INSTRUCTION:
In Part B of Assessment 3, your role is switched to a policy maker responsible for the development of policies pertaining to information systems. You will be given a policy pitch (viz. a video) and you are required to write a 500-word review for that pitch. In your review, you should provide constructive feedback for the following aspects of the pitch:

the extent to which the pitch demonstrated a solid understanding of the basic concepts of information systems and its role in an organisation;

• the extent to which the pitch has given due deliberation on the relevant political, economic, sociocultural and technological factors;

• the extent to which the pitch is aligned with ethical, professional standard and complied with legal requirement;

• the effectiveness of communication;

• any other aspects of the pitch that have room for improvement;

REVIEW ON THIS PLEASE:

Universities under spotlight for privacy invasion

Issue

Today I am going to talk about an issue that has been raised regarding the privacy of student information. There have been concerns raised by students, where they feel there is a level of surveillance, and concerns the university knows too much about them.

The student data we receive from our IS provides key insights that are critical to ABCU, however, there are moral aspects that should be considered, as well as legal, ethical and social issues, to ensure students feel safe and their information is secure whilst studying at ABCU.

A policy for the “Operation of Information Systems” provides a set of rules, that when put into practice will ensure that all users of the information system adhere to the instructions regarding the privacy of stored student information. The policy will govern the protection of information, which is one of the many assets ABCU needs to protect. The goal is to prevent any compromise of information such as misuse of data, to protect the reputation of ABCU in terms of its ethical and legal responsibilities, and also observe the privacy of the students.

I will discuss some of the most important aspects that have been considered in developing the

“Operation Information System” policy.

Purpose

The purpose of the “Operation of Information Systems” policy is to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to protect student information, and to provide guidelines of what ABCU expects from their employees.

Whilst the collection and use of student data are necessary, ABCU is committed to protecting privacy and understands the students have an expectation that ABCU will manage and protect this personal information. ABCU must comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 (Government, 1988), which provides the fair collection and handling of personal information.

This policy applies to all University staff, students, or any other persons otherwise affiliated but not employed by the University, who may utilise the IS, or access ABCU applications with respect to the privacy of information.

The objectives of the policy for the “Operation of Information System” are broken into 5 areas:

1. Students information can only be accessed by university lecturers and academic management personal

o This will be achieved through a two-factor authentication process to ensure no fraudulent access of student information.

2. Students personal information must be only used for university purposes only, and not used for personal use

o ABCU keeps a log of all user access, which shows when it is accessed, and what information is accessed. Where any such information is used outside of university purposes, there will immediate disciplinary action such as termination applicable.

3. Access restrictions are in place to limit what information is available to relevant users

o Lecturers will only have student information relating to the subject they are teaching, as well as the students overall risk level. Only human resources and academic leaders will have more detailed student information. Where information systemusers have different access levels, it ensures that sensitive information can only be accessed by those certain people.

4. Removal of Campus activity logs

o Students are encouraged to attend as many classes as possible to enhance their academic success. Attendance may be recorded for some lectures as outlined in course subjects; however overall campus activity logs are not required.

o This raises ethical concerns around tracking of students, and who can access this information, and will it only collect university location data? There are also legal concerns as raised when the University of Newcastle implemented a mobile attendance app. A privacy lawyer has indicated it’s unclear of the data safety and a number of privacy concepts that must be dealt with. (Xiao, 2020)

5. To protect the ABCU from liability arising from the misuse of student information differing to the Privacy Act 1988.

o This act is the principal piece of Australian legislation protecting the handling of personal information about individuals. This includes the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information in the federal public sector and in the private sector.

PEST Analysis

A PEST analysis was carried out for this policy, which is a strategic business tool to uncover and evaluate external factors which can affect ABCU in the present or future. The framework examines opportunities and threats due to Political, Economic, Social and Technological forces.

· Political

o The Privacy Act 1988 is used as a guide for this policy but is subject to any government change to privacy laws or changes to process regulation.

o Ethical, social, and political issues are closely linked. Ethics refers to the principles of right and wrong that individuals, acting as free moral agents, use to make choices to guide their behaviour. Information systems raise new ethical questions for both individuals and societies because they create opportunities for intense social change that can have ripple effects to social and political factors. (Laudon, 2019)

· Economic

o A key benefit is there has been a reduction in costs of storing information which makes it possible to capture, store and analyse increasing amounts of data.

o The benefits of this policy will increase consumer confidence to ensure the growth of future student enrolments.

· Social

o The information policies across other Australian universities such as Torrens University, Deakin University and QUT, indicate that is standard practice for universities to collect and use student information for various reasons.

· Technological

o The doubling of computing power every 18 months has made it possible for most organizations to use information systems for their core production processes. (Laudon, Ethical and Social Issues in Information Sytems, 2019)

Who Benefits?

I will now highlight who will benefit from this policy.

Students will benefit from this policy as it provides a level of control of who can access their personal information. They will also benefit through the service that ABCU provides by identifying high-risk students as this will provide the additional support that is required to ensure they have the highest probability of achieving their learning outcomes.

ABUC will be the key beneficiary, as the student data received from the information system provides key insights that are critical to ABCU achieving the strategic business KPIS’s including student retention, student progression and student satisfaction.

Barriers

I would now like to explain what the major barriers are, to carrying out this policy.

Gaining students understanding and acceptance of the policy will be a major barrier for ABCU as we will continue to collect and use the information that has been highlighted as a concern. Communicating the policy updates to prevent misuse of their information will be essential and it is suggested that an online student information forum be created to allow all queries relating to this policy by monitored and answered.

There may also be barriers from university staff as the new policy will restrict current access and it needs to be very clear of the consequences of disciplinary action should these not be adhered to.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, this policy will address some of the key issues that have been addressed by students, with key changes that will restrict the access of their information. It is proposed to remove the Campus activity logs at this stage, as it brings additional ethical and legal considerations which can be address at a later time.

All other key student information will continue to be collected and used to assist ABCU to achieve business objectives.

It is critical that once this policy is approved and implemented, academic leaders should make sure that the “Operation of Information Systems” policy is considered to be as important, as all other policies enacted within the business.

Thank you for your time.

References

Government, A. (1988). The Privacy ACt. Retrieved from Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/the-privacy-act/#:~:text=The%20Privacy%20Act%201988%20(Privacy,other%20organisations%2C%20handle%20personal%20information.

Laudon, J. &. (2019). Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems. Pearson Education Limited.

Laudon, J. &. (2019). Ethical and Social Issues in Information Sytems. Pearson Education Limited.

Xiao, A. (2020, February 4). Outrage as University of Newcastle to track student attendance using mobile phone. Retrieved from ABC News: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-04/newcastle-university-tracking-student-attendance-through-mobile/11915502