This course provides a context for understanding the information technology industry. Trends in the industry and viable career options are identified and explored. Important technological shifts in the industry are examined. The fundamentals of career management and self-identification of a specialized and marketable segment of the information technology industry are covered.

This course provides an overview of methods used to analyze, capture, process, and manage data resources. Database structures and models are examined. Design and normalization of data, database management systems, relational models, and query interfaces are also studied.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Articulate fundamental database concepts.
2. Interpret a simple business problem to extract requirements and express them in data model.
3. Explain the value of different types of database used to solve business problems.
4. Communicate business requirements via industry standard diagrams.
5. Describe relational table design and the pitfalls of poor design.
6. Explain the fundamentals of structured query language (SQL).
7. Evaluate a data model and propose a database structure to match.
    

This course details how information technology professionals and business experts work together to make investment and implementation decisions to support an organization's overall business goals. Topics such as organizational structure, business process, and return on technological investment are examined. Additionally, concepts relatively new to information technology – intrapreneuring, intercompany selling, and revenue generation – are defined and discussed. The skills needed to participate in business process definition, to estimate and measure return on investment, and to present an effective technology proposal are covered.

This course covers the fundamentals of enterprise architecture concepts, including the purpose and importance of architecture in the enterprise. It discusses current problems with efforts to establish and maintain architectures, and methods to overcome the obstacles.

This course surveys the technical advancements and innovations that are reshaping business technology in the 21st century. Students examine techniques for identifying technology trends, develop methodologies for evaluating new technologies for specific business use, craft effective presentations that solicit managerial buy-in, and model adoption strategies that minimize the risk of implementation failure.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Identify credible sources for identifying business technology trends.
2. Develop a flexible methodology for evaluating new technologies.
3. Demonstrate leading edge technology and its underlying concepts to a managerial audience.
4. Formulate an adoption strategy for implementing a specific technology.
5. Identify and discuss the pros and cons of utilizing leading edge technology to solve current business problems.
    

This course provides a foundation in the moral and ethical issues of doing business in the technological age. Topics include the role of information in an organization, ownership of information, and the rights of the corporation and the rights of the employees. Moral and political implications of doing business globally in an economically sustainable and culturally sensitive way are also covered.

This course presents a broad survey of theory and research on leadership. It examines classical and scientific management perspectives and considers contemporary theories and practices of organizational leadership.

The course examines the practical and dynamic relevance of critical thinking for managers, emphasizing the decisional aspects of management. Topics focus on eliciting new managerial insights, improving managerial problem solving and decision-making skills, and on strengthening the student's ability to articulate reasoned solutions to managerial problems and opportunities.

This course explores the concepts and theories of management and their application in today's managerial environment. It examines the essential functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. MG307 may be taken instead of this course.

This course focuses on the ability of leaders to understand and manage organizational change. It addresses a broad-based understanding of the nature, function, and complexities of organizations. Ways of dealing with change are developed from sometimes disparate views of organizations.

This course emphasizes leadership concepts related to directing and coordinating human and material resources for relatively short-term projects that have been established to complete specific goals and objectives. The skills and procedures needed to take a project from definition through completion are presented.

This course emphasizes short- and long-term planning that is vital to a healthy, changing organization. Topics include the strategic management process, the strategic management model, company mission analysis, environmental impacts, ethical and social responsibilities, and strategy and implementation control.

This course addresses various unpredictable and ambiguous situations encountered by modern organizations. It emphasizes sensitivity to changing socio-economic conditions and challenges to existing patterns and beliefs. Methods to recognize the ways in which organizations change, and develop skills to guide these organizations in the future are studied.

Communication skills pertinent to organizational settings form the foundation of this course. Effective methods for design and delivery of oral communication are examined. Other topics include communication styles, interpersonal communication skills, dynamics of small group communication and persuasive speaking.

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Demonstrate effective oral communication skills.
2. Demonstrate effective and active listening skills.
3. Recognize and adapt to differing communication styles.
4. Demonstrate skill in interpersonal communication.
5. Understand small group dynamics.
6. Demonstrate persuasive speaking techniques.
7. Effectively create and utilize graphics or other appropriate media in professional presentations.
8. Deliver organized, professional informational and persuasive presentations.
    

