Students in Assistant Professor Mark Lewis’ MIS 419 class, Applications of Information Systems, soon may have a hand in helping future homeowners.

Thanks to a collaborative project with the UM Small Business and Development Center, two senior business students are developing a graphic user interface that could be used next year to help eliminate a multitude of steps in the home loan application process. Their work supplements an original project first developed by Mike Vanderlip, SBDC director.

The student authors of the project are seniors Diana Loggins and Le Che’ Nick .Through a website, the graphic interface will allow prospective homeowners to fill out necessary information and receive feedback. Ultimately, clients will have to meet face-to-face with loan officers only to fine-tune information or iron out any details.

Vanderlip, who also is a certified public accountant, developed a large spreadsheet from which to screen home loan applicants and generate information about small business loans. Responses to numerous questions are entered into a database. Once that information is gathered, MIS 419 students download the information onto a spreadsheet. "The project saves Vanderlip from having to interview hundreds of people with the same repetitive questions," Lewis said. At press time, Vanderlip was out of town and unavailable for comment.

“[Vanderlip] believes the project is pretty important and that there’s a commercially sellable application created from this,” Lewis said. “This is a common example of using information systems. We’re taking something used elsewhere, but putting a twist on it. We’re also modifying spreadsheets and adding a graphic user interface."
 

copyright The University of Mississippi, 2004