Management Information Systems (MIS)

(Administered by the Department of Logistics, Operations and Management Information Systems)  
Michael R. Crum, Chair of Department  
Distinguished Professors: Allen, Baumel  
Professors: Crum, Poist, Wacker  
Professors (Emeritus): Thompson, Voorhees  
Associate Professors: Hendrickson, Lummus, Mennecke, Nilakanta, Norris,
Premkumar, Walter  
Assistant Professors: Hackbarth, Johnson, Montabon, Ruben, Strader, Suzuki, Zhu  
Instructors (Adjunct): Blanshan, Choobineh, Clayton

Undergraduate Study

For undergraduate curriculum in business, major in management information systems, (MIS) see College of Business, Curricula.

The MIS Program is designed to provide students with a strong educational foundation that prepares them as information system (IS) professionals. The academic program consists of a specially designed curriculum that emphasizes conceptual, analytical, technical and interpersonal skills. The major offers students comprehensive training in the application, use and management of information systems to prepare them to provide effective information services and support to organizations. The coursework is designed to provide the technical and conceptual skills associated with the use of information technology in business organizations. The program will: impart knowledge on existing and emerging information technologies and their impact on the IS function; train to critically analyze business processes, identify inefficiencies and problems, assess information requirements, create business solutions and technical specifications for the supporting system; provide expertise to design and develop database applications using the latest database technologies; provide expertise in the latest telecommunication technologies; train in interpersonal and communication skills to effectively interact with various information systems’ clients; and provide managerial skills to manage IS projects.

The MIS major requires students to take six courses. The required courses are: Com S 201, MIS 331, MIS 432, MIS 433, and MIS 435. In addition they will take one additional elective course from an approved list. These courses are designed to provide the conceptual, technical, and managerial skills necessary to design and develop systems in organizations. The department also offers a minor for College of Business students with a different major. They are required to take 15 credits from a list of approved courses, 9 credits of which may not be used to satisfy any other requirement.

Graduate Study

The MIS area participates in two graduate programs in the College of Business—M.S. in Business, and full-time and part-time M.B.A. programs. The M.S. program is a 30 credit hour curriculum with a thesis.

The M.B.A. program is a 48 credit hour curriculum. Twenty-four of the 48 credit hours are core business courses and the remaining 24 credit hours are graduate electives. Students can obtain a MIS specialization in the M.B.A. program by taking 12 credit hours of graduate MIS courses from a selected list of courses.

The MIS area also participates in an interdeptmental MS program in Information Assurance.

Courses open for nonmajor graduate credit: 432, 433, 435 and 438.

Courses Primarily for Undergraduate Students

MIS 230. Applications in Information Systems
Cr. 1 to 3. Training in IS software and applications, and problem solving in functional business areas.

MIS 330. Management Information Systems
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: Com S 103 or equivalent. The role of information technology in organization. Overview of methodologies for design and development of systems including decision support systems, expert systems, data bases, end-user computing, etc. Computer applications relate concepts to practice. Lecture and laboratory work emphasizes the enabling role of IT in contemporary organizations.

MIS 331. File Structures and Programming
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 330, Com S 207. Introduction to the concepts and use of data structures, file accesses and object oriented programming methodologies in contemporary business environments. Object oriented programming languages such as C++ used. Application development environments will be covered.

MIS 432. Information Systems Analysis
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 330, Com S 201. Critical analysis of business processes, data and process modeling, feasibility studies, CASE tools, and developing system design specifications. Nonmajor graduate credit.

MIS 433. Database Management Systems
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 331. Database design, development, and implementation. Focus on data models, both classical and object oriented. Uses relational and/or object oriented database management systems. Nonmajor graduate credit.

MIS 435. Business Telecommunications
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 331. Overview of communications technology used in various business applications - local area network, wide area network, broad band network, wireless and voice network. Understand the role of protocols, particularly internet protocols, in communications. Train to analyze network requirements, design and implement local area networks. Nonmajor graduate credit.

