MIS 3013: MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS ONLINE
SUMMER SESSION 2011
ROOM: On-Line
CLASS TIMES: Arranged
INSTRUCTOR: Mark Polson
OFFICE: Howell Hall 212B
PHONE: (580) 581-2336
E-MAIL: mpolson@cameron.edu
WEB SITE: http://www.cameron.edu/~mpolson
OFFICE HOURS: Monday and Wednesday from 1 to 5 PM.
PREREQUISITE: CIS 1013 or Computer Proficiency.
Must have junior standing or permission of the Chair.
TEXT: Using MIS, 4th Edition, David M. Kroenke
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/product/Using-MIS/9780132158183.page
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The Management Information Systems Course (MIS) is designed to give the student a broad
understanding of Information Technology (IT) from the manager’s perspective regardless of
functional area.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Define (Knowledge) key terms and concepts used in Information Systems/ Technology, including
hardware and software.
2. Understand (Comprehension) the role of technology in creating a strategic advantage.
3. Choose (Application) IT applications for the business environment.
4. Develop (Synthesis) basic MIS applications for the business environment.
5. Formulate (Synthesis) decisions to complex IS problems such as adopting and integrating
technology into the business enterprise.
COURSE FORMAT:
The strategy for this course calls on the student to be an active participant in the learning process.
The instructor expands upon key concepts with comments and examples provided by the various
“guides”, current events, and by students. The course includes interactive instructor lecture, class
discussion, and hands-on LAB exercises.
ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE LEARNING:
Studies indicate that students retain: 10% of what they read; 20% of what they hear; 30% of what
they see; 50% of what they see and hear; 70 % of what they say; and 90% of what they say as they
do. Adult learners learn better if they are ACTIVELY involved in the learning process!
Here are examples of differences between active and passive learners.
(http://www.usdoj.gov/adr/workplace/pdf/wp-reten.pdf )
The following has been adapted from the West Virginia Department of Psychology Undergraduate
Handbook (http://psychology.wvu.edu/future_students/undergraduate_programs_organizations/undergraduate_handbook)
 Passive: Just sit in lectures because they have to be there.
 Active: Come to lectures prepared, pay attention, take notes, participate in discussions, and
asks questions.
 Passive: Borrow and use lecture notes from other students in class
 Active: Take their own notes.
 Passive: Read assignments just to get them done, if they read them at all.
 Active: Skim assignments first, make up a list of questions they want answered, and then
read the assignment to answer the questions.
 Passive: Pay attention only to the grades they earned on returned tests.
 Active: Study returned tests so they don’t make the same mistake again.
 Passive: Don’t work any harder than they have to in class.

 Active: Volunteer to help others in class who are having trouble.
 Passive: Expect the instructor to tell them everything they need to know to pass homework
and exams.
 Active: Participates in the learning environment, making choices, looking for answers outside
of the class environment.
 Passive learners want surface learning. Surface learning is similar to rote learning in that it
involves memorizing and “learning isolated and meaningless bits of knowledge.”
 Active learners want deep learning. Deep learning is insightful learning. Deep learners look
for the meaning behind the learning.
Note: Active learners visit me a lot during office hours. Passive learners come to me only when they
find out they are failing. Passive learners DO NOT read their assigned readings! NOTE 1: When you
come in for free grading, I will ask you if you have read the assignments. If you have not, I will send
you away until you have. NOTE 2: Passive learners tend not to do as well in my classes as do active
learners.
The 5 Important Skills
It is my belief that students that graduate with a bachelor’s degree must have gained five important
skills from their college / university experience. Without these skills, they will not be as successful in
the workplace as their counterparts that have them. These skills are:
1. Written Communication (English Comp 1 & 2)
2. Verbal Communication (Speech)
3. Analytical Reasoning Skills (College Algebra & possibly Statistics)
4. Productivity Software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and may be Access – Business Applications and
Advanced Business Applications)
5. Critical Thinking (Numerous courses – note: according to a statement by Michael Scriven &
Richard Paul for the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction: “Critical
thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying,
analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation,
experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary
form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity,
accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and
fairness.”
LEARNING TYPES AND STUDY SKILLS:
I get comments for students each semester regarding how to study for an exam. I highly recommend
you take this short survey and determine your learning style. It will provide study tips for your style
of learning as part of the assessment:
http://www.metamath.com/multiple/multiple_choice_questions.html
Additionally, you might want to take the survey regarding Multi Intelligence to help you better
understand yourself.
BLACKBOARD:
Blackboard (http://blackboard.cameron.edu/ ) will be used throughout the course to provide a forum
for disseminating information, group work, discussions, and for exams.
EVALUATIONS:
Exams. A pretest (not counted for credit) will be taken during the first week of class. There are three
scheduled graded exams for this course. This includes the final exam. Please see the tentative
schedule for test dates. The exam format will typically be multiple choice, matching, short answer,
essay and problem solving (calculation) where appropriate. All exams will be taken via Blackboard
on exam days. With the exception of the final, tests are not comprehensive. THE FINAL EXAM IS
COMPREHENSIVE. Exam questions will come from online lectures, text readings, and mandatory
homework/ labs. Exams will not be curved. EXTRA CREDIT POINTS can be gained by doing the
OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENTS (see below). EXAMS 1 & 2 MUST be taken in a testing center! The
pretest and final may be taken at home.
