assessment Task 1: Tutorial ParticipationAssessment Task 3: Examination during the examination period that follows Week 12.

Tutorial Registration

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

This course has tutorials or tutorial-like teaching activities. Further details about the structure and teaching activities for this course will be available on the course Canvas site at the start of O-Week.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Tutorial Participation (Individual - 10%)	10 %	*	*	2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11
BIS Analysis Report (Individual - 45%)	45 %	22/04/2026	06/05/2026	1,2,3,4,5,6
Final examination (Individual - 45%)	45 %	*	02/07/2026	1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Students are expected to attend all weekly seminars and tutorials in person. Students are expected to complete required readings prior to class. Attendance and participation are expected in line with the "Code of Practice of Teaching and Learning" clause 2 paragraph (b).

Examination(s)

Specific details of the exam date will be available closer to the commencement of the examination period at https://exams.anu.edu.au/timetable/.

Assessment Task 1

Tutorial Participation (Individual - 10%)

Your tutorial participation will contribute 10% to your overall grade.

This mark reflects your engagement and contribution during scheduled tutorial sessions (equally weighted) throughout the semester.

Active participation involves asking questions, contributing to discussions, sharing insights, and collaborating with peers on in-class activities.

Further details and marking criteria will be provided on Canvas two weeks prior to Week 1 of the semester.

Feedback: An interim mark will be provided to students by 31 March 2026. The final mark will be released with the final release of grades.

Assessment Task 2

BIS Analysis Report (Individual - 45%)

The BIS Assessment Report requires students to investigate an assigned, current topic(s) in Business Information Systems. The report requires research, analysis and leveraging academic literature to demonstrate a depth of analysis and understanding of the topic(s). Students will be given guidance on working with academic literature in Week 1.

Format: Students will submit an MS Word document via a link on Canvas with no more than 2000 words. Text exceeding the word count will not be read.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Students are welcome to use generative AI tools (e.g. GPT-4, DALL-E, Copilot) and other tools (e.g. Grammarly) to support their learning in a way that is consistent with the ANU Academic Integrity principles for use of GenAI. As such, please be aware of the following additional conditions for this assessment task:

• Clearly acknowledge the use of Artificial Intelligence in the relevant parts of the assessment task
• Submit the deliverable in a format that preserves ‘tracked changes’ (e.g. MS Word, Apple Pages, or similar) that shows the progression of academic effort and contribution towards completing the task.

Marking criteria: Further details and marking criteria will be provided on Canvas two weeks prior to Week 1 of the semester, and will be discussed in class in the first week.

Report due date: Due on Wednesday of Week 7 (22/04/2026) at 05:00 pm via the course Canvas site. There is a 5% penalty for each late working day for late submissions.

Feedback: Up to 10 working days after submission, excluding teaching breaks, etc.

Assessment Task 3

Final examination (Individual - 45%)

A single in-person examination, covering all course content, will be held during the end of semester examination period.

The examination will be two hours in duration.

Specific details of the exam date will be available closer to the commencement of the examination period at https://exams.anu.edu.au/timetable/.

Please refer to Canvas site for more information to be provided by Week 10.

Grades for this assessment will be released with the final grades for the semester.

No qualitative feedback will be provided for this assessment.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

Lodgement: You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records.

Identification: On all assignments, you must provide your student number as identification; your name should not be included anywhere in the file.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Refer to the details for each assessment item. Policy regarding late submission (where applicable) is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.
• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an approved extension is penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

All requests for Assessment Adjustment (including Requests for Extension and for Consideration of Extenuating Circumstances) should be submitted via ANUHub .

Referencing Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Canvas’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Returning Assignments

All assignments will be marked and/or returned according to the timeline specified under ASSESSMENT SUMMARY.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

You are allowed to resubmit your assignments before the specified submission time. Any submission done after the specified submission date and time will be considered a late submission and the listed penalty conditions will apply.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information. In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service — including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy. If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes. Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students