Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative
Contents
Page
2
Overview
Seminars, Meetings and Grant
Opportunities
Java Fundamentals Seminar
3
Regional Cooperation Workshops
3
Grant Summary
4
Management Team
5
Request for Proposals
IT Across the Curriculum
7
Regional Cooperation
10
Curriculum Enhancement for
Technical Disciplines
12
1
Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative
Overview
Information Technology has fundamentally changed the way we live and work, and it will
continue to transform commerce and society in ways that we cannot yet imagine. How is public
higher education in Massachusetts addressing these important changes? How can public higher
education prepare more of its graduates to be “fluent” in the language of information
technology and to participate productively in the national and global economy? How should
public higher education ensure that it offers relevant and coherent Information Technology
programs of the highest quality?
The Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative (CITI) seeks to address these crucial
questions. Under the leadership of the University of Massachusetts, faculty from community
colleges, state colleges and the university campuses will work collaboratively to strengthen,
modernize, and expand computer science and information technology programs in public higher
education. The Board of Higher Education has demonstrated proactive leadership by providing
$1.6 million Campus Performance Improvement grant for CITI activities in 2000/2001 and a
commitment to future funding.
Programs
CITI will focus on four key programs:
1. Information Technology Across the Curriculum. CITI supports the development of
new courses and programs in information technology that are targeted primarily at
majors/concentrators outside of computer science, computer engineering, and
management information systems. The new Information Technology Curriculum focuses
on creating a foundation in core technology areas and applying these technologies to
other fields of study. $740,000 for curriculum development grants and workshops.
2. Regional Cooperation. CITI will foster regional cooperation across public higher
education by establishing five regional alliances. Regional cooperation will create
improved articulation agreements, encourage sharing of courses and faculty in order to
provide subject coverage within an area, build faculty networks, and provide for direct
interaction between academia and industry. $340,000 for grants, regional workshops,
faculty exchanges grants, distance learning grants, and other collaborative activities.
3. Curriculum Enhancement for Technical Disciplines. CITI will also work to
strengthen existing curriculum in computer science, computer engineering, and
management information systems. Workshops will be offered that address accreditation
issues, curriculum guidelines from professional societies, and industry needs. $150,000
for seminars and curriculum revision grants.
4. Faculty Development for Technical Disciplines. CITI will help faculty members in
computer science, computer engineering, and management information systems
enhance their skills by holding workshops that emphasize recent advances and trends in
targeted areas. $160,000 for seminars and workshops.
2
Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative
Seminars, Workshops, and Grant Opportunities
Java Fundamentals Seminar
January 8 – 12, 2001, I495 Professional Development Center
In this seminar participants will develop an in-depth understanding of an object-oriented
programming language; discuss effective ways of teaching Java; learn and practice all basic
features of Java; and obtain the skills required to write effective programs in Java.
Taught by faculty and instructors from UMASS, State and Community Colleges, seminar labs
and lectures will cover: object paradigm, elements of inheritance, polymorphism, Abstract
Windowing Toolkit, event model, swing components, applets, exceptions, programming with
multiple threads, synchronization of threads, networking in Java, security issues, Java Beans.
This hands-on seminar is limited to 30 faculty participants from UMASS, State Colleges and
Community Colleges. Participants will receive a $2,000 stipend to attend the seminar. Apply
to participate in the seminar by emailing Robert Ross rross@capecod.mass.edu by
December 22, 2000 and describing the benefit of the seminar to the applicant and his/her
department. Acceptances will be emailed on December 27, 2000.
Questions about this seminar should be addressed to Faculty Development Steering
Committee: Robert Ross, rross@capecod.mass.edu; Peter Georgelas,
PGEORGELAS@BRIDGEW.EDU; Bolek Mikolajczak, bmikolajczak@umassd.edu.
Regional Cooperation Workshops
December 11 – 13, 2000, five locations across the state
Regional Cooperation Workshops are intended to foster collaboration among faculty on all
campuses to maximize the effectiveness and quality of existing Information Technology
programs. Regional cooperation will create improved articulation agreements, encourage
sharing of courses and faculty in order to provide subject coverage within an area, build faculty
networks, and provide for direct interaction between academia and industry. Faculty interested
in applying for grants in this programming area (see next page) should plan to attend a
workshop.
Regional Cooperation Workshop Schedule:
 Northeast Meeting: December 11, Northern Essex Community College, 10am – 1pm,
Student Center F 122.
 Southeast Meeting: December 12, Bridgewater State College, 11am - 2pm, Moakly Center,
Room TV2
 Western Meeting: December 12, UMass/ Amherst, 11am – 12:30pm, Gunness Student
Center Conference Room
 Central Meeting: December 13, Mt. Wachusett Community College, 12pm – 1:30pm, Main
Administration Building, Room 113
 Boston Meeting: December 13, UMass, Boston, 2:30 - 4:00pm, Library LL Conference
Room (next to the Media Auditorium in the basement)
RSVP for the workshops by contacting the Regional Cooperation Committee: Jim Canning,
canning@cs.uml.edu;Thomas Fallon, tfallon@necc.mass.edu;Chris Mauriello,
cmauriel@salemstate.edu.
3
Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative
Grant Summary
Grant Description
Eligible
Faculty
Amount
Deadline
RFP
IT Across the Curriculum –
Community and State Colleges
$300k to develop new IT curriculum
for state and community for non
technical majors/concentrators.
State Colleges,
Community
Colleges
