Master of Management Information Systems (MMIS)
The MMIS program in the Huntsman School of Business trains the next generation of information systems professionals to meet the increased demands of employees and entrepreneurs with high-level technological and business skills. The program integrates coursework in data management, business intelligence and analytics, programming, system development, and security. The MMIS degree prepares graduates with the skills and competencies needed to perform the challenging tasks of information systems professionals in a variety of organizations.
Learning Goals and Objectives
L1: Students will be prepared to assume managerial roles in IS analysis, modeling, and design.
- L1.1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of system analysis and design processes.
- L1.2: Students will evaluate and choose appropriate systems development methodologies and design a system.
L2: Students will be prepared to assume managerial roles in IS policy and strategy
- L2.1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the strategic use of information technology from a business prospective, at the enterprise level.
- L2.2: Students will examine alternative strategies and tactics available to management to achieve goals.
L3: Students will have the skills necessary to prepare them for the technical requirements of an IS professional.
- L3.1: Students will utilize database systems and leading edge analytical and reporting tools to analyze big data and provide business intelligence.
- L3.2: Students will understand the relational model, multidimensional model, object-relational techniques, and web accessed data.
L4: Students will be able to bridge the gap between technology and people.
- L4.1: Students will explore the importance of effective communication and integrations with users and user systems.
Outcomes Data
The MMIS program gathers data for competency objectives from three of the foundational courses in the program where students demonstrate their knowledge and skills necessary to perform as effective information systems specialists. Assessments focus on the goals and objectives of the program that are themselves derived from the strategic pillars and mission of the Huntsman School of Business. Specifically, instructors gather measurements to compare to a-priori established performance benchmarks in key areas of the field.
Links to outcome data are provided below. Users can also hover over each display to obtain more details on the assessments.
Closing the Loop & Continuous Improvement
When assessments of program objectives are submitted, the submission form provides an opportunity to add “closing the loop” discussion, including changes that could be made. Examples of what could be done moving forward include adding in a real-world project to emphasize why content is included and important to them, more time for students to present and get feedback, better exam preparation, focusing on effectively defining a problem earlier in the semester, and adding a practice exam.
Faculty are encouraged to innovate and experiment in the ever changing content areas of information systems and innovative instruction methodologies in their courses. Benchmarks are considered as tools to gauge the effectiveness of changes. Importantly, we do not consider it a failure when students do not perform at benchmark for a particular objective; rather, we believe we can utilize this information to pursue improvements and ultimately help ensure student success.
Our improvement efforts broadly fall into two categories: changes to improve student performance and changes to improve the gathering of assessment measures.
Here are some examples our instructors implemented to improve student performance:
- Re-structuring updating of course content and delivery to reflect changes in the field (IS 6900)
- Spending more time on objective-relevant content (IS 6230)
- More use of active learning, application of course material, and practice in low-risk scenarios (IS 6230, IS 6610, IS 6900)
- Introducing new group project assignments (IS 6610)
- More emphasis on connecting content among courses (IS 6900)
In terms of improving the gathering of assessment measures, instructors have experimented with and made several changes to this process. Examples of these include:
- Updating existing assessments (Exams, projects, presentations)
- Creating new assessment forms (Demonstrations, presentations)
- Reorganizing the timing of assessments (mid-course, end of course)
- Standardizing and streamlining incentives to enhance participation for all students
Recent Redesign of the Program
Starting in the 2022-2023 academic year, the MMIS program underwent a major redesign of the way it is delivered. The changes were motivated by several factors. Information Systems as a field is not only rapidly evolving but also developing deeper specialty subfields. Consequently, demand in the marketplace values deeper engagement in a few of the areas. Parallel to this trend there are also more and more students who are interested in pursuing an information systems degree after earning an undergraduate degree in some other majors.
We developed five 12 credit Certificates corresponding to areas within Information Systems that can prepare students both with fundamental and depth skills. From now on, the new MMIS program will consist of two of the five Certificate curriculum and two additional courses.
The five Certificate areas are the following:
- Data Technologies: Designed specifically for students with nontechnical academic backgrounds
- Web Development: Prepares students to design, develop, and deploy data-driven web applications
- Cybersecurity: Prepares students for the proactive defense against IS risks and vulnerabilities
- Data Engineering: Prepares students to perform data related activities in the organization
- Data Analytics: Provides students with the skills necessary to perform sophisticated analytics tasks for business decision making
Beyond finishing two certificates, the MMIS program requires the completion of the Information System Strategy (IS 6610) course along with an additional course from a selection of Management, Strategy, Data Analytics or Information Systems courses.
Learning goals, objectives, and their assessment will be updated to reflect the programmatic changes.