Andrew Ellison Assumes Role of Vice President for Enrollment
Andrew Ellison, current director of the St. Ambrose Center for Catholic Liberal Education and Culture, will move to a new role on March 1.
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Be sure to carefully review the rotation schedule so you don't miss your opportunity to take classes. This is especially important if you have not recently completed a course – please contact your advisor immediately to ensure that you stay on track with your program design.
Focuses on the acquisition, analysis, reporting and use of both external and internal financial information about business events important to managers and the organization. The course emphasizes the transformation of information into basic financial statements; an introduction to knowledge and skills relevant to the internal use of accounting information; techniques in support of planning and control management decisions and budgeting for business operations; and management accounting methods, terms and practices. Formerly ACCT 6300.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Provides an in-depth coverage of the accounting system and basic financial statements with an emphasis on topics of interest to financial managers including revenue recognition, statement of cash flows, working capital, cash and receivables, and long-term liabilities. Prerequisites: ACCT 5323, ACCT 6300 or equivalent.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
This course is a continuation of Intermediate Financial Accounting I. Covers selected accounting items with an emphasis on the topics of interest in corporate financial reporting including investments, leases, pensions, deferred taxes, stockholders equity and earnings per share. Prerequisite: ACCT 5325 or equivalent.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Focuses on the basic theories and practices of individual income taxation. Involves hands-on experience in preparing individual tax returns and research projects. Prerequisite: ACCT 5323 or ACCT 6300.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Studies the manual and automated records, documents, procedures, and controls used in accounting systems. Course content emphasis is on the use of technology in financial accounting, decision-making, and auditing. Prerequisite: ACCT 5323 or ACCT 6300.
3 Credits
Classroom
Focuses on an audit of financial statements used for external reporting. Focuses on developing skills relevant to effective written and oral communication in applied business contexts. Applications will be drawn from corporate reporting, financial statements and audit opinions. Prerequisite: ACCT 5326.
3 Credits
Classroom
Focuses on the analysis of statements including shareholders’ equity, income, balance sheet, and cash flow. Topics include the analysis of financing and investing activities, profitability, growth, and economic value. Prerequisites: FINA 6305 or ACCT 5325.
3 Credits
Classroom
Focuses on the development and preparation of an opinion on the audit of financial statements used for external reporting. Topics will continue and further the Auditing course and include preparation of audit work papers, planning, audit risk assessment, gathering of audit evidence, evaluating audit evidence, concluding the audit and preparation of the audit opinion. Focuses on developing skills relevant to effective written and oral communication in applied business contexts. Applications will be drawn from audit cases and analysis. Prerequisite: ACCT 5375.
3 Credits
Classroom
Develops a framework for addressing ethically challenging situations in management and synthesizing the individual’s personal values with sound management practice. The course offers an integration of ethical reasoning, objectivity, independence, and other core values into the development of accounting professionals. Formerly BUAD 6390.
3 Credits
Classroom
Focuses on cost accounting and control. The course emphasizes cost-volume-profit relationships, standard costs and variance analysis, costing techniques, relevant costs, budgeting and activity-based costing. Prerequisite: ACCT 5326.
3 Credits
Classroom
Covers research methods for solving complex accounting and reporting issues including both financial accounting and tax accounting cases. Prerequisites: ACCT 5323, ACCT 5380, and ACCT 5326.
3 Credits
Classroom
Course covers traditional management science / operations research concepts, models and methods that are employed to make better, objective, verifiable, communicable, and more informed decisions for problems routinely encountered in business by decision makers. Emphasis is on application, interpretation, and use of results to make better decisions for planning and operations. Prerequisites: BUAD 5350.
3 Credits
Classroom
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the business-analytics project lifecycle. It discusses understanding the problem, identifying the appropriate data, retrieving, preparing, and exploring the data, applying a set of candidate analytics techniques, selecting the most appropriate technique, and communicating the results into actionable business recommendations. Prerequisites: BANA 6350.
3 Credits
Classroom
This course provides an introduction as well as hands-on experience in data visualization. Students will learn to analyze the context of data visualization, to identify, access and prepare data for visualization, to apply best practices in visual analytics, to design user-oriented visualizations based on essential cognitive and perceptual principles, and to create dash board and data stories that effectively communicate data insights to facilitate managerial decision making. Students will complete data visualization assignments as well as a final project featuring an interactive dashboard and datastory. Co-requisite: BANA 6350.
3 Credits
Classroom
This course addresses tools and techniques required for analyzing business data for forecasting. Topics include time series analysis and time series forecasting. Students will learn to apply these techniques to support business decision makers. Prerequisite: BANA 6H30. Co-requisite: BANA 6350.
