IST 659 - Special Topics in Information Systems Technology

Syllabus for section D1, Fall 2025.

This course is fully online and does not meet in person. It is also asynchronous, which means that there is no specific time that you must be online each day.

Please note that this course is different from most other courses in the MSIST program. It runs for the entire fall semester (August 20 - December 11) and is 6 credit hours.

Important Dates

Instructor Information

Dr. Mike Murphy
mmurphy2@coastal.edu
Office Location: Penny Hall room 238
https://ww2.coastal.edu/mmurphy2

Office Hours

Please see my schedule page for current office hour information.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Identify and propose a development, implementation, evaluation, or research project that is both appropriate to your degree program and in line with your career aspirations.
2. Complete an extended project by implementing software, constructing a system, evaluating existing solutions, or performing research.
3. Document processes and results to create a set of written deliverables.

ABET Assessment

The above student learning outcomes support the following ABET program-level student outcomes:

1. Analyze a complex problem and apply principles of computing and other relevant disciplines to elaborate solutions to it. [SLO 1]
2. Design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of requirements in the context of the program’s discipline. [SLO 2]
3. Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts. [SLO 3]

In addition, this course supports the following ABET curriculum requirement:

• Curriculum Requirement 3: A project or research activity resulting in a set of deliverables that demonstrates both the mastery of the subject matter and a high level of communication skills. [SLOs 1, 2, and 3]

Texts and Materials

• No textbook is required for this course.
• Materials will vary based on project choice.

Technology Requirements

• Broadband Internet access is required to access course materials.
• A Web browser capable of accessing research materials and working with Moodle assignment activities is required.
• Specific technical requirements will vary by project topic. Research projects should not require additional technology, but development, implementation, and evaluation projects may require additional hardware and/or software.

Grading

This course is designed around a full-semester project, which you will select and propose according to your career objectives. Your project must be technical in nature and appropriate for the Santee Cooper Master of Science in Information Technology program. In addition, you must demonstrate “both the mastery of the subject matter and a high level of communication skills” per ABET requirements. You may choose from four project types:

• A development project, in which you write software (code) to solve a problem related to the field.
• An implementation project, in which you construct a proof-of-concept system to solve a problem in the field.
• An evaluation project, in which you study and test a particular system, then write a report presenting the results and drawing conclusions.
• A research project, in which you study a current topic in the field, locate and review sources, and produce a research paper.

Unlike most courses, there are NO grades for individual activities in IST 659, nor are there any quizzes or exams. Instead, this course uses an ungrading approach that is divided into three distinct Phases:

1. The Proposal Phase begins at the start of the course and runs to the day before the census date. During this phase, you will submit a Project Proposal describing the project you would like to complete.
2. The Implementation Phase runs from the day after the census date until the day before the last day to drop this course with a W. During this phase, you will provide brief status reports each week to chart project progress.
3. The Documentation Phase runs from the last day to drop through the day before the last day of classes. During this phase, you will document the outcome of your project and propose your course grade.

There is NO final exam in this course.

Proposal Phase

During the Proposal Phase, you will identify a project to complete for the remainder of the semester. You may choose a development, implementation, evaluation, or research project. Each project in this course is an individual effort, so you need to propose something that fits into approximately 12 weeks. Your project needs to be related to the Santee Cooper Master of Science in Information Systems Technology degree program in some direct way. For example, a research project covering a current topic in cybersecurity or artificial intelligence would be an appropriate project. Writing a piece of software that is part of privacy-focused operating environment would be an example of an appropriate development project. Building a proof-of-concept security appliance would be an example of an appropriate implementation project. Comparing and evaluating multiple artificial intelligence models would be an example of an appropriate evaluation project.

Once you have submitted your proposal, I will give you feedback and an acceptance decision. After your proposal has been accepted, you will spend most of the semester on the implementation.

Implementation Phase

During the Implementation Phase, you will submit weekly status reports on your progress. These reports will be brief so as not to become a substantial amount of extra work in their own right. We will schedule Teams meetings as necessary during the semester to go over your progress and help you stay on track.

For a development project, the Implementation Phase is where you will write most of the code. Similarly, an implementation project will require using this phase to put together the system to be built, which might include sourcing equipment, installing software, and similar tasks. An evaluation project could require learning to use various cloud-based services or other tools. For each of these project types, you should keep detailed notes to make the Documentation Phase easier.

For a research project, this phase involves locating background sources, reading, and compiling notes and an outline that can be used to write the final paper. Generally speaking, you should try to have a rough draft of the research paper complete around the end of the Implementation Phase if you choose a research project, so that you can polish the final version of the paper during the Documentation Phase.

Documentation Phase

For a development or implementation project, the Documentation Phase will require producing documentation for your code or implementation. This technical documentation should explain how your code/system works and what it does. Cite sources as appropriate (for example, links to any frameworks or applications you used). It is difficult to specify an expected number of pages for these project types due to the variability in the projects themselves.

An evaluation project should yield a written report that provides background information on the system to be evaluated, how well that system performed in testing, and any recommendations you make related to the system. If multiple systems or services were evaluated, then the report should compare and contrast them. This type of report should cite all systems/services evaluated, any third-party results you analyzed, and any relevant background sources. The length of the report should be sufficient to cover the details of the evaluation but should not be so long as to dissuade someone from reading it. A good rule of thumb would be to aim for 20-30 pages (double-spaced).

