MISY 3320 Business Data Communications Systems I
Section 001: OCNR-133; TR 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM; Fall, 2015
Instructor:
Office:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Office Hours:
Website
Dr. Tim Klaus
OCNR 385
(361) 825-2379
tim.klaus@tamucc.edu
Tuesday 8:15-9:25, 12:55-2:45
Thursday 8:15-9:25, 12:55-2:45
Other days and times by appointment
http://faculty.tamucc.edu/tklaus
Course Materials
1. Required Text: Business Data Communications & Networking, 12th Edition by Fitzgerald,
Dennis, and Durcikova. Print edition: ISBN 1118891686. Or buy/rent digital edition.
2. Course material on Blackboard
Optional Materials
None
Prerequisites
Junior standing or above.
Course Objective and format
Characteristics of contemporary business data communication components, their configurations,
and their impact on management information systems design. Topics include designing,
managing, securing, and implementing business data communication networks, and their
integration into management information systems. Exercises and assignments use various data
communication facilities.
Students will be exposed to both the technological and managerial aspects of data
communication systems. The instructor will rely on the textbook for the technical concepts.
Managerial aspects as well as material on emerging technologies and services will be explored
though outside reading, case studies etc. where necessary.
All assignments and other deliverables are due at the start of class. These dates are nonnegotiable to enable you to plan your calendars accordingly. The content to be covered in any
given week is subject to change however, depending upon the circumstances and pace of the
class.
Attendance Policy
Students are expected to attend all classes since missing classes affects students’ performance in
quizzes and tests. Material not covered in the textbook will also be discussed in the class and
included on exams. Although there is no explicit grade for attendance, regular participation is
expected and will be part of the grade.
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Make-Up Policy
The instructor will accommodate students who have to miss quizzes, assignments or tests due to
medical emergencies in the immediate family or job-related situations. These are the only
conditions under which accommodation will be considered during the semester. Should such
situations arise, the student should notify the instructor and provide necessary documentation
before the missed quiz, test or assignment can be rescheduled. In the case of schedule conflicts,
students are asked to inform the instructor in advance of the conflict, and in the case of
emergencies, students should contact the instructor and explain the issue as soon as is reasonably
possible after the missed event.
Consistent with the above and University policy, students who anticipate being absent from class
due to a major religious observance must provide written notice of the date(s) and events(s) to
the instructor by the second meeting.
Late-Policy
Assignments not received by the beginning of class on the due date will receive an automatic
10% penalty. For every day of the week past the due date, there will be a penalty at the rate of
10% per day.
Submission guidelines
The following are general points to be observed in all deliverables:
 Other than in-class assignments, ALL submissions must be typed.
 Student name and deliverable identification (assignment 1 etc.) must be clearly stated in
all deliverables and on any email correspondence
 All deliverables must be stapled if they run more than one page
 Please retain assignments until you verify that scores have been correctly posted.
Academic Honesty
University students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards
of academic honesty. Academic misconduct for which a student is subject to penalty includes all
forms of cheating, such as illicit possession of examinations or examination materials, forgery, or
plagiarism. If I determine that any assignment was not completed solely by the student whose
name appears on the project, the student will receive a zero (0) on the assignment and may
receive an "F" for the class.
Cheating is defined as: (a) the unauthorized granting or receiving of aid during the prescribed
period of a course-graded exercise; students may not consult written materials such as notes or
books, may not look at the paper of another student, nor consult orally with any other student
taking the same test; (b) asking another person to take an examination in his or her place, or
taking an examination for or in place of another student; (c) stealing, borrowing, buying, or
disseminating tests, answer keys, or other examination material; (d) stealing or copying research
papers, creative papers, speeches, drawings, diagrams, musical scores, graphs, maps, computer
programs, etc. and presenting them as one's own.
Miscellaneous
1. Many students find the material in this course fairly involved and it is very distracting for
them to have other students come in and out of class after class has begun. Therefore, you are
requested to come to class within 5 minutes of the scheduled time and to stay till the end of
class unless it is absolutely necessary to leave.
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2. Besides communication during the class, important information may be sent throughout the
semester via email. You are responsible to regularly check your islander email account.
3. Students who anticipate being absent from class due to religious observance should inform
the instructor by the second meeting of the class.
Course Grading
Final grade for the course will be based on students’ performance on tests, quizzes, assignments
and projects. Scores on the various deliverables will be emailed. The weights used in
determining grades are as follows:
Item
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3 (Comprehensive)
Assignments
Participation
Total%
>= 90.0
>= 80.0
>= 70.0
>= 60.0
< 60.0
Weight %
20
20
25
25
10
Grade
A
B
C
D
F
Disability Services
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides
comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this
legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that
provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability
requiring an accommodation, please call or visit Disability Services at (361) 825-5816 in Corpus
Christi Hall, Room 116.
If you are a returning veteran and are experiencing cognitive and/or physical access issues in the
classroom or on campus, please contact the Disability Services office for assistance at (361) 8255816.
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Tentative Course Calendar
Dates
Aug 27
Sep 1 – 3
Sep 8 – 10
Sep 15 – 17
Sep 22 – Sep 24
Sep 29
Oct 1
Oct 6 – 13
Oct 15 – 20
Oct 22
Oct 27 – 29
Nov 3
Nov 5
Nov 10 – 12
Nov 17 – 19
Nov 24
Nov 26
Dec 1
Dec 8
Topic
Readings
Introduction to Data Communications
Application Layer
Physical Layer
Data Link Layer
Network and Transport Layers
Wrapup and review
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Local Area Networks, Wireless Local
Area Networks
Backbone Networks
Metropolitan and Wide Area Networks
The Internet
Wrapup and review
Chapter 7
Network Security
Network Design
Network Management
THANKSGIVING
Wrapup and review
Chapter 11
Chapter 6
Chapter 12
8:00 AM
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Assignments/Tests
Assignment 1 (9/10)
Assignment 2 (9/24)
Assignment 3
Exam 1
Assignment 4 (10/20)
Assignment 5 (10/29)
Assignment 6
Exam 2
Assignment 7 (11/19)
Eat turkey
Assignment 8
Comprehensive Final
Exam
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