Pamplin College of Business
Department of Accounting and Information Systems
ACIS 5504 – Information Systems Design and Database Concepts
Fall 2014: Course Syllabus
Professor
Distance Learning
Instructor (DLI)
Name
Dr. Steven Sheetz
Phone
(c) 540-392-3704
(w) 540-231-6096
E-Mail
sheetz@vt.edu
Stephen Dargis
(c) 571-205-1665
sdargis@vt.edu
Prerequisites:
Information Systems Background (MIT Students: Software Engineering)
Objectives:
The goal of this course is to cover how enterprise systems can be supported
by proper design and implementation of database systems. Today's managers
need to understand the critical role enterprise systems play in supporting
organizational decision-making. There are various approaches to designing
these systems. These approaches are continually evolving and require
managerial involvement in the design process. Students use entity
relationship models and normalization as tools for designing information
requirements for enterprise systems. Relational databases are emphasized
throughout the course. Databases are implemented on software packages.
Database transaction processing and distributed data structures provide
students an informed perspective on database complexity. Data warehousing
and current trends in database technology are also discussed.
Required Texts and Software:
Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management; Carlos Coronel,
Steven Morris, and Peter Rob, Thomson Course Technology, 2013, ISBN - 10: 1111-96960-4, ISBN-13: 978-1-111-96960-8; 11th Edition (Please only use 10th
edition, if at all possible. Other editions can be used, but class materials will be
based off 10th edition materials. No version mapping will be provided.)
2. Microsoft Access 2003 or later version.
3. My SQL: Database Software (Free versions are downloadable)
Total Course Grades:
Mid Term Exam:
Format: On-Line Exam Available from
October 12 at 7am thru October 14 at 11 pm
150
Final Exam:
Format: On-Line Exam Available from
December 14 at 7am thru December 16 at 11 pm
150
Assignments (4 total @ 25 points each)
100
Semester Project
100
Total
500
Grades: Grades are based on an absolute scale.
>=93%
A
>=90%
A-
>=87%
B+
>=83%
B
>=80%
B-
>=77%
C+
>=73%
C
>=70%
C-
>=67%
D+
>=63%
D
>=60%
D-
<60%
F
Assignment & Project Schedule
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Assignment 1 due September 30th (Posted at start of course)
Assignment 2 due October 11th (Posted at start of course)
Assignment 3 due November 11th (Posted after MS Access lecture)
Semester Project due December 9th (Posted after normalization
lecture)
Assignment 4 due December 9th (Posted after mid-term exam)
All assignments are due and should be time stamped in scholar by midnight
of the due date. For example, assignment #1 is due by 11:59 pm and 59
seconds on February 25th. If it is time stamped 12:00 am or after on
February 26th, it will be considered late. Late penalties are not large and it
is always better to submit a partial answer rather than no answer.
Class Meetings on WebEx: This class will meet online using WebEx on
Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. for approximately an hour for a live session. Most of
the sessions will be open format where students can ask questions about all
course topics. Others will be focused on a particular skill or technique. The
recording of these sessions will be available on the website after class.
Class attendance is not required, but strongly encouraged. If you cannot
attend a class, please be sure to listen to the recording for that week at
your convenience. Occasionally, pre-recorded lectures may be used in place
of live lectures.
Class Preparation: You are expected to read the Chapters assigned for
each week. The textbook is the primarily source of information for the
course. Recorded lectures for each chapter are posted on scholar along with
lecture notes/slides on which they are based. The lectures are not
exhaustive and are meant to focus on selected topics that are considered to
be important or difficult from each chapter. The lecture notes, the lecture
recordings, the live question and answer sessions, and the assigned readings
should prepare you well for the course assignments and exams.
Exam and Assignment Makeup/Late Policy:
Please note exam dates and times and make necessary arrangements at the
beginning of the semester. It is mandatory that exams be taken at the date
and time indicated. In the event that that is not possible, arrangements
must be made well in advance with the DLI. Any make-up exams should be
taken prior to the class scheduled exam date. Any medical issues
interfering with the performance of class duties should be established and
verified by a physician.
Projects and assignments cannot be submitted late without penalty. A three
point per day penalty (from the points allotted for the assignment) will be
assessed for late submissions until the key for the assignment is released
for those that completed the assignment on time. After which assignments
will no longer be accepted. It is almost always better to submit a partial
response rather than nothing, as partial credit is awarded.
Semester Project:
A complete database should be designed and implemented using Microsoft
Access (or another database program of your choosing). A real business
application or your own application (e.g. your own idea) may be selected.
Also, a detailed project report should be submitted on the due date. This
project is to be done individually. You are expected to exhibit creativity in
the development of your project. This may require additional reading,
research, and use of software not specifically covered in class. A full
project description with further details will be posted around the mid-term
exam.
The Honor System:
The Honor Code will be strictly enforced in this course. All aspects of your
coursework are covered by the honor system. Honesty in your academic work
will develop into professional integrity. The following are some specific
policies regarding assignments and exams.
1. Students are allowed to help each other complete assignments, but do not
ask other students for answers, only ask clarifying questions. You are
expected to do all course work on your own. If you need help, your DLI is
there to assist you.
2. Use of previous semester’s materials is absolutely not permitted on any
assignment or test in the class. Violation of this policy will result in an honor
code violation and an “F” for the course.
*Lecture Schedule –Fall 2014
Week
Week #1
Date
August 26
Lecture 1
Lecture 2
September 2
Lecture 3
September 9
Lecture 4
September 16
Lecture 5
September 23
Lecture 6
September 30
Lecture 7
Lecture 8
October 7
Lecture 9
OCTOBER 12-14
Lecture 10
October 21
Lecture 11
October 28
Lecture 12
Lecture 13
November 4
Lecture 14
November 11
Lecture 15
November 18
Lecture 16
November 25
Lecture 17
December 2
Lecture 18
December 9
Material Covered
Course Introduction
Lecture Notes
Database Fundamentals
Chapter #1
Data Models
Chapter #2
Week #2
NO LIVE LECTURE
Relational Model
Chapter #3
Week #3
Q&A
Entity/Relationship Modeling
Chapter #4
Week #4
ER Modeling Example
Advanced Data Modeling
Chapter #5
Week #5
Q&A
Normalization
Chapter #6
Week #6
Q&A
SQL
Chapter #7
Advanced SQL
Chapter #8
Week #7
SQL Examples
Mid-Term Review
Lecture Notes
Week#8
MID-TERM EXAM
NO CLASS
MS Access
Lecture Notes
Week #9
Q&A
Database Design
Chapter #9
Week #10
Q&A
Web-Based Databases
Lecture Notes
DB Connectivity and Web
Chapter #14
Week #11
Online Survey System Example
DB Transactions and Concurrency Chapter #10
Week #12
Q&A
DB Performance and Optimization Chapter #11
Week #13
Examples of fast and slow SQL
Distributed DBMS
Chapter #12
Week #14
THANKSGIVING BREAK
NO CLASS
Data Warehousing
Chapter #13
Week #15
Q&A
DB Administration and Security
Chapter #15
Week #16
Final Exam Review
Lecture Notes
& Project due
Week #17
December 14-16
Final Exam
*All material and dates on this schedule (and on the syllabus) are subject to change based
on the instructor’s discretion