If you choose the research project option, the final research paper is due during the Documentation Phase. A thorough semester-long research paper should run between 30 and 40 pages (double-spaced) and should cite at least 20 sources, most of which should have been published within the last 5 years or so. At least half the sources should be scholarly articles published in peer-reviewed conference proceedings or journals.

A common requirement for the Documentation Phase for all project types is to reflect on your accomplishments in the course and propose a final course grade. This reflection activity will involve submitting a separate worksheet alongside the main document.

Final Grade

Although we have no grades during the semester, University policy requires a final grade to be assigned to this course using the established A-F letter scale. You will propose your final grade in the second part of the course reflection. I may agree or disagree with your self-assessment and may ultimately assign a higher or lower grade than what you propose. This approach to final grading is designed to reduce the amount of grade-related stress in this course, giving you more time and mental energy to focus on the material.

Course Policies

Academic Integrity and Artificial Intelligence

The CCU Academic Integrity Code (part of the Code of Student Conduct) applies to this course. In particular, making false statements, hiring or permitting someone else to complete course activities, and willful and flagrant plagiarism are all examples of academic integrity violations. Violations of the CCU Academic Integrity Code in this course will result in a course grade of FX.

Artificial Intelligence

The extent to which Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used in this course depends on your project. You MAY use AI tools (such as ChatGPT) for conducting research and editing text. A major WARNING about these tools is that they hallucinate, or produce results that are worded confidently despite being completely wrong. Always verify information produced by an AI algorithm! Unless you do your own work and acquire the knowledge to distinguish correct from incorrect output, you won’t have any way to know if the AI algorithm is giving you a good answer or total garbage that simply sounds good.

If you choose a development project and intend for your project to be reused or released at a later time, then you should AVOID using AI-generated code. AI code generation algorithms have all been trained on copyrighted code, and there are still some legal uncertainties regarding infringement. Until the lawyers and courts are finished sorting out the details, there is a risk inherent with using this code in a project that is later released. If the courts rule that the AI companies are generating infringing output, then your software might wind up containing someone else’s copyrighted code, creating a possible legal mess.

One final caution about generative AI tools is that the companies that own the AI systems are using both your queries and your personal information to train their systems. Whatever you put into the AI tool becomes part of the system’s knowledge base. Worse, if you actually read the license agreements and privacy policies for some of these tools, you will find that you’re agreeing to let the AI companies train their models with information about you that they have collected or purchased from a data broker. AI models are expensive to train and operate, and these companies are in business to make money. They will happily absorb you data into their model while also selling it to the highest bidder. Be especially wary when using these tools.

Attendance

Per the University Distance Learning Policy, each missed submission counts as an absence. You will be dropped from the course if your Proposal is not submitted in Moodle by 11:59 PM ET on the last day of the Proposal Phase.

Communications

I try to be available as much as possible during the semester via email, Teams, and in-person office hours. However, my work day may not always align with the time of day that you’re working on coursework. In general, I will reply to email and Teams messages within 1-2 business days, which may be longer than 2 calendar days in the case of messages sent over a weekend or holiday. I’m unable to return telephone calls when I’m not physically in the office, so response times are typically longer.

Contingency Plan

Per the CCU Academic Continuity Plan, courses will continue online whenever the University is unable to hold in-person classes. During contingency operations, we will proceed with our online course unless the Governor orders the University to close completely or the Provost gives alternate instructions. Please remember that an emergency in Horry County might impact my ability to communicate, and that synchronous communications (such as Teams) might not work properly. In such a situation, I plan to communicate with you using Moodle announcements and email. If you need to reach me during an emergency, please send me an email. My ability to respond will be dictated by emergency conditions, but I will respond when I’m able.

This is a fall semester course, which means that we may be affected by tropical storms and hurricanes. Please review my Hurricane Information page for specific information about tropical impacts. I live in Horry County Coastal Evacuation Zone C and will communicate my availability via Moodle announcements ahead of the storm.

ALWAYS take your laptop or other computer with you whenever you go out of town, including during University breaks, evacuations, and other travel. Remember that you could encounter travel difficulties and have issues returning on time even if University operations are not affected.

Disability Accommodations

I am happy to work with any students requiring accommodations for a disability. University policy stipulates that Accessibility and Disability Services is the only office on campus that is authorized to evaluate and provide academic accommodations. Please have your accommodations information sent to me within the first week of class or within a week of approval if accommodations are implemented in the middle of the semester.

Late Work

You will be able to submit, revise, and resubmit each activity until the published closing date for that activity. No work will be accepted after the corresponding closing date unless you have been granted an accommodation by Accessibility and Disability Services.

I will post weekly announcements in Moodle regarding important dates for that week. By default, you will receive an emailed copy of each announcement.

If you become so sick that you’re unable to do your work, or if some other significant hardship arises, please let me know immediately. You need to notify me before the closing date unless you are hospitalized or otherwise incapacitated.

Submission Requirements

In order to ensure fairness and maintain accurate class records, all work in this course must be submitted via Moodle. I cannot accept submissions via email, printed paper, Teams, or by any other means unless an accommodation has been granted by Accessibility and Disability Services. Computer problems and life events are certainly possible during the semester, so I encourage you to submit your work well before the closing dates.

Disclaimer

Portions of this course may deal with issues related to cost analysis, laws, and ethics. I am not a lawyer, accountant, or financial advisor, and no portion of this class constitutes legal, financial, or other regulated professional advice. This syllabus is tentative and is subject to change with notice to the class during the semester. If a portion of this syllabus is found to be non-compliant with University policies or applicable laws, the remainder of this syllabus will remain effective.