Information Systems and Decision Sciences

Chairperson: Dr. Tej K. Kaul
Office: Stipes Hall 431
Telephone: 309/298-1536
Fax: 309/298-1696
E-Mail: T-Kaul@wiu.edu
Website:www.wiu.edu/isds

Faculty: Amaravadi, Andrew, Dehkordi-Vakil, D. Druckenmiller, P. Druckenmiller, Harper, Kaul, Lee, Mahr, Man, Mangalaraj, Onion, Straub, Tarrant, Valeva, Woolley.

The Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences (ISDS) provides a major curriculum in Information Systems (IS) at the main campus in Macomb and the Quad Cities campus in Moline. IS concentrates on departmental and corporate information systems including networking, telecommunications planning and management, business systems analysis, business database management, decision support systems, management of information technology, applied business forecasting and regression analysis and e-commerce systems development and management. Information Systems graduates are trained for a wide variety of information systems related careers: business systems analyst, end-user computing manager, end-user support person, management support specialist, systems manager, communications manager or analyst, information services director, microcomputer support manager, systems administration manager, systems and procedures analyst, information management consultant, information support analyst, systems coordinator, data services coordinator, business analyst, database analyst, database manager and related careers.

The Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences (ISDS) offers a sequence of courses in decision sciences (DS). The decision science tools that guide managers in making decisions and solving business-related problems under conditions of uncertainty are studied. DS courses, in addition to the “business and technology in a global setting,” "business writing," and "management information systems" courses, are offered by the ISDS department as part of the common body of knowledge required of all business students. These courses are included in the Bachelor of Business Core.

GradTrac is available to Information Systems majors. See more information about GradTrac.

Degree Programs

Bachelor of Business—Information Systems

All students seeking the Bachelor of Business in Information Systems must complete I, II, III, IV, V, and VI. The minimum semester hour requirement for the baccalaureate degree is 120 s.h.

  1. University General Education Curriculum: 43 s.h.
  2. Business Core Courses†: 33 s.h.
  3. Department Core Courses: 24 s.h.
    IS 341, 342, 343, 344, 415, 443, 462; DS 305
  4. Special Courses: 6 s.h.
    CS 220 and 230; or CS 211, 212, and 214
  5. Other Requirements
    1. CS 484, 488: 6 s.h.
    2. Natural Sciences/Mathematics: Math 137 and either Stat 171 or DS 203; and Social Sciences: Econ 231 and 232; Psy 100 or Soc 100: 12-15 s.h.*
  6. Open Electives: 5-8 s.h.

†IS 320 (Business Core) fulfills the Writing Instruction in the Discipline (WID) graduation requirement.

*12-15 s.h. may count toward the University General Education requirement.

Minors

Minor in Information Systems: 18 s.h.

  1. CCS 220, or CS 211 and 212; IS 340, 341, 342: 12 s.h.
  2. Select remaining hours from the following courses: 6 s.h.
    IS 343, 443; DS 303

Course Descriptions

INFORMATION SYSTEMS (IS)
Formerly Information Management (IM)

125 Business and Technology in a Global Society. (3) A comprehensive overview of global business principles, practices, and trends that are reshaping today’s business and affecting tomorrow’s competitive environment. Consideration of the impact of technology, ethics, diversity, culture, and various emerging issues on all business disciplines.

310 Business & Government Communications Essentials. (3) Essentials of oral and written communication skills necessary for success in today’s business and government organizations. Students may not earn credit for both IS 310 and IS 320. Prerequisite: Must be accepted in the Learning to Lead Program which includes Eng 280 as a prerequisite.

315 Analytical Report Writing in Business. (1) Conceptual and practical aspects of effective communication through analytical report writing. Prerequisite: IS 310.

320 Business Communications. (3) Conceptual and practical aspects of effective communication through reports, letters, and memorandums. Writing Instruction in the Discipline (WID) course.Prerequisite: Eng 280.

340 Management Information Systems. (3) Conceptual and practical approaches to computer-based management information systems.

341 Business Systems Analysis. (3) Develop an understanding of concepts and techniques of business information systems analysis. Emphasis upon system development life cycle. Prerequisites: IS 340; CS 220 or CS 211 and 212.

342 Business Database Management. (3) A study of the theory and application of database management systems including their design, development, and management. Prerequisite: IS 341 or permission of department chairperson.

343 Management of Information Technology. (3) The role, implications and relevance of Information Technology (IT) in managing businesses: management issues concerning IT strategy, planning, and competitive advantage; process innovation and re-engineering; and organizational transformation. Prerequisite: IS 342 or permission of department chairperson.

344 Telecommunications Planning Management. (3) An introduction to business management tools and techniques necessary to plan and manage a company’s telecommunications function. Topics include telecommunications management basics, telecommunications planning, project management, operations management, and acquisition management. Prerequisite: CS 214 or 220.

415 E-Commerce Systems Development and Management. (3) This course will cover tools and technologies related to electronic commerce systems development and management. Emphasis will be placed on developing the infrastructure and exploring the emerging technical and managerial issues in support of E-commerce. Credit cannot be earned for both CS 415 and IS 415. Prerequisite: IS 342.

443 Decision Support Systems. (3) An analysis of the nature of decision making and information systems which serve decision makers. Prerequisites: IS 341 and DS 203.

460 Independent Study in Information Management. (1–3, repeatable to 3) Independent study with written report on a problem mutually selected by student and instructor. For information management majors only. Prerequisites: IS 341 and senior standing, with written permission of the department chairperson.

462 MIS Project Development. (3) Identification of a practical, information systems related problem and development of its solution. Prerequisites: IS 341 and 342 and senior standing.

470 Internship in Information Management. (1–12, repeatable to 12) Work experience, on- or off-campus, in an organization involving computerized information systems. Intern will be supervised by a faculty coordinator and an executive in the business firm. Reports of work experience are submitted to the coordinator periodically. Final report. For information management majors only. Must be taken within last year of coursework. Prerequisites: IS 341 and senior standing, with written permission of the department chairperson. Graded S/U only.

DECISION SCIENCES (DS)

203 Introduction to Statistics for Decision Making. (3) A survey of statistical methods useful for business. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, probability distribution, statistical inference, analysis of variance, regression, and contingency tables. Not open to students who have completed or are currently enrolled in Stat 171. Prerequisite: WIU placement in Stat 171, or Math 100, or equivalent (C grade or better).
IAI: Bus 901.

303 Applied Business Forecasting and Regression Analysis. (3) A survey of the basic methods and techniques that are available for business forecasting including moving average and exponential smoothing techniques, classical decomposition, Box-Jenkins technique, simple and multiple linear and nonlinear regression, time series regression techniques, and technological methods such as Delphi, and S-curves. Prerequisite: DS 203 or Stat 171.

305 Applied Data Mining for Business Decision-Making. (3) This course provides an introduction to data mining methods for business applications. Students will learn the basics of data selection, preparation, statistical modeling, and analysis aimed at the identification of knowledge fulfilling organizational objectives. Prerequisite: DS 203 or Stat 171 or consent of instructor.

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