Maximum
Grant:
$30,000
2/20/01
Page 7
IT Across the Curriculum –
UMass Amherst
$408k to develop IT courses for a
new IT minor at UMass-Amherst for
non-technical majors.
UMass Amherst
IT Across the Curriculum Planning Grants
$75k to plan and hold workshops on
UMass campuses and at Community
Colleges on IT curriculum for nontechnical majors.
UMass-Boston,
Lowell,
Dartmouth;
Community
Colleges
(system wide)
Regional Cooperation
$340k for faculty exchanges,
distance learning technology and
other ways of promoting
collaboration among commonwealth
institutions to expand IT curriculum
Faculty in all
disciplines
teaching ITrelated courses
at all schools.
Maximum
Grant:
$20,000
2/20/01
Page 10
Curriculum Enhancement for
Technical Disciplines
$140k to revise and update
curriculum in engineering, computer
science, and management
information science.
Computer
Engineering,
Computer
Science and
MIS faculty at
all Institutions.
Maximum
Grant:
$20,000
Typical
Range:
$5k - $15k
2/20/01
Page 12
Faculty Development for
Technical Disciplines
$100k for faculty stipends to attend
seminars. Java Fundamentals
Seminar will be held on Jan 8, 2001
– Jan 12, 2001.
Computer
Engineering,
Computer
Science and
MIS faculty at
all Institutions.
$2,000
grant
(stipend)
to attend
seminar
per faculty
member
12/22/00
for Java
Seminar
Page 3
(Applicaton
instructions
for Java
Seminar)
17 grants awarded in first round of
funding. RFP for second round available
in January 2001
4
RFP available in January 2001
Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative
Management Team
CITI’s management structure reflects the collaborative goals of the program. The initiative is
managed through several committees that include representatives from 11 different public
institutions. The core management group includes the following committees:
Executive Committee
Cora Marrett, Provost, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Joe Goldstein, Dean, School of Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Jim Kurose, Chair, Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Tom Costello, Chair, Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Arthur Doyle, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Framingham State College
John Dunn, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Springfield Technical Community College
David Hartleb, President, Northern Essex Community College
Ed Terceiro, Executive Vice President, Mt. Wachusett Community College
Albert Hamilton, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Salem State College
Bill Davis, Chief Information Officer, Bridgewater State College
Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators
Cora Marrett, Provost, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Joe Goldstein, Dean, School of Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Jim Kurose, Chair, Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Tom Costello, Chair, Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Arthur Doyle, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Framingham State College
John Dunn, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Springfield Technical Community College
Administration
Brenda Philips, Administrative Director, Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative
Steering Committee for CITI Programming
David Barrington, Professor, Computer Science, UMass-Amherst
Jim Canning, Professor, Computer Science, UMass-Lowell
Roger Crawford, Assistant Professor, Economics and Business Admin., Framingham State
Seshu Desu, Department Head, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UMass-Amherst
Tom Fallon, Dean, Information Services, Northern Essex Community College
Peter Georgelas, Professor, Management, Bridgewater State College
Aparna Mahadev, Chair, Computer Science, Worcester State College
Christopher Mauriello, Professor, Salem State College
Andrew Maynard, Professor, Computer Information Technologies, Springfield Technical
Community College
Bolek Mikolajczak, Chair, Computer and Information Science, UMass-Dartmouth
Raymond Rogers, Professor, Computer Information Services, Mount Wachusett Community
College
Robert Ross, Professor, Cape Cod Community College
Advisory Committee
To be created.
5
Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative
Request for Proposals
6
Request For Proposal
Information Technology Across the Curriculum:
State and Community Colleges
Grant Proposal Application Information
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This grant is targeted to faculty at state and community colleges
Maximum grant award $30,000
Due date: February 20, 2001. Submit your proposal via e-mail to
Amaynard@stcc.mass.edu in a Microsoft word document to or via snail mail to: Andy
Maynard, BHE CITI curriculum coordinator, Springfield Technical Community College,
1 Armory Square, Springfield, MA 01105
Notification date: March 10, 2001.
Proposal should be a minimum of 2 pages
Important: list name of grant “IT Across the Curriculum – State and Community
Colleges” on top of page
Include name, title, department, address, telephone, fax and email.
Submit a letter of support co-signed by the department head and the dean of the
college/school where the faculty member resides.
Questions
Contact the IT Curriculum Steering Committee Members:
Andy Maynard, Amaynard@stcc.mass.edu, (413) 755-4120
Rodger Crawford, Rcrawford@frc.mass.edu, (508) 626-4852
Seshu Desu, Sdesu@ecs.umass.edu, (413) 545-0962
Objective
To allow students from all degree programs to become more proficient in Information
Technology. Our goal is to increase the number of Information Technology related courses that
each campus offers. Ideally, these courses would be offered from various departments. This
idea of making the IT field more open to students with different objectives, and backgrounds is
based on the notion that a reasonable amount of knowledge in IT will provide better
opportunities for all the students, irrespective of their discipline, so that they can become
productive members of the new IT based economy. We are encouraging collaboration with other
state colleges and universities that not only increase the number and quality of IT based
courses, but also create relationships that will extend beyond the time frame of this grant.
Grant Proposal Guidelines
We as a committee are open to the many new ideas that would integrate IT into a course.
Below are examples of courses that could be funded through this grant.