3 Credits
Classroom
The course addresses practices related to predictive modeling (decision tree, regression, neural network, ensemble and boosting models, among others). Topics include modifying data for better analysis results, model training and testing, machine learning methods, comparing and explaining complex models, generating predictions, and communicating results to help make better business decisions. This course is open only to MS students in Business Analytics. Prerequisite: BANA 6350, BANA 6H30.
3 Credits
Classroom
This course addresses tools and techniques required for creating predictive models to support business decisions and techniques for communicating results of advanced analytics techniques. Topics include selecting and engineering predictive features, creating preliminary scorecards, performing inference techniques, determining scorecard performance, and communicating the results. Co-requisite: BANA 6350.
3 Credits
Classroom
This course addresses concepts, tool and techniques for using large datasets to address business problems. This includes understanding big data concepts, common architectures, and using industry-standard tools to store, query, transform and analyze large datasets. Techniques related to importing and working with diverse types of data across different technical environments are discussed and practiced. Prerequisites: BANA 6H15 and BANA 6H30.
3 Credits ClassroomThis course provides the four cornerstones necessary to establish the foundation for effective study of business at the masters level. Cornerstone 1: ability to research and write for graduate course work with citation that respects the intellectual property of the original author and demonstrates an evidence-based perspective on management. Cornerstone 2: knowledge of the primary questions and approaches for each of the functional areas of a business enterprise. Cornerstone 3: basic skills underlying an analytic approach to management and decision making. Cornerstone 4: understanding the business environment and its effect on policies, practices and decision making.
3 Credits
Classroom
Focuses on the analysis and presentation of quantitative information in a manner that facilitates understanding and decision-making. The course covers basic sampling, statistical analysis, reporting, and data presentation techniques. Equivalent to BUAD 6300.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
A member of the resident faculty, with permission of the Associate Dean, supervises these special research studies. Students must submit a proposal, outline, and an approved Independent Study Contract in order to register. A copy of the contract must be on file with Office of Student Records.
3 Credits
Classroom
Facilitates the development of interpersonal and team skills leaders need to function effectively. Focus is on the integrated behavioral competencies that organizations value today; self awareness, communication, collaboration, and relationship-building. Students will plan and implement new behaviors relevant to individuals who hold leadership positions, as well as those who informally assume leadership roles as they work with others to achieve business goals.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
University-directed experience in a professional employment setting appropriate to the student's professional objectives. The supervising instructor, based on the Internship Contract, monitors the internship. Approval of the Associate Dean is required prior to course registration. The Internship Contract must be on file with the Office of the Registrar.
1 Credit
Classroom
Examines the social, political, legal and regulatory environments that constitute the background in which a for-profit business firm conducts its activities in domestic and global contexts. Corporate social responsibility and the ethical dimensions of decisions that impact stakeholder groups and corporate sustainability in a competitive environment are discussed. Prerequisites: MANA 5F50.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Taken in the last semester and designed to integrate all earlier course work. Under the guidance of the professor, each student participates on a team that is assigned to work with a real organization (i.e., consulting client) on a comprehensive project. Teams are expected to develop a scope of work (or proposal), research the firm / industry, interact with the client on an appropriate basis and present their project findings / recommendations to the client in the form of a report, presentation, or debriefing near the end of the semester. Capstone approval is required to enroll. Prerequisites: ACCT 5323 or ACCT 6300, BUAD 5350, FINA 6305, OPER 6305, MANA 5F50 and MARK 5F50.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
This course provides an introduction to the study of cybersecurity and the need to maintain confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. Students will be introduced to cyber laws and governance issues, risk management, security tools, security awareness and the ongoing responsibilities associated with maintaining a secure organization.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Provides a working knowledge of fundamental data protection techniques for protecting data at rest, data in motion, and data in processing. Techniques include encryption algorithms and systems (symmetric, asymmetric, standard, digital certificates, and hashes), Steganography, data masking, and data obfuscation. Examines access controls, availability, authentication, confidentiality, data integrity, and non-repudiation as well as defenses against DDOS and other data attacks. Security by diversity and security in depth are presented as fundamental requirements. Prerequisite: TECH 5F70. Equivalent to TECH 6350.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Examines legal, privacy, and compliance environments facing organizations globally. Students build an understanding of the complexities of security, compliance and legal obligations starting with a general foundation of laws and industry standards that apply across most organizations that handle sensitive data. Examination of industry verticals expand students’ knowledge of particular federal and state regulatory and industry-based obligations. It also examines how security and compliance obligations can be used to establish the security, compliance, and risk management programs for an enterprise. Equivalent to TECH 6355.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Focuses on developing skills relative to an understanding of the business risks that exist when proper cybersecurity access controls are not effectively implemented. Students will study breach cases and have the opportunity to interface with security experts to gain an in-depth understanding of current risks, threats, and vulnerabilities organizations face. Lab simulations will be completed and each lab will be analyzed for its meaning and purpose in increasing security knowledge. Students will create a cybersecurity breach report and as a team project create an access control plan with recommendations for overcoming or minimizing cyber breach situations through the use of proper controls, the control framework, lab experiences, and other resources explored in the course. Co-requisite: CYBS 6350. Equivalent to TECH 7350.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
