The ISQA faculty has developed a series of concentrations to assist students as they work to complete the program. Concentrations consist of coordinating elective courses. Students may choose to take courses that make up a concentration, or not, as they see fit. Concentrations are not minors in the traditional sense, but rather reflect areas in demand in the community. If you have any questions regarding these concentrations, please call the ISQA Department at (402) 554-3770.

Students pursuing a concentration are to complete a 'Change of Academic Program' form, secure appropriate signatures and submit the form in person at the Registrar's office.

• Decision Support & Knowledge Management
• i-Business Application Development & Management
• Information Assurance
• Internet Technologies
• IT Audit & Control

This concentration consists of 18 credit hours.

The Decision Support & Knowledge Management Concentration will provide students with the analytic tools and problem-solving techniques to support decision making in both service and production applications. The concentration includes courses that provide students with an understanding of the issues, concepts, and methods involved in performing sophisticated analyses of business problems and organizational performance. Students will learn to apply these concepts and skills in the development of applications for data warehousing, data mining, collaborative systems, and knowledge management purposes.

Prerequisite Courses:

• CIST 2500 - Introduction to Applied Statistics for IS&T - IS&T Core
• CIST 3100 - Organizations, Applications, and Technology - IS&T Core

Core Courses - 6 hours:

• ISQA 3150 - Principles of Quantitative Analysis
• ISQA 4730 - Decision Support Systems

Elective Courses - 9 hours:

• ISQA 3250 - Intermediate Quantitative Analysis
• ISQA 4000 - Special Topics in ISQA (Topic MUST be related to Decision Support and Knowledge management. Prior approval from the Undergraduate Program Committee is required to use this course in the concentration.)
• ISQA 4010 - Business Intelligence
• ISQA 4150 - Advanced Statistical Methods for IT
• ISQA 4200 - Information and Data Quality Management
• ISQA 4880 - Systems Simulation and Modeling

Capstone Course - 3 hours:

• ISQA 4890 - Data Warehousing & Data Mining

This concentration consists of 18 credit hours.

The i-Business Application Development & Management Concentration will provide students with the technical, organizational, and managerial background to plan, develop, and manage Internet-based applications. The concentration includes courses that provide students with an understanding of the issues, concepts, and technologies involved in establishing and implementing a corporate strategy for electronic business. These courses address issues of organizational strategy, process reengineering, and supporting information systems architecture. Students will also learn and apply technical skills needed to develop Internet-based distributed applications.

Prerequisite Courses:

• CIST 3100 - Organizations, Applications, and Technology - IS&T Core
• ISQA 3310 - Managing the Database Environment - MIS Core
• ISQA 4110 - Information Systems Development - MIS Core
• ISQA 4120 - Systems Design and Implementation - MIS Core

Core Courses - 6 hours:

• ISQA 4180 - E-Commerce
• ISQA 3210 - Advanced Technology for Personal Productivity

Elective Courses - 9 hours:

• CIST 3600 - Information Security and Policy
• ISQA 3520 - GUI Design
• ISQA 4000 - Special Topics in ISQA (Topic MUST be related to I-Business. Prior approval from the Undergraduate Program Committee is required to use this course in the concentration.)
• ISQA 4100 - Information System Architecture and Organization
• ISQA 4190 - Business Process Re-Engineering with Information Technology
• ISQA 4900 - Introduction to Project Management

Capstone Course - 3 hours:

• ISQA 4380 - Distributed Technologies & Systems

This concentration consists of 18 credit hours.

The Information Assurance concentration supplements and extends the Management Information Systems (MIS) curriculum by focusing on the foundational principles, worked examples, theory, and skills necessary to analyze, design, and construct secure information systems. These courses address the fundamental technologies, policy, assurance, and ethics involved in the protection of information systems. Hands-on experience is gained through numerous laboratory exercises associated with each course. The concentration is designed to accommodate students with either a CS or MIS background.

Note: The 18 credit hour Information Assurance concentration can be taken through Computer Science or Management Information Systems.

