Management Information Systems Department
College of Business
Prepared by Dr. Richard Hauser, Chair
Introduction
The five majors with 10 concentrations in the College of Business differ by only 18 credit hours; thus,
every department in the College is intimately linked to every other department. This linkage allows us
to not only share resources, but also to share strategies, ideas and aspirations. The MIS department
could not exist without the other four departments in the College, for the degree offered is a Bachelor
of Science in Business Administration, not a BS in MIS. As such, the degree consists of 8 classes in MIS
(two of which are in the common body) along with 2 classes from ACCT, 2 from FINA, 2 from MGMT, and
3 from MSCM.
All students also take an international perspectives course, and are encouraged to consider participating
in the Summer Study Abroad Program. This program provides an international business experience to
students throughout the university. Courses are offered in MIS and other College of Business areas and
these can satisfy the requirements of both the College Common Body of Knowledge and the business
administration minor. Thus this global experience is open to all ECU students with an interest in
business, irrespective of their major.
Productivity
The Department of Management Information Systems continues to be extremely productive in terms of
quality student education, quality research, and FTE produced. Over the past 3 years the Management
Information systems (MIS) department has produced an average of 11,100 SCH with an average SCH per
FTE of 591. Full time tenure/tenure track faculty members have a 3/3 semester teaching load (except
new faculty who receive a 2/2 for two years), with instructional faculty teaching a 4/4. The department
in 2011 consists of:
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2 Assistant Professors
8 Associate Professors (3 of which have admin responsibilities)
2 Full Professors
14 Teaching Instructors (3 of which have admin responsibilities)
The department has consistently filled its sections to the limits offered by the facilities. The number of
degrees awarded annually over the period has more than doubled. Combining both undergraduate and
graduate classes, the department averaged 25 students per section over the past year.
From a research perspective, the faculty have produced 273 Intellectual Contributions since 2006. This
includes 77 peer reviewed journal articles and 6 book chapters. It should be noted that only 12 of the 26
faculty members are expected to publish. Teaching Instructors are evaluated on teaching only.
From a service perspective, department members served on over 120 university, and college
committees. In addition faculty were active participants in SACS, Baldridge, and Foundations of
Excellence and other special initiatives. At the professional level, faculty reviewed over 148 papers for
international, national, and regional journals/conferences.
Centrality
The MIS 2223 Introduction to Computing course offered by the department is a very popular service
course for ECU, with 26 other programs requiring it. Both MIS 2223 and MIS 3063 courses also play an
important role in the College of Business core curriculum as a required part of the instruction in all other
business degree programs. The department also supports the business minor which is one of the most
popular minors for students across campus. At the graduate level the new Master’s degree in Health
Informatics and Information Management will use MIS6843 as one of its required classes.
Management Information Systems students are required to complete the College of Business Leadership
and Professional Development program. This program requires that all business majors complete and
document, utilizing an electronic portfolio, the twelve components below.
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Personal Reflection
Service Learning Requirement
Professional Reading
Leadership Speaker Series
Leadership Personality Assessment
EDGE Perspective Statement (Ethics, Diversity, Global, & Environment)
Active Participation in Professional Organization
Professional Writing
Group Involvement
Professional Presentations
Professional Behavior/Etiquette and Appearance
Employer Informational Events.
Each semester multiple teams of MIS students interact with local businesses and charities. Students
apply what they have learned in class to build applications, or prototypes of applications, to assist these
organizations fulfill their mission. Recent projects include charter fishing companies in the Outer Banks,
professional photographers, and numerous “appointment scheduling” applications for local businesses.
The demand for MIS graduates has grown at a steady rate. Money magazine annually comprises a list of
the job fields in the highest demand. For the past several years two to three MIS career areas have
appeared on that list. MIS graduates command some of the highest salaries as well. What’s it Worth?
The Economic Value of College Majors places the MIS degree fourth among all 14 business degrees, with
a median earnings value of $67,000. In 2011 the Chancellor highlighted the fact that almost all ECU MIS
graduates were placed upon graduation, with an average starting salary of $56,000.
Quality
Faculty within the department have been recognized in several different ways. First MIS faculty have
won many teaching awards over the period. In fact, 8 separate University teaching awards were
awarded to MIS faculty last year alone. Teaching quality has been recognized at the UNC system level
with Dr. Ravi Paul being recognized as a Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Teaching.
In the research area, Dr. Liang and Dr. Xue were identified as among the top 10 MIS researchers in the
world over the past 3 years. Recently Liang and Xue’s article “Assimilation of Enterprise Systems: The
Effect of Institutional Pressures and the Mediating Role of Top Management” received the prestigious
Emerald Citations of Excellence Award, having been recognized as one of the top fifty articles that had
proven impact since their publication date, with nearly 300 citations in the last there years.
The department participates in several international faculty exchange programs. Two faculty members
assisted Han University (Netherlands) with their online programs in the fall and each semester the
department has hosted a scholar in residence from China.
While the demand for MIS professionals speaks to the centrality of the department, the fact that many
employers (Credit Suisse, Honeywell, and Booze, Allen, Hamilton, e.g.), seek our graduates year after
year speaks to the quality of the department. Over the past 5 years, firms these firms have returned to
campus to recruit, often relating to the faculty how pleased they are with our graduates. Not only do
they find our graduates having excellent technical knowledge, they also comment on their general
business knowledge, leadership skills and communications ability.
The department and the College is committed to excellence in its online programs, offers significant
support services to faculty beginning to teach online, ensures continuing education of faculty teaching
online, and monitors the quality of its courses. All faculty teaching online have gone through significant
training – both pedagogical and technological. SOIS results are reviewed every semester. A peer review
of the course is conducted every three years. To provide additional assurance that courses and faculty
are kept up-to-date, online faculty must complete four hours of continuing education each year. This
education ensures our instructors remain knowledgeable of the latest technologies and methods to
enhance online learning. Students are required to take proctored exams and all online courses are
required to have significant interaction between the instructor and students ‒ and also among students.
Online programs have become an integral and material part of the College of Business. Quality and rigor
are the foundation of our distance education courses, and significant work, resources, and effort have
gone into ensuring that this foundation is solid. While the resources required to maintain a high-quality
program are significant, the commitment is well worth it as we successfully graduate increasing
numbers of distance education students.
Opportunity Analysis:
Due to the changing nature of technology, the MIS degree is a constantly evolving one. The major was
substantially redesigned 5 years ago and is subject to redesign in the coming year. A particularly
valuable opportunity lies in the collaboration between the MIS area and other departments both inside
and outside the College. In the College, potential collaborations with the Accounting and Finance
departments could create technology-based specializations in each area. Outside the unit, collaboration
with units such as Technology Systems could prove fruitful. In addition, since the health care field is a
growing one expanding our collaboration with the Health Informatics program would seem ideal.
While “Writing Across the Curriculum” has become an integral part of the University and is now part of
our ?? plan, an additional focus needs to be placed on “Technology Across the Curriculum.” The 21st
Century workforce will consists predominantly of Knowledge Workers. These highly-skilled
professionals – in addition to the knowledge they glean from foundation courses – will also need
enhanced computer skills and a strong background in technology fundamentals. The MIS department is
perfectly poised to impart this knowledge.
Additionally the department will continue to look for opportunities to enhance its outreach efforts
through student projects and the Business of Healthcare symposium.