Courses

This course prepares students for policy development in organizations. It analyzes and synthesizes concerns and conflicts related to information technology, information access and dissemination, freedom of information, copyright, intellectual property rights and responsibilities, privacy, filtering and information security and computer crime. Legal, political, social and ethical issues and how they contribute to policy development will be considered. Against this backdrop, the course provides opportunity for students to undertake organizational policy development.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the relationships among access rights, property rights, and privacy rights and responsibilities in an information society.
• Demonstrate an understanding of major policy issues important to the information, communication, and technology professions and to the public at large regarding government information, private sector information, secrecy, censorship, scholarly communication, intellectual property, security and information equity.
• Critically analyze policy issues to establish implications for policy development and maintenance.
• Demonstrate proficiency in using policy creation methodologies and tools.
• Use problem solving skills in designing and implementing organizational policies.
• Describe and analyze policy issues intelligently through discussion and in writing.
• Recognize and determine emerging policy issues.
• Develop an organizational data policy document.