In-depth understanding of penetration (pen) testing and "ethical hacking", including requirements and reporting. Examination of the business impact of testing and will conduct security testing (including network and web application penetration testing) in the lab environment including: intelligence gathering, identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities, conducting post-exploitation exercises, and reporting results. Students are required to create a comprehensive report summarizing the findings including recommendations to mitigate the risks identified. Topics will include social engineering, web application testing, managing a security test, and tools of attack. Prerequisite: CYBS 7350 & CYBS 7357. Replaces TECH 7355 Information Security Risk Mitigation.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Provides a comprehensive explanation of network security basics including how hackers access networks and the use of network security tools to provide countermeasures. Strategies for meeting the challenges from expanded network boundaries are developed through active hands-on exercises in networked lab environments. Prerequisite: CYBS 5F70 and CYBS 6350.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
This course provides an in-depth analysis of the use of industry tools, technologies, and practices involved in gathering, protecting and analyzing digital evidence. The class uses industry tools to perform forensic analysis and examines how various operating systems store data on storage media such as hard disk drives and other digital media. Highlights how computers are used in crimes and how to focus on a digital investigation. Prerequisite: CYBS 6355 and 7350. Equivalent to TECH 7358 and TECH 7359.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
This course is taken in the last semester and is designed to integrate all earlier coursework. This course examines Cybersecurity at a program level by developing strategy that includes components including mission, values, organizational structure, network structure, policy, risk assessment, vulnerability management, metrics business continuity, awareness, education, culture, staffing, mobile device management, and threat analysis. Students will complete detailed strategic road maps that they will present to an executive board for approval. This course is only open to MS students in Cybersecurity. Approval is required to enroll. Prerequisites: CYBS 6350, CYBS 7350 and 7357.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
This course is designed to help managers make informed decisions with the aid of economic analysis. It applies micro concepts of supply, demand and cost, and methods of industry analysis, that assist the manager in making quantitative decisions. Macro concepts involving the banking system, monetary policy, and tax policy are addressed as they relate to inflation, unemployment and business fluctuations to allow managers to have a better understanding of the environment in which a firm, its competitors and customers operate.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Course focuses on risk-return analyses that managers use to maximize firm value. Topics include time value of money (review), valuation of financial instruments, capital budgeting, cost of capital and capital structure, working capital management, and dividend policy.
Prerequisites: ACCT 5323 or ACCT 6300, BUAD 6300, and ECON 5F70.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Builds on Managerial Finance and presents additional concepts and models for financial decision making. Topics covered include capital budgeting, lease financing, working capital management, mergers and acquisitions, risk management, capital structure theory, dividend policy, and multinational financial management. Prerequisite: FINA 6305.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Policies and practices required to manage foreign exchange risk, finance international trade, and meet working capital and investment needs of multinational companies. Prerequisite: FINA 6305.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
A thorough overview of investments, providing students with knowledge of basic types of securities (bond, stock, foreign exchanges and derivatives) and how the markets for these securities operate. The principles of finance, including arbitrage, market efficiency, asset pricing models and portfolio theory. Specific topics include risk-return and mean-variance efficient frontiers, diversification and pricing of risk, security, pricing, etc. Students apply skills in modern investment pricing techniques, including the pricing of fixed-income securities, equities, foreign exchange and derivatives. Principles of portfolio selection and management and risk control will also be covered in relevant topics. Finally, the course looks at how banks and other financial institutions make money by bringing issuers and investors together. Prerequisites: ACCT 5325 & FINA 6305.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Theoretical and applied understanding of key methods and tools used in valuing companies in order to evaluate mergers and acquisitions, new projects or make strategic decisions. Analysis of the factors that drive corporate value will be emphasized. Builds upon the concepts covered in FINA 6305 Managerial Finance and FINA 7310 Intermediate Managerial Finance. Prerequisite: FINA 7310.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Development of an understanding of financial derivative instruments (forwards, futures, options and swaps) and their applications to investment strategy and risk management. Throughout the course, we cover material in the contracts, hedging, arbitrage, pricing and risk management of financial derivative instruments. Derivatives pricing models such as Binomial Tree Model and BSM Model are discussed in detail. Students learn how to apply futures strategies for long and short hedge and how to apply option strategies such as covered calls, spreads and butterflies and options Greeks for financial engineering and risk management purpose. Students will also use options and futures contracts for tactical portfolio strategies purpose. Relevant topics such as securitization and real options are covered. Prerequisite: FINA 7322.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
This course serves as the final class of the M.S. Finance program. The objective of the course is to apply all of the theoretical finance knowledge students have learned in other MS Finance courses. By studying the empirical evidence relevant for portfolio management, we will cover investment strategies and risk management of equity portfolios, such as estimation of capital market parameters, trade-off between risk and return, equilibrium asset pricing models, portfolio construction, optimal portfolio selection and random walk as applied to portfolio management, etc. Prerequisite: FINA 7310 and FINA 7322. Approval required – final term.
