MIS180–Principles of Information Systems
Class Location/Time: RoomP-144, Thursday – 7:00-9:40pm
Instructor: Eric Gayles
Email: eric.gayles@mail.sdsu.edu
Office Hours (SS -2428): TBD
Course Page: http://blackboard.sdsu.edu/
CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION
Prerequisite: None
Fundamentals of information systems in business. Integration of information technology, ecommerce, systems analysis, database management systems, networking, security, and
collaboration. Application of concepts through developing solutions to business problems using
spreadsheets, database management systems, and web development tools/languages.
INTRODUCTION
In today’s global economy, information is power, and knowledge is king! An information system
(IS), is a way to create value with information. IS professionals are creative, business-savvy
people who find new and exciting ways to reap information-based rewards. Information
technology (IT) has transformed the way organizations operate, but technology is only part of the
picture. Organizations need employees who can devise innovative ways to use IT to make a
difference that matters.
To meet this goal, MIS 180, has been designed as an introductory course, comprised of a broad
overview of information systems, and of information technology as principally used to support
business processes and decision-making activities.
Course topics include information-based strategy, information systems uses in organizations and
society, application and system software, the Internet and World Wide Web, communications, ecommerce, security, systems development and database management. We will consider societal
issues, like privacy and the digital divide, and technology trends like mobile computing. We will
look at IS skills like systems analysis and design and software engineering. We will consider IS
careers like Chief Information Officer and Chief Knowledge Officer among many other
opportunities. You will also gain hands-on experience with the organizational applications of
information technology. You will complete assignments in which you will build and use
spreadsheets and databases. You will also complete assignments in simple web development.
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Note: MIS 180 is NOT a generic course in computer literacy and is not a course in computer
applications programs. To be most successful in this course you should have basic knowledge of
elementary computer operations, word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, and Web browsing.
BSBA Goals
BSBA students will graduate being Effective Communicators, Critical Thinkers, Able to
Analyze Ethical Problems, Global in their perspective, and Knowledgeable about the essentials
of business. This class contributes to those goals through its student learning outcomes.
STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES
All students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills related to the application of
Information Systems in organizations. In order to demonstrate acquisition of this knowledge and
skill, students are required to read assigned materials, participate in class discussions, and
complete assignments related to the course content. By the end of the course, students will be
able to:
1. Explain the importance of determining information system requirements for all
management levels by describing the differences between various types of information
systems.
2. Describe how information systems are developed.
3. Describe the computer revolution and its impact on the way business is conducted.
4. Use critical-thinking skills in identifying information systems problems and investigate
existing literature about hardware and software solutions to problems.
5. Know the components and functions of computer systems, both hardware and software.
6. Describe the advances in networking, data communications and the Internet and how they
affect the way business is conducted.
7. Identify which information technology tools are used to solve various business problems.
8. Display proficiency solving business problems using modern productivity tools (e.g.,
spreadsheet, database) or creating custom programs.
REQUIRED RESOURCES
Texts/Software:
1. Principles of Information Systems custom bundle (ISBN: 9781259606823) This
bundle contains the following components:
 Baltzan, M:InformationSystems,3e,McGraw-HillIrwin,2015
 SIMnet2013– In Practice – Office – Custom – SDSU Software Suite
 McGraw-Hill CONNECT software linked to the Baltzan textbook. This is
included in the bundle and has a set of useful resources related to the textbook.
You can purchase the bundle at the SDSU campus bookstore for a discount price of
$133.49.You receive a discount on both the required textbook and required simulation
software because it is bundled together.
Until you purchase your textbook from the SDSU bookstore, you can use one free chapter at
http://www.coursesmart.com.
IDS 180 – Principles of Information Systems - Page 2 of 8
It is highly recommended to purchase the bundle arranged for you at the SDSU bookstore
because of the deep discount. The required materials WILL be used throughout the semester.
Additionally, some of the assignments will require that you have your own individual
account to access the materials.
I know the price of tuition and textbooks is on the rise, most textbooks alone used for these
types of courses are usually around $200 – please take advantage of the bundle.
If you choose not to purchase the bundle you will need to purchase both the Baltzan textbook
(ISBN for book only: 9780073376912) and to purchase SIMnet. Note, the bundle
components are not discounted if purchased separately.
IF YOU BUY SIMnet SERVICE SEPARATELY FROM THE BOOK, it must be
purchased at: https://sdsu.simnetonline.com/Students/CombinedLogin.aspx.
 Click the “No, I need to buy a license” link.
 Enter the appropriate information/answers for each of the steps.
 On the Enroll step, be sure to select the class in which you are enrolled
 On the Shop step, in the “Select the product required for your class,” choose
“SIMnet2013– In Practice – Office – Custom – SDSU ($74.50)”
2. Scantron forms will also be needed for each exam. Details on the required forms will be
provided in class.