MIS 436. Information Systems for Entrepreneurs
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 330. Only for non-MIS majors. Provides the basic skills to manage a small IS operation in a small business/new venture. Topics will focus on small IS operations. Training will be provided on basics of hardware/software, databases, networking, and common small business IS applications.

MIS 438. Information Systems Development
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 432, 433. Design of busines systems using contemporary tools and methods such as SQL, CASE tools, OOD tools, etc. Focuses on synthesizing concepts from earlier MIS courses. Nonmajor graduate credit.

MIS 439. Topics in Management of Information Systems
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 331, permission of instructor. A variety of topics will be covered and topics may vary between semesters. Some of the topics are information resources management, electronic commerce, decision support systems, and expert systems.

MIS 490. Independent Study
Cr. 1 to 3 each time taken. Prereq: 330, senior classification, permission of instructor.

Courses Primarily for Graduate Students. Open to Qualified Undergraduate Students

MIS 503. Management Information Systems
(2-0) Cr. 2. Prereq: Graduate classification. Current theories and practices of information processing and decision making. Focus on information technology and its uses in improving work practices, products, and tools for decision support. Use of artificial intelligence and other developments in technology. Competitive pressures and risks of information technology (IT). Setting IT strategy, information system planning and development of enterprise architecture. Focus on systems development and implementation.

MIS 531. Business Software Development
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 503 or equivalent. A survey of business-oriented programming languages with emphasis on design, writing, debugging and testing of computer programs for business transaction processing, and managerial decision-support. Topics include structured programming and file processing.

MIS 533. Data Management for Decision Makers
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 503 or equivalent. The course will address the data needs of functions such as marketing, finance, production etc. The course will focus on teaching advanced data base management skills needed to design, develop and use database, data warehousing and data mining systems for effective decision support. Importance of contemporary technologies will be stressed.

MIS 534. Electronic Commerce
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 503 or equivalent. Overview of how modern communication technologies including the internet and world wide web have revolutionized the way we do business. It will provide an understanding of various internet technologies and how companies are using the internet for commercial purposes. The course will also explore future scenarios on the use of these technologies and their impact on various industries and the society.

MIS 535. Telecommunications Management
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 503 or equivalent. Issues involved in the management of telecommunications function. Overview of communications technology used in various business applications, local area network, wide area network, broad band network, wireless and voice networks. Internet technologies and protocols. Analyzing the strategic impact of these technologies on organizations. Strategic planning for telecommunications, including network planning and analysis.

MIS 537. Information Resource Management
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 503 or consent of the instructor. Information Resource Management (IRM) is a popular concept of viewing information systems resources from a strategic resource perspective. This course will present and discuss the IRM concept as well as provide pragmatic tools for implementing this approach within the organization. Topics will include: IS outsourcing, total cost of ownership, IS planning and strategic analysis, justification for IT investment, management of IT human resources, traditional project management theory, and project management techniques derived from the Theory of Constraints (TOC).

MIS 538. Business Processes and Systems Development
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 503 or equivalent. Discusses the theory and techniques used to analyze information systems to support various business processes. The course also discusses the theory and concepts related to business systems design such as data and process modeling, relational data base theory, database management, systems design, and developing technical specifications for a business system. A working prototype for a business application will be developed using popular software development packages.

MIS 539. Topics in Management of Information Systems
(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 503 or equivalent. A variety of topics may be offered in different semesters. Topics may include electronic commerce, information resources management, decision support systems, and expert systems.

MIS 590. Special Topics
Cr. 1 to 3 each time taken. Prereq: Permission of instructor. For students wishing to do individual research in a particular area of MIS.

MIS 599. Creative Component
Cr. 3. Prereq: Graduate classification, permission of supervisory committee chair. Preparation and writing of creative component.

Courses for Graduate Students