Make-up Exams. As a general rule, there will be no make-up examinations. If extenuating
circumstances beyond the student’s control exists (e.g. immediate family member death,
hospitalization, serious illness or accident), see the instructor. Make-ups are at the instructor’s
discretion and will be made on a case-by-case basis. No consideration will be given after the fact
unless the gravest circumstances exist. Students missing more than one examination should seriously
consider dropping the course.
Quizzes & Preparation for Class: READING the assigned chapters is MANDATORY. READING
the Syllabus is MANDATORY. There is a graded quiz over the syllabus.
Assignments (Both Mandatory and Optional). There are ten mandatory assignments. They vary
between 10 and 20 points depending on the difficulty and time required to complete the assignment.
Assignments are to be created in MS Office (Word, Excel, Access, Project, and PowerPoint). In
some cases I can open up Word Perfect. If you do not have MS Office, you can go to OpenOffice.org
and download a free office suite that is compatible with MS Office. You will need to save the files
you create as either a Word 97 – 2003 document or an Excel 97 – 2003 spreadsheet. You will need to
name the files and manually add the extension (.doc or .xls). When you do this, I can open your files
in Word and Excel.
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Assignments NOT received by the due date will not be accepted. Optional assignment scores will be
added to exam scores. Each optional assignment is worth 10 points. Students may choose which, if
any of the six optional assignments they wish to do, or they may do them all. Optional assignments
will open with the regular assignments and are annotated as optional. Students can only receive a
maximum of 40 Optional Points. All assignments are individual effort. Names MUST be legible
on the top of all labs.
The lab manual is found at http://www.cameron.edu/~davids/MIS3013LAB
It can also be accessed through Blackboard.
Follow directions! When required, turn-in assignments using a Memorandum format (See Appendix
B for example). A complete list of assignments is shown at Appendix A.
DISCUSSION BOARDS:
“Each chapter has several unique guides that focus on current issues in information systems.”
Discussion Board discussions will come from these guides. Students are responsible to discuss 5 of 6
of the instructor chosen “guides”. Discussions are to be completed NTL the close of that specific
chapter. Each of the five discussions is worth 6 points each for a total of 30 points. Responses to
other students can be counted as your response if the response has merit.
GRADING:
Grading is done on a point basis.
Values for each graded activity are listed below.
ACTIVITY
Pretest – Blackboard (Does Not Count toward Grade)
Syllabus Quiz
Exam 1 – Blackboard (Chapters 1 – 4)
Exam 2 – Blackboard (Chapters 5, 6, 6A, 10)
Final Exam – Blackboard (Chapters 1 – 12)
Discussion Board “Guides” (5 of 6 @ 6 points each)
Ten Lab Assignments (10 to 20 points each)
Six Optional Assignments (10 points each)
Total
POINTS
0
10
100
100
150
30
140
(0 to 40 extra points)
520
See Calendar in the Course Document Folder.
NOTE: The instructor reserves the right to adjust the schedule to account for unforeseen
circumstances. Lecture material may be delivered via Impatica for Powerpoint or Captivate. These
online lectures can be accessed through Blackboard.
AITP
For any MIS student, it is highly recommended that you consider joining CU’s student chapter of AITP. AITP is
a national association comprised of career minded individuals who seek to expand
their potential -- employers, employees, programmers, and many others. The
organization seeks to provide avenues for all of their members to be teachers as
well as students and to make contacts with other members in the IT field, all in an
effort to become more marketable in rapidly changing, technological careers.
Cameron University's student chapter of AITP is not just another student club, but a connection to your IT future.
As a student chapter, we are in association with the Oklahoma City Professional Chapter of AITP. CU attempts to
provide teams to compete in both the Regional and National collegiate competitions. See the instructor for more
details.
SIFE:
The following description of SIFE is taken from the SIFE website.
“SIFE is a global, non-profit organization that is literally changing the world through highly
dedicated student teams on more than 1600 university campuses in 40 countries. SIFE offers these
students the opportunity to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning,
practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise, thereby improving the standard of living for
millions in the process. Guided by distinguished faculty advisors and supported by businesses around
the globe, SIFE Teams teach important concepts through educational outreach projects, including
market economics, entrepreneurship, personal and financial success, and business ethics to better
themselves, their communities and their countries. Each year, SIFE competitions are held worldwide,
drawing together thousands of students and business leaders to pay tribute to these extraordinary
educational outreach projects. You are highly encouraged to join SIFE.” There is no charge for
joining, although there are numerous tangible benefits for joining. You can also get college credit for
joining SIFE. To join, please go to:
https://www.sife.org/
It is highly recommended that if you feel you have a marketable project, you should seriously
consider joining SIFE and using that as a springboard to further your success.
APPENDICES
A – Assignments and Due Dates
B – Memorandum Example