3. Blackboard will be used to post official course information, announcement, assignments, etc.
You are responsible for all announcements posted on Blackboard. Be sure to regularly check
for updates.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:
There will be assignments using Excel, Access and XHTML. The assignments are skills testing
and projects relating to material covered in class. By doing the assignments and projects, you are
preparing to answer examination questions. Specific instructions for all assignments, projects
and exams will be provided in class and via Blackboard. Some of the assignments will require
use of the SIMnet software, while others will require you to use Microsoft Excel, Microsoft
Access, or web development software.
Policy on Late or Missed Homework
Life is full of unexpected problems and situations and I anticipate that students may miss
assignments during the semester, for a variety of reasons. Rather than try to judge which
situations are “excusable” and which are not, the policy of this class is:



There are no Late Assignments.
There are no Make-Up Assignments.
There are no Extra Credit Assignments.
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Assume that you may encounter difficulties such as Internet problems, printer problems, parking
or traffic delays, lines in the computer lab, delays at work, etc. Make sure to start assignments
early so you don’t get caught by an unexpected event and miss valuable points to obtain the
grade you want.
Class Attendance and Participation:
As a college-level course, your attendance and participation at each class meeting is required.
Students are expected to be prepared for all class meetings. Class lectures will not simply cover
material available through reading the text. Often we will use class time to discuss components
of the course assignments. If you are absent or not prepared, your learning will be negatively
affected. If you are miss class, you are still responsible for any work assigned or discussed in
class. Team up with another student to have a resource for in-class information you might miss.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Table 3. The course schedule, including topics and class activities listed by week, is presented in
the following table
Week
1: January 21
or 22
Topics
 Course Introduction, Why MIS & IT?
 Review Syllabus and learning objectives
Activities
2: January 28
or 29
 Baltzan, Chapter 1: Management Information
Systems: Business Driven MIS
 MS Excel – Introduction
3: February 4
or 5
 Baltzan, Chapter 2: Decisions and Processes:
Value Driven Business;
 Appendix A (Online)
 MS Excel – Continued
Baltzan: Ch. 1
Syllabus/cheating
forms due
Start: MS Excel 1
Baltzan: Ch. 2
Appendix A (online)
Start: MS Excel 2
4: February
11 or 12
 Baltzan, Chapter 3: Ebusiness: Electronic
Business Value, Section 3.1 Web 1.0
Ebusiness
 MS Excel - Continued
Baltzan: Ch. 3 - pg.
57-69
Start: MS Excel 3
5: February
18 or 19
 Baltzan, Chapter 3: Ebusiness: Electronic
Business Value, Section 3.2 Web 2.0:Business
2
 Unit Exam 1 Review
Baltzan: Ch. 3 - pg.
69-79
Due: All MS Excel
6: February
25 or 26
 Exam 1: Baltzan Chapters 1, 2, 3, Appendix
A, MS Excel; Supplemental Material
Baltzan: Ch. 6 - pg.
(Videos, Lecture, Projects)
125-136
 Baltzan, Chapter 6: Data: Business
Intelligence, Section 6.1;
7: March 4 or
5
 Baltzan, Appendix C (Online)
 MS Access
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Baltzan: Appendix C
Start: MS Access 1
Week
8: March 11
or 12
Topics
 Baltzan, Chapter 6: Data: Business
Intelligence, Section 6.2;
 MS Access - Continued
Activities
Baltzan: Ch. 6 - pg.
136-147
Start : MS Access 2
9: March 18
or 19
 Baltzan, Chapter 4: Ethics and Information
Security: MIS Business Concerns
 MS Access – Continued
Baltzan: Ch 4
10: March 25
or 26
 Baltzan, Chapter 5: Infrastructures:
Sustainable Technologies
 Unit Exam 2 Review
Baltzan: Ch 5
Due: All MS Access
March 30 –
April 3
11: April 8 or
9
Spring Break – No Classes or office hours
 Exam 2: Baltzan Chapters 4, 5, 6, Appendix
C, MS Access; Supplemental Material
Start: XHTML 1
(Videos, Lecture, Projects)
 Web Programming xHTML
 Baltzan, Chapter 7: Networks: Mobile
Business
 Web Programming xHTML – Continued
 Appendix B (Online)
Baltzan: Ch. 7
13: April 22
or 23
 Baltzan, Chapter 8: Enterprise Applications:
Business Communications
 Web Programming xHTML - Continued
Baltzan: Ch. 8
Due: XHTML 1
Start: XHTML 2
14: April 29
or 30
 Baltzan, Chapter 9: Systems Development and
Project Management: Corporate
Responsibility
 Unit Exam 3 Review
Baltzan: Ch. 9
15: May 6 or
7
 Exam 3: Baltzan Chapters 7, 8, 9, XHTML
and Appendix B
 Final Exam Review
Due: XHTML 2
Thursday,
May 14
 The exam is in our regular classroom
(Room: P-144) at 7:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m.