3 Credits
Classroom
Designed to provide a basic exploration of organizations in their environments and provide an introduction to the management process. The foundational tools of planning, organizing, directing and controlling are examined with an emphasis on the strategic management process.
1.5 Credits
Classroom/Online
An employee-centered analysis of organizational value creation through the leadership of human resources. The intersection of organizational theory, behavior, development and change serves as the context in which students are challenged to develop knowledge, skills and ability necessary to plan,evaluate, implement and improve human resource initiatives. Emphasis is placed on critically evaluating multi-dimensional value creation perspectives. Prerequisite: MANA 5F50. Equivalent to MANA 6305.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Overview of the technological, economic, political/legal, cultural and financial dimensions of the global business environment with special focus on international trade and foreign direct investment. An experiential simulation is used to develop students’ skills in coordinating the strategy and operations of a multi-national enterprise in a high velocity, global environment. Prerequisites: ACCT 5323 or ACCT 6300, BUAD 6300, FINA 6305, OPER 6305, MANA 5F50 and MARK 5F50.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Surveys the marketing activities and decisions of both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations involved in providing need-satisfying products and services to consumers in domestic and global markets. The overall goal of the course is to provide students with a working knowledge of the fundamental marketing concepts.
1.5 Credits
Classroom/Online
Connects marketing decisions with their financial implications. It expands marketing's traditional customer-centric focus with an emphasis on marketing's value to the organization. Study and application of ROI concepts and practices for delivering higher levels of marketing productivity and profitability. Prerequisite: MARK 5F50.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Focuses on the operations function, which creates an organization's products and/or services. The focal point of operations is the efficient acquisition, management, and transformation of resources into products and services. Operations strategy, operations' impact on profitability, and important strategic and tactical decisions that affect operations are studied. Prerequisite: BUAD 6300.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
This course examines the global issues facing IT and Cybersecurity organizations today by providing an understanding of IT infrastructure, services, and technologies for competitiveness, efficiency, and effectiveness. Students investigate security threats faced by enterprises through the tenets of cybersecurity of confidentiality, integrity, availability, and governance.
3 Credits
Classroom
Introduces the student to programming. Upon completion of this class, the student will be able to write non-trivial programs dealing with business. Topics include language components, control flow constructs, strings, input/output, database handling, classes, modules, and regular expressions. The course includes hands-on labs requiring students to bring a PC to class. Prerequisite: TECH 5F70.
3 CreditsClassroom/Online
A comprehensive overview of project management. It takes a socio-technical perspective on the management of projects. The content deals with planning, scheduling, organizing and implementing projects in business settings. Emphasis is on the project management process and tools. Basic concepts and tools of project management, such as work breakdown structure, scheduling, earned value analysis and risk management are introduced. Prerequisite: TECH 5F70. Formerly OPER 6370.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
Understanding business processes and their active, continuous management is fundamental to recommending IT and other managerial change solutions. Process mapping skills for 'as-is' and 'to-be' business processes are developed and practiced. In addition, techniques for change analysis, problem finding and resolution, technology impact analysis, benchmarking, error proofing, and change management are developed. Prerequisite TECH 5F70.
3 Credits
Classroom/Online
An enterprise architecture supports enterprise-wide information technology resource design and provides a blueprint for hardware, software, network, and data to best service business needs. This course examines the theory, principles, best practices, and common frameworks applied to development of an EA and builds on them to discuss how to develop an EA for an organization. EA scalability, standardization, measurement, and assessment are for different size organizations. Needs analysis provides the basis for determining the most effective type of EA.
3 Credits
Classroom
Encompasses both the internal and external domains that must be mastered and managed by today's CIO. Major activities reviewed include development of IT strategy that aligns with the organization's strategy and defining a portfolio management approach to applications and their sourcing, dealing with increasing regulatory and compliance issues and the management of processes within IT, guided by standards (e.g., ISO 20000) and frameworks (e.g., CMMI, COBIT, 6-Sigma, etc.), while juggling change management in the global environment. Corequisite: TECH 6370.
3 Credits
Classroom
Andrew Ellison, current director of the St. Ambrose Center for Catholic Liberal Education and Culture, will move to a new role on March 1.
+ Read MoreStudents of local Catholic schools are eligible for automatic admission through the Crusader Promise.
+ Read MoreNancy Cain Marcus, MA ’00 PhD ’03, previously served as United States Ambassador and Public Delegate to the United Nations.
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