NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Course title: FIREWALL AND NETWORK SECURITY
Course prefix, number, and section number: ITSY 2301.0381
Semester/Year of course: Fall 2025, 1st 8-week course
Semester start and end dates: Start – August 25th, 2025; End – October 18th, 2025;
Last day to withdraw from class with ‘W’ – September 29th, 2025
Modality: Online
Class meeting location, days, and times: TBD by student, this is an effort driven online class.
Lab meeting location, days, and times: TBD by student, this is an effort driven online class.
Semester credit hours: 3.00
Course description:
Identify elements of firewall design, types of security threats and responses to security attacks. Use Best Practices to design, implement, and monitor a network security plan. Examine security incident postmortem reporting and ongoing network security activities.
Required course materials: uCertify content
Name of instructor: Royce Humpert Jr.
Office location: Virtual
Email response times: 24 hours on weekday messages, 48 hours on weekends, next college business day on holidays. I normally check email in the evenings around 5pm CST.
Telephone number: N/A, All conferences will be held via virtual meeting sessions
E-mail address: rhumpert@nctc.edu
Office hours for students: By appointment – You can schedule a meeting with me from the Home Page on the ‘Meet with Me’ button under the course banner. I am normally available in the evenings with a day or two notice before the requested meeting time.
SYLLABUS CHANGE DISCLAIMER
The faculty member reserves the right to make changes to this published syllabus if it is in the best interest of the educational development of this class. Any such changes will be announced as soon as possible in person and/or writing.
SUMMARY OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
List of graded assignments:
Participation: Videos, Cyber Range Spotlights, & Discussion Boards 15%
Labs 40%
Mid-term 10%
Quiz grades 20%
Final Exam 15%
Final grade scale:
900-1000 points = A
800-899 points = B
700-799 points = C
600-699 points = D
0-599 points = F
Late/Missing work policy:
Assignments are due on the date and time indicated on the assignment. All work turned after the due date will be subject to a 50% deduction without documentation and prior approval from the instructor or documentation of extenuating circumstances after the deadline. These dates/times are listed on the course calendar and will appear on your Canvas calendar and ‘to do list’. Assignments include everything that receives a grade. If you have extenuating circumstances, I encourage you to reach out to me and we can discuss your individual situation. That does not mean that communicating with me will automatically extend your deadlines. It does mean that I will take it into consideration for extending the assignment. Communication is key! Although it is not always possible, communication is best when it happens prior to deadlines.
SEE CANVAS FOR THE COMPLETE COURSE CALENDAR, OUTLINE, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF GRADED WORK, AND OTHER RELATED MATERIAL.
COURSE POLICIES
Academic Integrity Policy:
Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, academic falsification, intellectual property dishonesty, academic dishonesty facilitation and collusion. Faculty members may document and bring charges against a student who is engaged in or is suspected to be engaged in academic dishonesty. See Student Handbook, “Student Rights & Responsibilities: Student Conduct ([FLB(LOCAL)]”.
AI/Natural Language Programs (NLPs)/Large Language Models (LLMs) Usage Policy: This information is used with permission and citation with gratitude to Princeton University: The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning. Intellectual honesty is vital to an academic community and for my fair evaluation of your work. All work submitted in this course must be your own, completed in accordance with the College's academic regulations. You may not engage in unauthorized collaboration or make use of ChatGPT or other AI composition software/NLPs/LLMs. Students must obtain permission from me before using AI composition software (like ChatGPT) for any assignments in this course. Using these tools without my permission puts your academic integrity at risk. This course does make use of AI/NLPs/LLMs plagiarism checker software as such as “Turnitin” developed for the purpose of detecting the use of AI programs. Any violation of this policy will be considered academic dishonesty and will be documented and filed as such. See Student Handbook, “Student Rights and Responsibilities: Student Conduct ([FLB(LOCAL])”.
Attendance Policy:
Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered. All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies as determined by the instructor. It is the student responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval and judgement by the faculty member. Approved college sponsored activities are the only absences for which a student should not be held liable and only when provided by a college official ahead of the absence. Valid reasons for absence, however, do not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work. Students will not be allowed to make up an examination missed due to absence unless they have reasons acceptable to the instructor. A student who is compelled to be absent when a test is given should petition the instructor, in advance if possible, for permission to postpone the exam. Student will be dropped from a class by the Registrar upon recommendation of the instructor who feels the student has been justifiably absent or tardy a sufficient number of times to preclude meeting the course’s objectives. Persistent, unjustified absences from classes or laboratories will be considered sufficient cause for College officials to drop a student from the rolls of the College. From Board Policy FC (LOCAL)
Withdrawal Policy
A student may withdraw from a course on or after the official date of record. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate and complete a Withdrawal Request Form.
Last day to withdraw from the course with a “W” is: September 29th, 2025
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate system security skills through firewall implementation and testing
- Use system tools, practices, and relevant technologies to implement a security plan
- Evaluate practices, tools, and technologies to identify security breaches, sources of attacks, and protect mission critical systems
- Establish an appropriate level of security based on an analysis of security logs
- Use relevant tools to secure a network, respond to and follow up on various types of attacks
COLLEGE POLICIES
AI STATEMENT –
Absent a clear statement from a course instructor, use of or consultation with generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or other similar technologies shall be treated analogously to assistance from another person, agency, or entity. In particular, using generative AI tools to substantially complete an assignment or exam is not permitted. Students should acknowledge the use of generative AI (other than incidental use) and default to disclosing such assistance when in doubt.
When students use generative AI to replace the rigorous demands of personal engagement with their coursework, it runs counter to the educational mission of the college and undermines the heart of education itself. Artificial Intelligence, large language models, and other such technologies hold promise for deploying knowledge in service to others and accelerating the discovery of new knowledge. However, such technology poses new challenges to pedagogy and to integrity. Within the context of the teaching mission of the college and consistent with the Student Code of Conduct, the authority to define the appropriate use, study, and deployment of these technologies rests with the faculty.
Individual course instructors, in coordination with their divisions, set policies regulating the use of generative AI tools in their courses, including allowing or disallowing some or all uses of such tools. Course instructors will set such policies in their course syllabi and clearly communicate such policies to students. Students who are unsure of policies regarding generative AI tools are encouraged to ask their instructors for clarification.
STUDENT HANDBOOK
Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the Student Handbook.
ADA STATEMENT
NCTC will adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Office for Students with Disabilities to arrange appropriate accommodations. See the OSD Syllabus Addendum.
STUDENT SERVICES
NCTC provides a multitude of services and resources to support students. See the Student Services Syllabus Addendum for a listing of those departments and links to their sites.
QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, or COMPLAINTS
The student should contact the instructor to deal with any questions, concerns, or complaints specific to the class. If the student and faculty are not able to resolve the issue, the student may contact the chair or coordinator of the division. If the student remains unsatisfied, the student may proceed to contact the instructional dean.
Name of Chair/Coordinator: Rebekah Sanchez
Office location: Corinth Campus, Suite 170, Room 173
Telephone number: 940.498.6480
E-mail address: rsanchez@nctc.edu
Name of Instructional Dean: Debbie Huffman
Office location: 1525 West California Street, Gainesville, Texas 76240
Telephone number: 940-668-7731
E-mail address: dhuffman@nctc.edu