MARKETING FOR THE INTERNET

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN ORGANIZATIONS

MATHEMATICS FOR TECHNOLOGY

POLITICAL ASPECTS OF IT

HISTORY OF COMPUTERS
7
RFP - Information Technology Across the Curriculum: State and Community Colleges, cont.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERFACE

DIGITAL DIVIDE

GLOBALIZATION OF IT

COMPUTERIZED ACCOUNTING

INTERNET MULTIMEDIA

MANAGEMENT OF IT RESOURCES
A successful proposal should include the following:
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Description of course including details/topics and objectives
Expected student outcomes.
How this course will fit into the department or school’s long term plans
How the course will enhance existing IT offerings and/or initiate a new IT offering
Whether the course is unique in relation to existing campus offerings, or whether
there is overlap with other courses being offered.
Plans for dissemination to the University and other community and state colleges.
Budget required including faculty compensation, funding for adjunct teaching, data
entry assistance, and other needs such as software costs and distribution. No
funding will be provided for equipment.
SAMPLE PROPOSAL:
Course proposed:
Computers in Education: Research Methods and Practice
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course will examine a selection of literature on computers in education. This literature will be used as a startingpoint to write a research proposal or final project and paper. In the first half of the semester, you will read papers, web
sites, government reports, and portions of current books that discuss the impact technology has had on the world of
education and the impact education has had on the design of new technologies. Such questions will be addressed: How
has classroom instruction changed? How has students' learning experiences changed? What new technologies have
been developed to address the needs of learners? What new technologies should be developed in the future? Can we
tell if students are better off with these new technologies? What research methods have people used to understand
these issues? What research is needed in the future to better understand the impact of technology on education?
Each week you will be asked to focus on a selection of readings from your course readings packet that will include
discussions on technology's impact on science, math, and social studies education, to the use of on-line technologies in
education, to the development process of new technologies for education. During class sessions, the readings will be
discussed in large-group and small-group discussion sessions. Activities using the World Wide Web, CD-ROMs, email, or
hypermedia will be conducted in class that support the selected readings.
During the second half of the semester, you will focus on one research area of interest that you believe needs further
work. In teams or as an individual, you will be responsible for either developing a small project or writing an 8-page
paper. In this way, you will put to use your growing knowledge of this research area and consider what new research
should be developed for the future.
THE FOLLOWING SUBJECT AREAS WILL BE COVERED:
1) General Impact of Technology on Education
2) Technology Impact on Course Content
3) Collaborative Learning Supported by Technology
4) Online Environments
5) Special Education Supported by Technology
6) Developing New Technologies for Education
8
RFP - Information Technology Across the Curriculum: State and Community Colleges, cont.
TOPICS INCLUDE:

Technology development research vs. educational impact research

Technology impact on course content

Computer-based learning models

Content vs. technology education

Collaborative learning experiences

Distance collaboration

Local collaboration

Online environments

Distance education

Public vs. private communications

Special education and technology ( use the web to look at accessibility)