Final Exam
12: April 15
or 16
Baltzan: Appendix B
Changes to the course schedule, if any, will be announced in class.
GRADE COMPONENTS
Course grades will be assigned in accordance with San Diego State University policy (see
General Catalog, pp. 468-470). Undergraduate grades shall be: A (outstanding achievement,
available only for the highest accomplishment), B (praiseworthy performance, definitely above
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average), C (average, awarded for satisfactory performance, the most common undergraduate
grade), D (minimally passing, less than the typical undergraduate achievement), F (failing).
Table1. Your course grade will be based on the following weighted components
Component
3 Unit Exams (100 points each)
Final Exam
Excel Assignments (SIMnet and
Projects)
Access Assignments (SIMnet and
Projects)
xHTML Assignments
Points
300
100
45
Weight
60%
20%
9%
30
6%
25
5%
Do not ask for a few extra points or an extra assignment to make up points at the end of the
semester. The grade breaks displayed in Table 2 are hard and fast. Your total points will not be
rounded up. It is only fair to all the students.
Table2. The letter grade will be assigned based on the minimum point cutoff shown in Table 2.
Minimum Minimum Letter
Point
Percent Grade
Cutoff
465
93%
A
450
90%
A435
87%
B+
415
83%
B
400
80%
B385
77%
C+
365
73%
C
350
70%
C335
67%
D+
315
63%
D
300
60%
D0
0%
F
Students with Disability
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it
is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any
delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as
soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that I cannot
provide accommodations based upon disability until I have received an accommodation letter
from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
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SDSU’s policy on academic integrity is expressly integrated into this course. Any deviation
from the standards of this policy may result in a grade of “F” for the course.
HONESTY:
Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and may be punished by failure on an exam or
assignment, failure in the course, and/or expulsion from the college. For more information, refer
to the “Academic Honesty” policy in the student catalog
(http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fits.sdsu.ed
u%2Fdocs%2FTURN_Plagiarism_AcadSen.pdf&ei=hKgcSoOzJJyytAPUyv2NCg&usg=AFQjC
NEFuwRNvgA6C-5okEjjimj4-0fReQ&sig2=NMoSM4mz0-B-QOAUPvLEhw).
Plagiarism shall be defined as the act of incorporating ideas, words, or specific substance of another,
whether purchased, borrowed, or otherwise obtained, and submitting same to the university as one’s own
work to fulfill academic requirements without giving credit to the appropriate source. Plagiarism shall
include but not be limited to (a) submitting work, either in part or in whole, completed by another; (b)
omitting footnotes for ideas, statements, facts, or conclusions that belong to another; (c) omitting
quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, sentence, or part thereof;
(d) close and lengthy paraphrasing of the writings of another; (e) submitting another person’s artistic
works, such as musical compositions, photographs, paintings, drawings, or sculptures; and (f) submitting
as one’s own work papers purchased from research companies.
Here is a link to the Library’s tutorial on Plagiarism:
http://infotutor.sdsu.edu/plagiarism/index.cfm
CHEATING:
The assignments, quizzes, and exams you submit must be entirely your own individual work.
If you and another person work together on assignments and the resulting two assignments are
alike (or very nearly so), you are cheating. Each student is responsible for doing the assignment
independently. Cheating in IDS 180 includes sharing solutions either by copying, retyping,
looking at, or supplying a copy of a file/solution. Cheating occurs on both the supplying and
receiving ends. Do NOT leave copies of your assignments on the lab computers. If you do, and
someone else uses it, you are still responsible and involved in cheating.
The easiest way to comply with this policy is to avoid talking to others about the assignment
while you are working at a computer. While it is okay to talk to other students to get help in understanding what the assignment is, it is absolutely wrong for you to be working with one or
more people, even if you are sitting at different computers, deciding what to put in each part of a
worksheet, database, etc. You are always allowed to ask the instructor for more specific help. If
you have questions relating to this policy, please direct them to the instructor.
This class has a zero-tolerance policy for cheating. You have now been warned. If you are
involved in a cheating incident you will receive a grade of F in this course. Additionally, all
cases of cheating will be reported to SDSU’s Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities for
University disciplinary action. Note: You are not eligible to use course forgiveness to replace a
grade in a course where you have been found guilty of academic dishonesty.
Note: During Exams you may not wear any hats or have turned on any electronic devices
including but not limited to cell phones, pagers, music devices, etc. Plan accordingly on exam
days.
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