MIS 325 – Database Management, Spring 2025

Instructor
Zena Drakou, zena@mccombs.utexas.edu
Zoom Office Hours: By appointment (email me to set up a time on Zoom)
Meeting ID: https://utexas.zoom.us/j/5977197479
Class Meets:
Section 04300,04675: TTH 11:00 – 12:30 PM at UTC 1.116
Section 04305,04680: TTH 12:30 – 2:00 PM at UTC 1.102

Teaching
email Zoom Office hours Meeting ID
Assistants
Thursdays 05:00-
Weitao Shi weitao.shi@utexas.edu https://utexas.zoom.us/j/99173527930
06:00pm and by appt

Course Description
Look around yourself right now and try to find something that hasn’t had data associated with it at some
point in its existence. Your computer, your enrollment in this course, and even your human existence
have all generated digital data. Databases are used to electronically store and organize large data sets.
Behind every e-commerce website, for example, online trading brokerages, Amazon.com, online
auctions, etc., databases play a significant role in managing the data that supports the business model.
Besides, many companies implement their entire workflow (i.e., how tasks are executed and routed using
business rules) between or within organizations using databases and stored procedures (or triggers).
Therefore, the knowledge of how databases are designed/implemented is fundamental to information
management or systems professionals.

Students who take this course can expect the following learning outcomes and gained skills:
 Understand the basic concepts and structure of a relational database
 How to design and model a database for any scenario that is efficient, fast, and secure
 How to use SQL query, analyze, and manipulate data with a database

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  Understand the evolution and use of database technologies beyond SQL such as PL/SQL (i.e.Oracle's
procedural language extension of SQL), data warehousing, NoSQL, and evolutionary direction of database
technology.
Course Materials
 Lecture notes, any recorded lectures, additional videos or readings, homework assignments, and homework
solutions will be posted on Canvas.
 Recommended textbook: Murach’s Oracle SQL and PL/SQL for Developers (2 nd Edition)
Author: Joel Murach/Publisher: Mike Murach & Associates/ISBN-13: 978-1890774806

Required Software:
No software needs to be purchased for this class. All software is free online.
• Database/Programming software:
1. SQL Developer - You will need to download the Oracle client application (SQL
Developer) to your own computer. Windows, Mac, & Linux versions of the client app
are available for free online. Details about the Oracle client download/install process
will be provided when we get to that portion of the semester. The Swat Shop (GSB
3.132) can help if you experience any problems installing the Oracle client.
2. Other software: Later in the semester students will need to install MySQL Connector
and XAMPP in order to complete the Web Application Development lab. Also,
students will be using Tableau Student edition to complete an Analytics lab. Details
on how to install this will be posted after Exam 2.
• Modeling software: You’ll also need to use modeling software. We recommend
draw.io. It is very easy to learn and there is a 5-minute demo posted on Canvas. You can
also
use Lucidchart or Microsoft Visio. NOTE: Lucidchart works for either Mac or PC and is a SaaS
product requiring no download/install. Visio is fine if you already have it or prefer it. Visio is
downloadable for free through the McCombs Software wiki.

Communication
 Email: All course-related emails must have ``[MIS 325]” in their subject line. This rule ensures no
emails are lost and you receive a response as soon as possible.
 Office hours: Please utilize office hours. Prior experience has shown that students who take
advantage of office hours benefit greatly.

Grades
Letter grades for the course will be based on relative (not absolute) performance, and will be in line with
other similar McCombs courses.