This course focuses on the formal demands, as well as the underlying logic, necessary to meet many complex technical writing situations. Students examine the technical writing process with an emphasis on revision and editing skills. Students explore how style, format and the use of visuals can affect the quality of their communication. Techniques to strategically adapt technical documents to fit a specific audience and purpose are practiced. Topics include forms of technical writing, such as definitions, descriptions, manuals, reports, and formal documentation. Aspects of developing technologies and their communication needs are explored.

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Distinguish between the common forms of technical writing
2. Effectively adapt technical documents for a specific audience and purpose
3. Articulate the interaction between written and visual communication
4. Demonstrate a technical writing style
5. Outline and apply the writing process
6. Employ revision and editing skills
7. Demonstrate an understanding of writing needs for new media modalities

This course provides an opportunity for students to integrate knowledge and skills developed in the Information Technology program and to apply them to a relevant topic. Students select a problem or controversial issue in their area of specialization, research the issue, analyze and critique material related to the topic, and design an application or approach that addresses the issue. Additionally, students demonstrate the educational outcomes of the Information Technology program. The capstone is presented in a business context.

This course provides an introduction to mobile devices, networks, and applications. Topics include the roles of financial institutions, operators, content providers, and other key parties in the mobile commerce value chain; core mobile technologies; and the differences between m-commerce and e-coomerce. The current mobile infrastruction, mobile technology trends, and emerging business opportunities are covered.

This course provides an overarching model for information assurance for businesses, government agencies, and other enterprises needing to establish a comprehensive security plan. The components of security and protection against the most current security vulnerabilities are covered. Topics include asset identification, human factors, personnel security, risk assessment, ethical considerations, and computer and network security tools and methods.

This course provides a continuing exploration of information assurance models for institutions. The components of security and how they relate, and effective security policy development are featured. Topics include business continuity, security law, and desktop and server security tools and methods. Hands-on training regarding protection of computers and networks against the most current Windows and UNIX vulnerabilities is provided.

This course provides an introduction to the legal, technical, and investigative skills necessary to consider a career in computer forensics. Topics include the legal foundations for proper handling of traditional and electronic evidence, investigative tools and procedures, and an examination of large-scale attacks such as identity theft, fraud, phishing, extortion, and malware infections. The basics of conducting a computer forensics investigation, finding hidden data, and evaluating common computer forensic tools are covered.

This course provides an in depth examination of the technical tools and techniques utilized by computer forensics examiners. Topics include criminal timeline recreation, evidence recovery, and the most current PDA and cell phone investigative techniques. The focus is on deployment of an effective case management strategy to collect material, document findings, and archive results; the use of forensic tools to uncover obscured code, file mismatches, and invalid signatures; and the extraction of client and Web-based email artifacts using industry recognized tools.

This course introduces data warehousing and decision support infrastructures that support organizational performance management. Information requirements for managerial decisions, dimensional modeling, data warehouse development, and data analysis techniques are covered.

This course introduces the computer-assisted process of evaluating enormous sets of data to find previously undiscovered patterns, draw conclusions, and then make decisions based on the patterns. Concepts are introduced and applied using current software tools.

This course introduces the fundamental building blocks of cloud computing and virtualized data centers, with an emphasis on the design, implementation, and operation of real-world cloud-based systems. Students examine the meaning of the term “cloud computing” and its proper context; evaluate the financial, strategic and risk implications of various solutions; develop design methodologies for evaluating, planning and implementing cloud computing; and select the optimal blend of cloud applications and services for solving common business problems. 

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Explain cloud computing concepts to a business audience in layman’s terms
2. Explain how the architectural components in various cloud computing frameworks fit together
3. Evaluate the operational and financial feasibility of implementing a cloud computing solution to solve a given business problem
4. Develop a project proposal for evaluating, planning and implementing a specific cloud computing solution
5. Identify and discuss the pros and cons of utilizing commercially available cloud computing services

This course reviews the fundamental building blocks of a viable cloud computing software application. Students design a scalable prototype application that minimizes local storage and processing. Students implement, and manage their own cloud computing application. This course also explores the use of mobile devices to access cloud computing resources.

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Demonstrate a mastery of open source cloud computing tools
2. Design, implement, and manage a working cloud computing software application
3. Identify, evaluate, and deploy mobile client software for accessing cloud computing resources
4. Identify and discuss the cloud computing architectures employed by commercial cloud computing companies