TECHNICAL PANEL
Nebraska Information Technology Commission
Wednesday, July 9, 2003, 9:00 a.m.
Varner Hall, 3835 Holdrege, Lincoln, Nebraska
APPROVED MINUTES
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mike Beach, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications
Steve Henderson (alt. for Brenda Decker, Department of Administrative Services, State of Nebraska)
Christy Horn, University of Nebraska
Kirk Langer, Lincoln Public Schools, K-12 Representative
Steve Schafer, Chief Information Officer, State of Nebraska
Walter Weir, Chief Information Office, University of Nebraska
CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND MEETING NOTICE
Mr. Weir called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. There were five members present at the time of roll call. A quorum existed to conduct official business. The meeting notice was posted to the NITC Website and Nebraska Public Meeting calendar on June 16, 2003. The agenda was posted to the NITC Website on June 30, 2003.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mr. Schafer moved to approve the June 5, 2003 minutes as present. Mr. Henderson seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Beach-Yes, Henderson-Yes, Schafer-Yes, and Weir-Yes. (Ms. Horn left the room prior to the vote.) Motion was carried by majority vote.
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
Mr. Langer arrived at 9:12 a.m.
Groupware Architecture – Use of Computer-based Fax Services by State Government
Ms. Decker commented that, statutorily, state agencies must go through the Division of Communications for fax purchases. A comment as such should be included. For the next NITC meeting, it was suggested to provide the marketing plan to inform state agencies. It was also recommended to include an Applicability Statement as to how other non-state agencies could use this.
Mr. Schafer moved to adopt the Standards and Guidelines for Use of Computer-based Fax Services by State Government (PDF 109k) with the additional information describing applicability for recommendation to the NITC for final approval. Mr. Beach seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Weir-Yes, Schafer-Yes, Langer-Yes, Horn-Yes, Henderson-Yes, and Beach-Yes. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.
Hardware Architecture – Minimum Workstation Configuration Guidelines and Minimum Configuration Guidelines and for K-12 Education (PDF 111k)
Mr. Langer had concerns with Section C. for K-12 regarding the upgrade of existing older systems. Due to funding, the reality is that schools may not be able to upgrade. So far, any problems with Blackboard or WebCT software programs are hardware related. Discussions followed regarding the utilization of Linux. Mr. Weir will invite one of UNL’s Linux experts to a future meeting.
More discussion followed as to the ratio of computers and technical support. It was recommended to include a couple of paragraphs in Section C regarding this issue to raise awareness. This was a recommendation for both documents – state government and K-12. The guidelines will be further developed and brought forth at the September meeting.
REGULAR INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND WORK GROUP UPDATES
Accessibility Architecture Work Group, Christy Horn. There will be a series of meetings on how to make Web sites more accessible. There is a new assessment tool that will evaluate Web sites for accessibility. Mr. Weir suggested that the Work Group collaborate with the Education Council’s Distance Learning Initiative.
CAP, Steve Schafer. Ms. Decker was unavailable to report. The first meeting of the policy work group is scheduled for August 1st. Invitations have been sent. If there were other individuals that should be invited, members were asked to inform Mr. Schafer. Agenda items for the first meeting include discussion of the Customer Services Manual and an update on Phase II. Mr. Weir has staff working on the business plan. A press conference is scheduled for Tuesday, July 15th in Kearney regarding Phase I. The Scottsbluff project is operational.
Security Architecture Work Group, Steve Schafer. The work group met yesterday and discussed the possible creation of a volunteer CERT team for state government. Law enforcement would also like to be informed when security has been violated so that they can conduct an investigation. The CERT team would be skilled at how to document evidence and will assist agencies on the process. A committee was formed to explore this and come back to the group with a recommendation. Drafts for wireless and remote access guidelines were reviewed. Included in the draft is a strict requirement to register their efforts with DOC and IMS. An update on the security assessment was provided to the work group. There is interest in security efforts for state government. The University of Nebraska is going through a security assessment evaluation and team will make recommendations. Mr. Schafer requested to be present when the University team meets to discuss recommendations.
Statewide Synchronous Video Network Work Group, Mike Beach. The work group has held two meetings. The next meeting will be held in August. The work group has formed working task groups. Each task group was to submit a written report and recommendation. The documents will be posted on NITC Web site. The documents are drafts and will be brought to the Technical Panel for review. The Public Service Commission has become a useful and important resource.
Wireless Project. There was no report.
NIS. Mr. Conroy will be invited to provide an update.
OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Weir announced that Mr. Golden met with the University of Nebraska Medical Center about the statewide network. The state has received $15 million for homeland security.
NEXT MEETING DATE AND ADJOURNMENT
The next meeting of the NITC Technical Panel will be on Wednesday, August 13th at 9:00 a.m.
With no further business, Mr. Weir adjourned the meeting at 10:48 a.m.
Meeting minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by Rick Becker of the Office of the CIO/NITC.
Meeting Minutes