This project is developing a cybersecurity career pathway with school systems, baccalaureate institutions, and employers, including the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). Activities include the establishment of a new A.A.S. degree (designed specifically for those who wish to enter the workforce immediately), a new A.S. degree (a more computer science-based associate degree for transfer students), and a new certificate program (designed for those who just need basic certifications to enter the cybersecurity field), as well as outreach to local high schools. These features enable students, including high school students taking college courses before graduation, to follow a smooth educational pathway into jobs, certification examinations, or baccalaureate programs for additional education. The project is also developing a penetration testing lab to enable extensive hands-on training, providing professional development for teachers, making connections with cybersecurity start-up firms, and offering curricula for students who have completed degrees in fields other than cybersecurity but want to start new careers as cybersecurity technicians.
The career pathway for the cybersecurity/information assurance program is based on the model developed by the College and Career Transitions Initiative (CCTI). As defined by CCTI, a "career pathway" is an articulated sequence of rigorous academic and career courses, beginning in the ninth grade and leading to an associate degree, and/or an industry-recognized certificate or licensure, and/or a baccalaureate degree and beyond. Following this model, specific long-term outcomes for the project include (1) increased enrollment and persistence in postsecondary education; (2) increased academic and skill achievement at postsecondary levels; (3) increased attainment of postsecondary degrees, certificates, or other recognized credentials (including professional credentials needed by incumbent cybersecurity employees that go beyond traditional associate degree-related curricula); and (4) increased entry into stable employment or further education.
The project's new curricula are being offered in hybrid/online formats with flexible scheduling. This flexibility, along with the variety of program possibilities, enables the college to attract more prepared students into the cybersecurity/information assurance pathway and gives students who have completed postsecondary studies new opportunities to obtain additional professional credentials and move into the cybersecurity field.
Summary: This project integrated an associate level program into an educational pathway to produce information assurance (IA) specialists with not only associate degrees, but also preparation leading to industry certifications. To accomplish this, the project developed a cybersecurity career pathway with school systems, baccalaureate institutions, and employers. Through the creation of an applied associate’s degree as well as an associate degree program designed to lead to transfer, this project prepared students to become employees of cybersecurity and IA firms upon graduation and/or after transfer to four-year institutions. This curriculum was developed to offer students postsecondary education, problem solving, critical thinking skills development, and attainment of specific technical skills and certifications. With IA education and employment a priority, the project enabled the college to equip its laboratories with industry-standard IA equipment. The project also provided professional development for teachers, cybersecurity start-up firm involvement, a new introductory course in IA, and support from and to the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and other prospective employers. What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? Creation of degree and certificate programs for cybersecurity was a primary accomplishment of the project. HCC fully equipped a cybersecurity training lab (including virtual training with NetLab) with guidance from DISA and other partners. In addition, HCC established a career pathway for the information assurance/cybersecurity program through the creation of the Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Medical Technical Middle College (STMC), which is a collaboration between HCC and Washington County Public Schools. Through the STMC’s dual enrollment agreements, promising students who have recommendations from school personnel can start cybersecurity degree programs while still in high school and simultaneously complete requirements for high school graduation and A.S. degrees in cybersecurity. Students who choose this pathway earn up to 67 college credits. Students begin this program prior to their junior year of high school through pipeline activities intended to help ensure that they are ready, as juniors in high school, to dual-enroll at HCC and their home schools. Upon simultaneous graduation from high school and STMC, students can enter a four year school as a junior by the fall after high school graduation. Utilizing the CCTI model, College and Career Transitions Initiative, long-term outcomes were established for use to assess the success of students and the IA program: 1. Increased enrollment and persistence in postsecondary education; 2. Increased academic and skill achievement at postsecondary levels; 3. Increased attainment of postsecondary degrees, certificates, or other recognized credentials (for purposes of this project, this includes professional credentials needed by incumbent IA employees that go beyond traditional associate’s degree-related curriculum); and 4. Increased entry into stable employment or further education. What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? The greatest impact of this project is the strengthening of the IA industry in this area, building on nearby Chambersburg’s DISA offices, contractors to the federal government, local employers, and availability and attractiveness of HCC’s Technical Innovation Center for these firms. This regional cyber industry complex, building upon cyber industry in neighboring DC/Baltimore as well, is under development by creating a conduit between secondary schools and postsecondary schools as well as between HCC and employers and/or four-year institutions. An advisory committee and broader network of internship sites continue to extend the reach of the program. A further impact will be the expansion of the pool of students attracted to technical careers beyond students who graduate from the Washington County Technical High School, to the entire network of comprehensive high schools in the county, and including greater numbers of young women in particular. Building on the existing HCC program that supports students earning college credit before high school graduation, this model will identify students earlier and provide advising which includes parents. In the short term, this will bring more prepared students into the IA pathway. This will increase the success and persistence of students in postsecondary pathways for many IA-related careers. At the same time, students who complete or have completed postsecondary studies will be offered new opportunities to obtain additional professional credentials and move into the IA field, meeting both workers’ and employers’ need for a well-trained, educated workforce.