Prerequisite Courses:

• CIST 1400 - Introduction to Computer Programming
• CSCI 1620 - Introduction to Computer Science II
• CSCI 1840 - Advanced Topics in "C"
• CIST 3100 - Org. Apps. & Tech.
• MATH 1930 - Calculus for Mgr. Life & Soc. Science
• MATH - 2030 Discrete Mathematics
• ISQA 3300 - File Structures for Information Systems OR CSCI - 3320 Data Structures

Core Courses - 18 hours:

• CIST 3110 - Information Technology Ethics
• ISQA 3400 - Business Data Communications OR CSCI - 3550 Communication Networks
• CIST 3600 - Information Security and Policy
• CIST 4360 - Foundation of Information Assurance
• CIST 4370 - Security Administration
• CIST 4540 - Computer Security Management

This concentration consists of 18 credit hours.

The Internet Technologies (iT) concentration supplements the Management Information Systems (MIS) by focusing on the expertise needed to implement solutions that involve contemporary Internet technologies and software applications. The concentration is designed to accommodate the differing backgrounds of MIS and CS majors. The requirements of either the MIS or CS majors provide the background necessary to pursue the iT concentration. The concentration makes extensive use of existing MIS and CS courses, building on what has been accomplished in these programs. The iT concentration provides extensive hands-on, project-based experience for the students.

Note: The 18 credit hour iT concentration can be taken through Computer Science or Management Information Systems.

Core Courses - 6 hours:

• CSCI 2830 - Java Programming I
• CSCI 2850 - Programming on the Internet

Elective Courses - 9 hours:

• CIST 2910 - Multimedia Systems
• CIST 3600 - Information Security and Policy
• CSCI 3830 - Advanced Java Programming
• ISQA 3310 - Managing the Data Base Environment
• ISQA 3400 - Business Data Communications
• ISQA 3520 - Graphical User Interface Design
• ISQA 4000 - Special Topics in ISQA (Topic MUST be related to Decision Support and Knowledge management. Prior approval from the Undergraduate Program Committee is required to use this course in the concentration.)
• ISQA 4180 - Electronic Commerce
• ISQA 4300 - Database Administration
• ISQA 4730 - Decision Support Systems
• ISQA 4880 - System Simulation and Modeling
• ISQA 4890 - Data Warehouse and Data Mining

Capstone Course - 3 hours:

• ISQA 4900 - Internet Software Development

This concentration consists of 18 credit hours.

The IT Audit and Control Concentration is available only to MIS majors and provides student with the technical, organizational, accounting/auditing, and managerial background to plan and conduct IT audit and control activities. The concentration will cover the following conceptual area: business risks an the management of business risk, IT risk as a component of business risk, the need to manage IT risks, basic type of controls required in a business system in order to control IT risks, controls associated with top management, system development, quality assurance, boundary controls, and communications. Issues associated with new system control risks created by the use of the internet for business applications and electronic business will also be covered in one or more courses. Students will learn and apply and integrate technical, managerial and conceptual skills needed to plan and conduct IT audits and establish appropriate controls

Prerequisite Courses

• ACCT 2010 - Principles of Accounting I
• ACCT 2020 - Principles of Accounting II
• ISQA 3210 - Advanced Technology for Personal Productivity
• CIST 3100 - Organizations, Applications & Technology, OR BSAD 3100 - Management Information Systems

Core Courses - 9 hours:

• CIST 3110 - IT Ethics
• ACCT 4080 - Principles of Auditing
• CIST 3600 - Information Security and Policy

Elective Courses - 6 hours:

This list of electives is not exhaustive. Students can take other courses as electives in consultation with their undergraduate advisor.

• ACCT 4060 - Advanced Managerial Accounting
• ACCT 4090 - Advanced Auditing
• ACCT 4000 - Special topics in Accounting (Topic MUST be related to IT Audit and Control. Prior approval from the ISQA department is required to use this course in the concentration.)
• ISQA 4000 - Special Topics in ISQA (Topic MUST be related to IT Audit and Control. Prior approval from the department is required to use this course in the concentration.)
• ISQA 4500 - Independent study in ISQA (Independent study topic MUST be related to IT Audit and Control. Prior approval from the department is required to use this course in the concentration.)
• ISQA 4510 - Internship in ISQA (Internship experience must be directly related to IT Audit and Control. Prior approval from the department is required to use this course in the concentration.)
• ISQA 4190 - Business Process Reengineering with IT
• ISQA 4910 - Introduction to Project Management

Capstone Course - 3 hours:

• ISQA 4590 - IS/T Audit and Control

This page was last updated on March 2, 2009.