ClassInfo

CSC 451 Database Design for Information Systems (Formerly CSC 451)

Eric Schwabe

Office: CDM 739
Fall 2013-2014
Class number: 10980
Section number: 710
-
Online Campus

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Summary

This course serves as a general introduction to database systems for database designers; we will discuss the full database system life cycle but will focus on data modeling and database design. Specific topics to be covered include:

Introduction to Database Systems
The Entity-Relationship Model
Entity-Relationship Mapping
The Relational Model
Functional Dependencies and Normalization
SQL for Database Implementation

We will cover most chapters of Bagui and Earp's book; additional topics will be covered in lecture notes or can be found in Elmasri and Navathe's book (which I highly recommend).



Texts

Required Text: Database Design using Entity-Relationship Diagrams (Second Edition), by Sikha Bagui and Richard Earp, ISBN 1493861765 or 978-1439861769.
Recommended Text: Fundamentals of Database Systems, by Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe, ISBN 0136086209 or 978-0136086208. (This ISBN is for the sixth edition, but a used copy of an older edition should suffice.)


Grading

There will be homework assignments given most weeks; assignments (with associated readings) will be posted on the course web site and will be due one week after the day they are posted, unless otherwise noted. Details of the submission process will be discussed in class; it is your responsibility to verify that your submitted files are readable and submitted in the correct locations. Grades and comments will be returned through the course web site. No late assignments will be accepted, but your lowest homework score will be dropped in the computation of your course grade.

The homework assignments will be worth a total of 40% of the course grade. There will be a midterm exam given on Tuesday, October 22nd that will be worth 30% of the course grade. There will be a comprehensive final exam given on Tuesday, November 26th that will be worth 30% of the course grade. (I will contact Online Learning students by email after the first lecture regarding exam scheduling and procedures.) If you do not take both the midterm and final exams, you will automatically receive a grade of F for the course. Furthermore, everyone must take the midterm and final exams at the scheduled times; as a rule, no make-up exams will be given. If you wish to petition for a make-up exam in an emergency situation, you must contact me in advance and provide written documentation of the emergency.


Prerequisites

None.


Other

Regarding Email Communication:

Please begin the subject line of any email to me with "CSC 451", so that I can easily identify your messages. I will reply to email messages within one business day after the day I receive them; therefore questions that are only received by me on an assignment's due date are not guaranteed replies before the assignment is due. Please plan accordingly and begin the assignments early enough to ask questions and receive answers. If you are having problems, send me a detailed description of the problems you are having; I will try to guide you in locating and solving your problems yourself, rather than simply solve your problems for you. Please do not use the comment field of the assignment submission system to send me questions.

Policy on Electronic Devices in the Classroom:

In order to not distract your fellow students, please turn off and put away all electronic devices not used for course work during class. Laptops, tablets, et cetera., that are used exclusively for note-taking or other course-related activities are of course allowed; however, please refrain from emailing, instant messaging, game playing, web browsing, and other activities not related to course work during class.

Regarding Academic Integrity:

You are expected to be familiar with and to adhere to DePaul's Academic Integrity Policy, which is available on-line at http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/AcademicIntegrityPolicy.pdf. Violations of the Academic Integrity Policy will be dealt with decisively; penalties may range up to an automatic F in the course and possible expulsion.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to: Turning in another person's work as your own (including hiring someone else to complete an assignment for you); Starting with another person's work and modifying it to turn in as your own; Cutting and pasting, or otherwise copying, sections of another person's work into your assignment; Allowing another person (such as a tutor) to write any part of your assignment; and so on. (Obviously, any examples that I post qualify as "another person's work".) Supplying such assistance to another student or working closely enough with another student that identical solutions are reached and submitted are also considered violations of the policy. In general, you may feel free to discuss the assignments with other students at a general level. However, when it comes to actually completing your assignment, you must work independently. Your assignments must be entirely your own individual work. If you have any questions or doubts about what plagiarism entails, you should consult me.


School policies:

Changes to Syllabus

This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.

Online Course Evaluations

Evaluations are a way for students to provide valuable feedback regarding their instructor and the course. Detailed feedback will enable the instructor to continuously tailor teaching methods and course content to meet the learning goals of the course and the academic needs of the students. They are a requirement of the course and are key to continue to provide you with the highest quality of teaching. The evaluations are anonymous; the instructor and administration do not track who entered what responses. A program is used to check if the student completed the evaluations, but the evaluation is completely separate from the student’s identity. Since 100% participation is our goal, students are sent periodic reminders over three weeks. Students do not receive reminders once they complete the evaluation. Students complete the evaluation online in CampusConnect.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

This course will be subject to the university's academic integrity policy. More information can be found at http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/ If you have any questions be sure to consult with your professor.

All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.

Academic Policies

All students are required to manage their class schedules each term in accordance with the deadlines for enrolling and withdrawing as indicated in the University Academic Calendar. Information on enrollment, withdrawal, grading and incompletes can be found at http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/PoliciesandProcedures.aspx.

Students with Disabilities

Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain confidential.
To ensure that you receive the most appropriate accommodation based on your needs, contact the instructor as early as possible in the quarter (preferably within the first week of class), and make sure that you have contacted the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at:
Lewis Center 1420, 25 East Jackson Blvd.
Phone number: (312)362-8002
Fax: (312)362-6544
TTY: (773)325.7296