Design Methodologies
-iterative design
-participatory design
-contextual design

The four roles of learners in the technology development process
MEETING DEPARTMENT/COLLEGE GOALS: This course will be used to meet the goals of both our department and
college by creating a course which will enhance the students ability to understand the uses of the internet and to be
able to perform internet based research. The student will also gain an understanding of internet and computer based
delivery methodologies . This course will not only meet the needs of students in our department but due to its broad
based nature it will attract students from various disciplines.
COURSE STATUS WITHIN INSTITUTION: This course is new to our college. There is no duplication of content in
any other courses offered here.
EXPECTED STUDENT OUTCOME: This course will enhance the students ability to perform web based research. The
course not only shows the student how to analyze different web based learning models but it also allows the student to
use some of these learning models in a hand on approach which will educate the student first hand on the effects of
some of these models. Also the students writing skills will be improved through research papers . All these skills are
necessary for students graduating from this department to become more competitive in an IT based environment.
DISSEMINATION: The course content will be burned onto CD-ROM for distribution to other state institutions. A
direct mailing of these resources will be sent to other related departments at the other Massachusetts higher
educational institutions. This course content will also be provided on a website for distribution and use also.
PROPOSED BUDGET
Hiring of replacement Adjunct Faculty
Faculty Stipend for course development
Software, materials and supplies
Course Dissemination to other Colleges*
Assistant to input data
Misc. tasks including technical assistance and website creation1k
TOTAL
4k
5k
2k
1k
1k
15k
*Note: Could include CD creation, software site license, manuals, class exercises or other materials needed to teach the
course at another location.
9
Request For Proposal
Regional Cooperation Grants
Application Information
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
This grant is targeted to all faculty Massachusetts higher education institutions.
Maximum grant award $20,000.
Due date: February 20, 2001. Submit your proposal via e-mail in a Microsoft word
document to tfallon@necc.mass.edu or via snail mail to: Tom Fallon, Dean of
Information Services, Northern Essex Community College, 100 Elliot Way, Haverill, MA
01830.
Notification date: March 10, 2001.
Proposal should be a minimum of 2 pages, maximum 4 pages .
Important: list name of grant “Regional Cooperation Grant” on top of page
Provide name, title, department, address, telephone, fax and email.
Submit a letter of support co-signed by the department head and the dean of the
college/school where the faculty member resides.
Questions
Contact the Regional Cooperation Steering Committee members:
Jim Canning, canning@cs.uml.edu, (978) 934-3633
Thomas Fallon, tfallon@necc.mass.edu , (978) 556-3866
Chris Mauriello, cmauriel@salemstate.edu, (978) 542-7129
Objective
To increase cooperation among faculty who teach Information Technology on all campuses to
maximize the effectiveness and quality of existing programs and faculty. We are encouraging
regional cooperation among institutions, faculty, departments, and administrations not only to
increase the number and quality of IT based courses and expand faculty development in IT, but
to also create relationships that will extend beyond the time frame of this grant.
Below is the list of the five regions:
Northeast: Middlesex CC, North Shore CC, Northern Essex CC, Salem State College,
UMass/Lowell
Boston: Bunker Hill CC, Framingham State College, Mass Bay CC, Mass College of Art, Roxbury
CC, UMass/Boston
Southeast: Bridgewater State College, Bristol CC, Cape Cod CC, Massasoit CC, Mass. Maritime
Academy
Central: Fitchburg State College, Mt. Wachusett CC, Quinsigamond CC, Umass/Lowell,
Worcester State College
Western: Berkshire CC, Greenfield CC, Holyoke CC, Mass College of Liberal Arts, Springfield
CC, UMass/Amherst, Westfield State College
Grant Proposal Guidelines
The committee is seeking to fund new regional cooperation activities or enhance existing
activities among faculty, departments and institutions. Grants which include faculty
exchanges; Curriculum/Program review leading to improved CIS transfer articulation and 2+2
agreements; and Distance Learning Technologies for faculty development and training in
Information Technology are appropriate, but the committee is open to reviewing other types of
regional cooperation activities. Grant applicant should plan to attend one of the regional
collaboration workshops to meet colleagues and develop ideas. See page 3 for details on the
workshops.
10
RFP - Regional Cooperation, cont.
The proposal should include:
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A detailed description of the regional cooperation activity.
The region and participating institutions/departments.
Expected outcomes of the regional cooperation activity
How this regional cooperation supports IT initiatives in curriculum development
and/or faculty development.
How this regional cooperation fits into the faculty member’s department or school’s
long-term plans and goals.
Whether this regional cooperation activity is unique and whether there is overlap
with existing regional cooperation activities.
A budget including compensation, faculty exchange costs, regional workshop costs,
distance education training/equipment and software, and other related needs.
SAMPLE PROPOSAL
REGIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITY:
Establishment of Regional Transfer Articulation Committees
REGIONAL MODEL/ACITIVITY DESCRIPTION:
These Regional Transfer Articulation Committees will be composed of CIS faculty and college administration. The
committee will have the expressed purpose of developing course/program tracks for students to follow from the
Associate Degree to the attainment of a Baccalaureate degree.
Two main goals will be pursued:

Provision of a clear path for the student to attain the Baccalaureate degree where there is little or no transfer credit
rejected by the 4 year college

A quality/state of the art curriculum will be developed to meet the needs of Massachusetts’ business and industry
THE FOLLOWING ISSUES WILL BE EXAMINED:
1) Existing 2 and 4 year curriculums will be reviewed for currency
2) Potential for CIS accreditation
3) 2 + 2 agreement
4) Faculty exchange
MEETING DEPARTMENT/COLLEGE GOALS: The regional collaboration model will be used to meet the goals of the
students, business/industry, CIS departments and the colleges by utilizing the resources on multiple campuses. Project
goals will be met through the enhanced communication of faculty and staff and the willingness to change curriculums
for the benefit of the regional community and the students.
EXPECTED STUDENT OUTCOME: This regional collaboration will provide for an improved state of the art curriculum
for the student and a streamlined transfer path that will allow the student to attain an Associate and B.S. degrees
effectively, efficiently and with the lowest cost.
DISSEMINATION: The project will be fully documented and will be included on the CITI web site for distribution.
PROPOSED BUDGET
Hiring of replacement Adjunct Faculty
Faculty Stipend for course development
Software, materials and supplies
Travel
Meetings
Misc. tasks including technical assistance
TOTAL
6k
5k
2k
2k
.5k
.5k
16k
11
Request For Proposal
Curriculum Enhancement for Technical Disciplines
Application Information





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
This grant is targeted to faculty in computer science, computer engineering, computer
Information Systems, Computer Technology, Data Processing, and Management
Information Systems all Massachusetts higher educational institutions.
Maximum grant award $15,000. Range $5,000 to $15,000.
Due date: February 20, 2001. Submit your proposal via e-mail in a Microsoft word
document to barring@cs.umass.edu or via snail mail to: David Barrington, Department
Computer Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-4610
Notification date: March 10, 2001.
Proposal should be 2 – 5 pages.
Important: list name of grant “Curriculum Enhancement for Technology Disciplines” on
top of page.
Include name, title, department, address, telephone, fax and email.
Submit a letter of support co-signed by the department head and the dean of the college
school where the faculty member resides.
Questions
Contact any of the following members of the CITI committee on curriculum enhancement:
David Mix Barrington, barring@cs.umass.edu
Aparna Mahadev, amahadev@worcester.edu
Ray Rogers, r_rogers@mwcc.mass.edu
Objectives
To provide a framework in which all computer science, computer engineering, computer
information systems, Computer Technology, Data Processing, and Management Information
Systems programs can update and improve their curricula; program evaluation and
accreditation will be the key components of this process.
Grant Proposal Guidelines
In early winter, a seminar will be offered on the subject of the ACM Curricula 2001 guidelines
and the accreditation processes for information technology programs. Information from this
workshop may be relevant to some proposals, particularly those to develop or revise degree
programs.
Activities funded under this program are intended to benefit the entire state higher education
system. Proposals for course development and revision should include plans
for dissemination of the course to other institutions. Though faculty will retain full intellectual
property rights to course materials developed, award recipients are committed to help other
institutions use the products of the funded work in any way consistent with those rights.
A successful proposal should include the following:
 Detailed description of course or curriculum revisions.
 Expected student outcomes.
 How this course will fit into the Department or School’s long term plans
 How the course will enhance existing IT offerings and/or initiate a new IT offering
 Whether the course is unique in relation to existing campus offerings, or whether
there is overlap with other courses being offered.
12
Curriculum Enhancement for Technical Disciplines, cont.


Plans for dissemination to other institutions in the Commonwealth campuses,
community and state colleges.
Budget including faculty compensation; funding for a department to pay someone
else to cover part of the regular duties of a faculty member working on one of
these projects; software (note that purchase of hardware is not eligible for funding in
this program);travel expenditures; administrative and clerical support; expenses
related to coursework or other training for instructors.
13