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The grade calculation is automated; we take all the grades from homework, exams and projects and
compute the weighted average using the following weights:
Quizzes 12%
Homework 25%
Participation 3%
Exam I 20%
Exam II 20%
Exam III 20%
Then, we compute the cutoffs for the various letter grades based on McCombs guidelines: 35% of
students receive A’s (A and A-), 50% receive B’s (B+, B, and B-), and 15% receive C’s (C+, C, and C-).
A few notes on each of the graded components:
 Quizzes and Homeworks [12%+25%]:
 Quizzes: Small quizzes may be held online before class or during class time. Quizzes, should be done
individually. Flexibility is built into the class to allow for unexpected absences by dropping the lowest quiz
grade, so your grade will not be impacted significantly if you don’t do well on a quiz or miss a quiz for any
reason. Remember throughout the semester that quizzes are not worth a large percentage of your grade
and are intended to be a low-cost check on whether you will be prepared for the next exam.
 Homework: The majority of homework assignments will be individual assignments. In the exception of a
group HW assignment students will form groups either on their own or will randomly be assigned to a
group. Each group should email its composition to the teaching assistant (see email address above) as
soon as it is formed. Each group will be then given a group ID by the TA (e.g., 0417-01). In a group HW
assignment a single grade will be assigned to each group and so only one submission is required per group
per assignment.
 Homework due dates: Assignments will become available as we complete each topic, and students will
have at least a week to complete them for full credit. The deadline for submission will be available on
Canvas. There will be a 20% penalty for each day of late submission.

 Exams[20%+20%+20%]:
 Nature: All exams will be taken during class time or at home. Exam Dates are listed below on the course
schedule. If the exam date needs to change (shift a few days later and never earlier) based on the class
progress it will be announced a week in advance. Questions on the exam may be multiple-choice,
true/false with justification, short answer formats, and coding. All Exams are “open book.” This means you
will have access to reference books, all material posted on Canvas, and your notes. You will also have
access to the Internet. However, please don’t let this lull you into a sense of complacency—you can end
up spending a lot of time looking for material, and this will take time away from doing the exam.
 Missing an Exam: If you miss an exam because of an emergency, you must first clear your absence through
Student Emergency Services (SES) http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/emergency/. After you go through
SES, whether or not you will be offered a make-up exam is entirely at the discretion of the instructor. The
default is that a missed exam receives a grade of zero.

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Attendance
 Class attendance is not part of the grade. The point of this policy is not to penalize you if you have a good
reason to miss a class. However, students are expected to know everything covered or assigned in class. If
you miss a class, make sure you get notes and discuss the material with your classmates. Past experience
has shown that students who do not miss class perform better on average. Moreover, if you choose to
attend a lecture, you are expected to be respectful of the instructor and their classmates and to not
disturb the class. Please do not use devices to work on other courses, surf the web, answer email, play
games, or stray from the topic on hand. By doing so, you do yourself and your distracted peers a
disservice. Students who do not adhere to this policy will be asked to leave the classroom.
Tentative Course Schedule
The following is a tentative schedule of lectures and deliverables for the semester. This is subject to
change slightly depending on the progress in the class. When there are major changes (e.g., a change in
an exam date), you will be notified; a current schedule will always be available on the Canvas course
website. In the first lecture we will also go over the syllabus. Depending on the class progress we might
touch on some bonus material as Web Scraping or Working with images or having some industry guest
speakers.

Day Class Week Topic

Tu 01/14 Course Overview/ Data-Business-Operations-Strategy motivation
01
Th 01/16 Client/server architecture & relational DB models
Tu 01/21 Conceptual Design: Entity-Relationship Modeling
02
Th 01/23 Logical Design: Detailed Models
Tu 01/28 Logical Design: Normalization
03
Th 01/30 Physical Design: DDL Create Tables
Tu 02/04 Database Implementation: DDL cont'd & DDL script
04
Th 02/06 Advanced Design: Indexes & Sequences
Tu 02/11 Exam I
05
Th 02/13 SQL Essentials: DML (Insert, Update, Delete)
Tu 02/18 SQL Essentials: Retrieve from single table (SELECT)
06
Th 02/20 SQL Essentials: Retrieve from single table (WHERE, ORDER)
Tu 02/25 SQL Essentials: Retrieve data from multiple tables (FROM, JOIN)
07
Th 02/27 Advanced SQL: How to Code Summary Queries (Aggregate functions)
Tu 03/04 Advanced SQL: How to Code Subqueries
08
Th 03/06 Advanced SQL: Working with data types and functions
Tu 03/11 PL/SQL Essentials – How to Write PL/SQL
09
Th 03/13 PL/SQL Essentials – Stored Procedures / Functions
Tu 03/18 10 Spring Break – no classes

