School of Business
MIS 415 - Information Systems Audit & Control
Fall 2023
COURSE
Number: MIS 415 – 001
Day/Time: Thursday, 4:30-7:10 PM
Place: Innovation Hall (IN) 208, Fairfax Campus
Course Site: Blackboard Learn
COURSE PREREQUISITE
MIS 303 with a C or higher grade.
PROFESSOR
Saiid Ganjalizadeh, Ph.D. (Dr. G.)
Office: Enterprise Hall 155
Phone: 703-993-6748
Email: sganjal@gmu.edu
Office Hours: Virtual/In-Person, By Appointment
TEXTBOOK
None
MATERIALS/SOFTWARE/HARDWARE
All ISOM Students are required to bring their laptops to every class.
• Please ensure your laptop has sufficient power before you come to class.
• You must have a working webcam due to possible online exams.
• Recommend at least 256GB storage space and 8GB RAM
Access to LinkedIn Learning (free for GMU Students!).
Word Processing and Presentation Software (MS Office/Google Docs).
Respondus Lockdown Browser for Blackboard.
Students who have Windows PCs can download and install Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise
(formerly Office 365 ProPlus) from your MASONLIVE account, (See more details online at:
https://its.gmu.edu/service/microsoft-365-apps-for-enterprise/).
Students who have Macs can download Mac version Excel from their MASONLIVE account
and will need to install a Windows virtual machine or use the computer labs to Access assignments or find an alternative solution.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Covers IT governance, controls, auditing applications, systems development, and operations. It
examines trends and defines recent advances in technology that impact IT controls and audits –
including cloud computing, Web-based applications, and server visualizations. It covers IT strategy, the business value of IT, as well as controls for IT projects, outsourcing, contracts, etc.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
• Understand the information system auditing process, and be able to plan an information
system audit for an organization
• Have a foundational understanding of governance and management of information technology systems
• Understand the policies, processes, and best practices of information systems acquisition,
development, and implementation
• Understand the information systems operations phase
• Understand the necessity of business resilience concerning information systems
• Understand the necessity to identify and protect information assets
Course Syllabus for MIS 415
COURSE FORMAT
This course is “in-person/face-to-face” and consists of a combination of lectures and discussion sessions. Please see the topical outline for a tentative list of topics.
GRADING POLICY
The following grading scale will be used in the determination of your final grade.
A+
A
AB+
B
Semester Grade Scale
97% and higher
B93% to 96.99%
C+
90% to 92.99%
C
87% to 89.99%
D
83% to 86.99%
F
80% to 82.99%
77% to 79.99%
70% to 76.99%
60% to 69.99%
Below 60.00%
Students must be officially registered in this course to receive a grade. It is the sole responsibility
of the student to verify their registration status. Specifically, you will not receive a grade if your
name does not appear on the official class list. (Do not wait until the end of the semester to be
surprised.) Registration-related questions should be directed to either the Office of Student Services at the School of Business or the Registrar’s Office. Grading for the course will be based on
the total points earned by the end of the course.
For any complaints concerning grades on assignments, quizzes, etc. submit them in writing and I
will respond in writing.
COURSE EVALUATION
Discussion Board (5)
Quizzes (5)
Final Exam
Total:
25%
45%
30%
------100%
DISCUSSION BOARD (25%)
After you finish each domain in the LinkedIn CISA Video Textbook, you will be required to
choose a topic (from a list of topics), summarize, explain its importance, and describe how the
topic can apply to a company/organization of your choice. More details are noted on each discussion board assignment on the Blackboard. You are not required to respond to other students’
posts, but you are not prohibited either.
DOMAIN ASSESSMENT (45%)
The domain assessments will test your knowledge of the five CISA domains as we cover them.
These assessments will be about 20 questions each, with a 45min time limit. These will be delivered through Blackboard and will be done as homework (so yes, it is open notes). Note: once
the quiz starts, the timer will continue even if you close out – so make sure you complete it in
one sitting! You will also have two attempts at taking each quiz (the second attempt is optional).
The last score you receive will be your quiz grade (even if it is lower than your first attempt!).
FINAL EXAM (30%)
The final exam is closed book and will consist of about 60 questions. The final exam will be
taken online and you will be given 120 minutes (2 hours) to complete the exam.
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Course Syllabus for MIS 415
INSTRUCTOR POLICY
• Communication: For privacy and confidentiality, you are required to only use your
GMU email account to communicate with me. Your email will be answered within 24
hours. All emails should have in the subject line: Course & Section Numbers and the title
of the question.
