Course Overview
The course examines ethical and legal issues related to employment as a computing professional, including tensions between personal interests, interests of the company and interests of clients. This course identifies and examines a range of ethical dilemmas likely to be encountered by professionals in the computing industry. Students will be given the theoretical tools to identify and analyze the issues, evaluate them, and propose solutions. Students will develop competence in moral reasoning through examining case studies that describe ethical and legal problems including: Employment (e.g., resume padding, resume fraud, employment contract, conflict of interests, rights and duties of employers and employees, etc.) Remote work (e.g., productivity, trust, opportunities for promotions, privacy, security, etc.) Contracts (e.g., non-disclosure and non-compete agreements, contract law, freedom and autonomy, etc.) Internet fraud (e.g., cybercrime, fraud, hacking, spoofing, phishing, dark patterns, etc.) Property rights (e.g., intellectual property, trade secrets, copyright, patents, open-source code, screen scraping, selecting software licenses, etc.) Data (e.g., data storage, data privacy, data residency, data custody, professional negligence, legal data protection, hacking, spoofing, phishing, fiduciary obligations, etc.). The course is required for the CST Diploma and will be offered in the spring (May) and winter (January) terms.
Prerequisite(s)
- BCIT ENGL 1177, or 6 credits BCIT Communication at 1100-level or above, or 3 credits of a university/college first-year social science or humanities course.
Credits
4.0
Domestic fees
$997.50
International fees are typically 3.25 times the domestic tuition. Exact cost will be calculated upon completion of registration.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to achieve the following for each of the topics mentioned in the course description:
- Identify ethical issues in computing-related case studies.
- Explain the principles of key normative ethical theories that are relevant to computing.
- Apply theories to a variety of ethical and legal problems that computing professionals may face.
- State counter arguments in response to proposed solutions and constructively engage alternative views.
- Make a persuasive case for taking a particular course of action to solve a profession-related ethical problem.
Effective as of Fall 2022
Related Programs
Ethics for Computing Professionals (LIBS 7102) is offered as a part of the following programs:
- Indicates programs accepting international students.
- Indicates programs eligible for students to apply for Post-graduation Work Permit (PGWP).
School of Computing and Academic Studies
- Computer Systems
Diploma Part-time
- Computer Systems Technology
Diploma Full-time
Course Offerings
Spring/Summer 2026
Below is one offering of LIBS 7102 for the Spring/Summer 2026 term.
CRN 68769
Dates
May 07 - Jul 23 Loading
- CRN 68769
- $997.50 Domestic fees
Class meeting times
Duration
12 weeks
Instructor
Simon Pollon
Course outline
Course outline TBD — see Learning Outcomes in the interim.
Important information
- Important course information will be sent to you prior to your course start date. Check your myBCIT email account to access this information.
- Please note: (A) RESERVED: LIBS 7102 is for reserved for CIT and CST students. (B) The course is composed of 3 hours of synchronous online teaching plus 2 hours of online asynchronous teaching per week. FINAL EXAMS: All final exams MUST be written at BCIT during the last week of the course on the designated dates and times determined by the instructor.
Confirmation
Required
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Status
If you have any questions about this course, please contact us.
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