Curriculum Committee ("CC") Minutes for 3 April 1996

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Attending:  Arora, Fleming, Fujimura, Mamrak, Ogden, Page, Singhal,
            Weide, Yeack
	    
* Discussion of proposed new course on Distributed Systems Security

  CC voted to recommend to the faculty that Tom and Mukesh should pilot
  (as a 694 in Wi or Sp 1997) a proposed new course on security.
  This recommendation will be presented to the faculty within a month.
  
  CC discussed several issues:
    - Why no lab component?  Tom and Mukesh explicitly chose not to have
      a lab component to the course, since it is a course on fundamentals
      of security and not a practicum.  There isn't enough room in the
      syllabus to add a significant lab.
    - How well-developed is the material?  The principles that will be
      taught have been around for about 20 years, but are just now becoming
      practically very important as commercial use of networks has taken
      off.  The course will emphasize understanding of security problems
      in distributed systems and the "bag of tools" available for attacking
      (if not definitively solving) them.
    - Should it be a 788?  This is intended to be an upper division undergrad
      and beginning grad course, much like the OOP and OOAD courses being
      piloted this year as 694s.  It is not a "research preparation"
      kind of a course, but an introductory course on security fundamentals.
    - What evaluation will be done for the pilot?  The objectives will be
      written so that exams can be used to see how well the objectives
      were met during the pilot.  In addition, the usual SETs and instructor
      impressions will be used.
    - Prerequisites?  CIS 660 is listed, but probably CIS 625 should be
      added.
      
  Tom and Mukesh will work with Bruce to prepare a formal course syllabus
  in the current style, and the 694 paperwork, for presentation to the
  faculty.
  
  
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Next meeting: 17 April 1996, 3:30 PM, in DL 298.


Respectfully submitted,

	Bruce W. Weide, CC Chair