• Office Hours: My office hours (in-person or virtual) are by appointment, so please send
me an email, with a couple of suggested days/times and I’ll confirm one that fits my
schedule.
• Attendance: It is your responsibility to review and study weekly course content. If you miss
lectures, then you will miss valuable content. If you miss a quiz or exam, you cannot make it
up and will receive a zero for that. If you have an emergency and cannot make the class,
please email me and explain beforehand.
• Late Deliverables: I do not accept late Discussions/Quizzes, because all deliverables are
turned in electronically and their due dates are listed in advance. Excused late deliverables require proof and notification ahead of time.
• Corrupt/Wrong File Submissions: It is your job as the student to ensure that you submit
the correct readable deliverables for me to grade. If I cannot open or read a part for any
reason or you submit a wrong topic, you will get an automatic zero for that.
• Cheating & Plagiarism: This will not be tolerated and will result in you receiving a zero
for the discussion/quiz/exam. Furthermore, the ISOM Chair and the Dean of the School
of Business may be involved when cheating & plagiarism is suspected or caught.
• Electronics: You are welcome to bring in your electronic device to use, but if it becomes
a distraction to me or the students around you, you will be asked to turn it off.
QUIZ/EXAM POLICY
Quizzes/Final Exam will be available online and via Blackboard. More information will be provided before each quiz and the Final Exam.
INCLEMENT WEATHER & OTHER EMERGENCIES (FOR IN-PERSON CLASSES)
Classes will be canceled when the campus is closed, either due to inclement weather or other situations. Please check the GMU website for up-to-date information. Please register Mason Alert so
that you can receive timely emergency notifications and warnings.
DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS
If you are a student with a disability and you require academic accommodations, please see me and
contact the Office of Disability Services (DS) at (703) 993-2474 (https://ds.gmu.edu/), at the beginning of the semester. All academic accommodations due to disability must be arranged through the
ODS and should be made during the first two weeks of the semester.
HONOR CODE POLICY
Honor System and Code: The Honor System and Code adopted by George Mason University will
be enforced for this class: https://oai.gmu.edu/full-honor-code-document/.
In your work on all written assignments, keep in mind that you may not present as your own the
words, the work, or the opinions of someone else without proper acknowledgment. You also may
not borrow the sequence of ideas, the arrangement of material, or the pattern of thought of someone else without proper acknowledgment. Please note: Faculty are obligated to submit any Honor Code violations or suspected violations to the Honor Committee without exception.
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Course Syllabus for MIS 415
To promote a stronger sense of mutual responsibility, respect, trust, and fairness among all
members of the George Mason University community and with the desire for greater academic
and personal achievement, we, the student members of the University Community have set forth
this:
Student members of the George Mason University community pledge not to cheat, plagiarize, steal, or lie in matters related to their academic work. Please see the document/table
in the next section for details on violations.
STUDENT PRIVACY AND MORE
Student privacy is governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and is
an essential aspect of any course. Students must use their Mason email account to receive important University information, including communications related to this class. I will not respond
to messages sent from or send messages to a non-Mason email address.
However, as a faculty member and designated “Responsible Employee,” I am required to report
all disclosures of sexual assault, interpersonal violence, and stalking to Mason’s Title IX Coordinator per university policy 1412. If you wish to speak with someone confidentially, please contact the Student Support and Advocacy Center (703-380-1434), Counseling and Psychological
Services (703-993-2380), Student Health Services, or Mason’s Title IX Coordinator (703-9938730; cde@gmu.edu).
School of Business Recommendations for Honor Code Violations
Approved November 2021
UG: Non-Freshman Students (including transfer students)
Type of Violation
Sanction
Plagiarism
1. Failure to cite/attribute sources
2. Representing someone else’s
work as the student’s own (e.g.,
copying and pasting)
An F in the class; referral to Writing Center; and relevant
Academic Integrity seminar/training completion
Cheating
1. On a minor assignment (e.g.,
homework, quizzes)
2. Cheating on a major assignment
or exam, submitting coursework
from another course as original
work
An F in the class; and relevant Academic Integrity seminar/training completion
Lying (e.g., providing fraudulent excuse
documents, falsifying data)
An F in the class; and relevant Academic Integrity seminar/training completion, and at least one-semester suspension
An F in the class, relevant Academic Integrity seminar/training completion; and at least one-year suspension
Egregious Violation (e.g., stealing an
exam; submitting coursework from another class as original work across multiple courses; lying to an employer
about academic performance, false identification, or posing as another, in person or online)
An F in the class; and relevant Academic Integrity seminar/training completion, and at least one-semester suspension
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