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 Day Class Week Topic
Th 03/20 Spring Break – no classes
Tu 03/25 Security - Views, Database Security Models and Design, and DCL
11
Th 03/27 Exam II
Tu 04/01 Issues with Relational Databases (Beyond SQL), Data Warehouse design
12
Th 04/03 OLAP, Data Analytics
Tu 04/08 Active Databases (Triggers), GraphDBs, Object-orientated DBs
13
Th 04/10 NoSQL, Distributed DBs, MongoDB Demo or different topic TBA
Tu 04/15 Tableau Demo
14
Th 04/17 Spark Demo
Tu 04/22 Review
15
Th 04/24 Final Exam

Policy on Scholastic Dishonesty

The responsibilities of both students and faculty with regard to scholastic dishonesty are described in McCombs’ policy statement on
scholastic dishonesty which can be found at: http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/BBA/Code-of-Ethics.aspx. By teaching this course, I have
agreed to the faculty responsibilities described in that statement. And by enrolling in this class, you have agreed to the student
responsibilities described in that statement. Please make sure you understand the statement and how it applies to this class. Students who
violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including failing the course and/or being dismissed
from the University. Since dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty
will be strictly enforced. You should refer to the Student Judicial Services website at http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/ or the General
Information Catalog to access the official University policies and procedures on scholastic dishonesty as well as further elaboration on what
constitutes scholastic dishonesty.

Diversity and Inclusion

It is my intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives will be well served by this course, that students’ learning needs
will be addressed and that the diversity that students bring to this class can be comfortably expressed and be viewed as a resource,
strength, and benefit. Please let me know right away if this ever is not the case.

Course Websites & Student Privacy

Password-protected class sites will be available for all accredited courses taught at The University of Texas. Syllabi, handouts, assignments
and other resources are types of information that may be available within these sites. Site activities could include exchanging emails,
engaging in class discussions and chats, and exchanging files. In addition, class e-mail rosters will be a component of the sites. Students who
do not want their names included in these electronic class rosters must restrict their directory information in the Office of the Registrar,
Main Building, Room 1. For more see: http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/catalogs/gi02-03/app/appc09.html.

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Class Recordings

Class recordings are reserved only for students in this class for educational purposes and are protected under FERPA. The recordings should
not be shared outside the class in any form. Violation of this restriction by a student could lead to Student Misconduct proceedings.

Students with Disabilities

The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For
more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY. Students with disabilities should inform the
faculty about the Office of the Dean of Students’ recommended accommodations no later than the second week of the semester. Students
with disabilities may also request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement,
Services for Students with Disabilities, 512-471-6259, http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/.

Religious Holy Days

UT Austin policy mandates you must notify the instructor of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of
a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, you
will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence.

Campus Safety
Please note the following recommendations regarding emergency evacuation, provided by the Office of Campus Safety and Security, 512-
471-5767, http://www.utexas.edu/safety:
 Occupants of buildings on The University of Texas at Austin campus are required to evacuate buildings when a fire alarm is activated.
Alarm activation or announcement requires exiting and assembling outside.
 Familiarize yourself with all exit doors of each classroom and building you may occupy. Remember that the nearest exit door may not
be the one you used when entering the building.
 Students requiring assistance in evacuation should inform the instructor in writing during the first week of class.
 In the event of an evacuation, follow the instruction of faculty or class instructors.
 Do not re-enter a building unless given instructions by the following: Austin Fire Department, The University of Texas at Austin Police
Department, or Fire Prevention Services office.
 Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL): 512-232-5050
 Further information regarding emergency evacuation routes and emergency procedures can be found at:
http://www.utexas.edu/emergency.