under the auspices of the Board of Studies for Information Technology

L.N. 187 of 2005

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Bye-Laws of 2005 in terms of the

General Regulations for University Undergraduate Awards, 2004

for the Degrees of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (Honours) -

B.Sc. I.T. (Hons) - and Bachelor of Science in Information Technology - B.Sc. I.T. -

under the auspices of the Board of Studies for Information Technology

IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 30(5) and

31(6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of

Malta has promulgated the following bye-laws made by the Board of Studies

for Information Technology in virtue of the powers conferred upon it by section

37 (1) of the said Act and which have been approved by the Senate of the

University of Malta as required by section 37 (2) of the said Act

Citation and Interpretation

(1) These bye-laws may be cited as the Bye-Laws of 2005 in terms of the

General Regulations for University Undergraduate Awards, 2004 for the degrees of

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (Honours) - B.Sc. I.T. (Hons) - and

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology - B.Sc. I.T. - under the auspices of the

Board of Studies for Information Technology.

(2) In these bye-laws, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Board of Studies" means the Board of Studies for Information Technology

appointed by Senate from members of the Departments of Computer Information

Systems, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, and Communications and

Computer Engineering;

"the Course" means the course programme leading to the degree of

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (Honours) - B.Sc. I.T. (Hons) -

or to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology - B.Sc. I.T. - as

appropriate;

“the Degree” means the degree of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

(Honours) - B.Sc. I.T. (Hons) - or the degree of Bachelor of Science in Information

Technology - B.Sc. I.T. - as appropriate;

“the Honours Degree” means the degree of Bachelor of Science in Information

Technology (Honours) - B.Sc. I.T. (Hons);

“the Ordinary Degree” means the degree of Bachelor of Science in Information

Technology - B.Sc. I.T.; and

"the Principal Regulations" means the General Regulations for University

Undergraduate Awards, 2004.

Applicability

These bye-laws shall be applicable to courses commencing in October 2003

or later.

Areas of Study

The Degree shall be awarded in one of the following areas of specialisation

(a)

Informatics;

(b)

Computer Science; and

(c)

Computer Systems Engineering.

Special Course Requirements for Admission

(1) To be registered as regular students in the Course, applicants shall, apart

from satisfying the general requirements for admission as specified in the Admission

Regulations, be in possession of

(a) passes at Advanced Matriculation Level at Grade C or better in Pure

Mathematics and in one of the following subjects: Applied Mathematics, Biology,

Chemistry, Computing, Economics, English, Information Technology, Music,

Philosophy, and Physics;

or

(b)

(i) five passes in the Secondary Education Certificate Examination

including English Language, and Maltese; and

(ii) a pass in Systems of Knowledge at Intermediate Matriculation Level;

and

(iii) a pass at Advanced Matriculation Level at Grade C or better in Pure

Mathematics or at a corresponding level of other examinations recognised by Senate for

the purpose of the Admission Regulations; and

(iv) either

(a) a Higher Technician Diploma of the City and Guilds of London Institute

Course No. 8000 in Electrical Engineering;

or

(b) the Diploma in Industrial Electronics, with Credit, of the Fellenberg

Training Centre;

or

(c) the Advanced Diploma of the City and Guilds of London Institute

Course No. 7235 in Applied Information Technology;

or

(d) any other qualification from a recognised institute considered by the

Board of Studies to be equivalent to any of (a), (b) or (c).

(2) As from October 2005, students who lack a grade in only one of the

subjects of the special course requirements required at Advanced Matriculation Level

indicated in paragraph (1) of this bye-law shall be admitted under those conditions as

the Board of Studies may impose to compensate for the missing element. If, by the end

of the first year, such students do not successfully complete all the requirements to

progress regularly to the second year of the Course, they shall be required to withdraw

from the Course and shall neither be entitled to repeat the year nor to progress

conditionally as normally permitted under the Principal Regulations.

Course Duration

The Course shall extend over a period of four years of full-time study.

Course Programme

(1) The Course shall consist of two parts: Part One, comprising the first three

years at the end of which the Ordinary Degree may be awarded, and Part Two,

comprising the fourth year at the end of which the Honours Degree may be awarded.

(2) The first two years of the Course shall be common to all students and shall

comprise study-units in Informatics, Computer Science, and Computer and

Telecommunication Systems Engineering and in other complementary subjects.

(3) At the end of the second year of the Course, students shall be required to

choose an area of specialisation from Informatics, Computer Science, and Computer

and Telecommunication Systems Engineering on which they will be required to

concentrate studies during the rest of the Course.

(4) At the end of Part One of the Course, students whose average mark

calculated in accordance with the criteria specified in paragraph (2) of bye-law

10 would entitle them to the Ordinary Degree with Category IIB or better shall

be allowed to proceed to Part Two of the Course unless they opt to stop and be awarded

the Ordinary Degree.

(5) Students who successfully complete Part One of the Course but whose

average mark over the three years entitles them to the Ordinary Degree with Category

III shall not be eligible to proceed to Part Two but shall be awarded the Ordinary

Degree.

(6) Students who proceed to Part Two of the Course but who do not complete

it successfully shall be entitled to the award of the Ordinary Degree.

(7) The course programme shall consist of study-units to which 240 credits are

assigned as follows

(a) in the first year, 60 credits from the three different areas of specialisation;

(b) in the second year, 12 credits in each area of specialisation; 12 credits from

any area of specialisation; and 12 credits as directed by the Board of Studies;

(c) in the third year, 30 credits for Assigned Practical Tasks; and 30 credits, of

which not less than 16 and not more than 20 credits are to be taken in the chosen area of

specialisation; and

(d) in the fourth year, 24 credits for an extensive project in the chosen area of

specialisation as approved by the department responsible for the area of specialisation;

28 credits, of which not less than 16 and not more than 24 credits are to be taken in the

chosen area of specialisation and 8 other credits as directed by the Board of Studies.

The Board of Studies shall publish the programme of study for each area of

specialisation drawn up in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Principal

Regulations, and approved by Senate before the commencement of each Course.

In any year of the Course students may not register for study-units to which

more than 60 credits are assigned unless they are required to register for referred study-

units in terms of regulation 54 of the Principal Regulations.

Notwithstanding the provisions of regulation 45 of the Principal Regulations,

in any year of the Course, students shall not be awarded more than 12 credits for study-

units passed by compensation and if necessary the students shall be required to choose

which study-unit/s of the eligible study-units are to be considered as passed by

compensation, to a maximum value of 12 credits.

Classification of the Awards

(1) The Final Weighted Average Mark for the classification of the Ordinary

Degree shall be based on the results obtained in Part One of the Course, each year of

which shall be weighted as follows

First Year Average Mark

20%

Second Year Average Mark

40%

Third Year Average Mark

40%.

(2) The Final Weighted Average Mark for the classification of the Honours

Degree shall be based on the results obtained in the four years of the Course, which

shall be weighted as follows

Part One Weighted Average Mark as in paragraph (1)

60%

Part Two (Fourth Year)

40%.

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