To respond to the needs of both private sector employers and the U.S. government, this project is designed to develop a program to educate highly skilled and effective cybersecurity technicians. Not only is there a shortage of qualified workers in the field, but there is also a lack of skills among many of those already in the workforce.
The overarching goal of the project is to increase the quantity and capacity of qualified cybersecurity technicians in the workforce. The college is accomplishing this by: 1. Expanding the cybersecurity curriculum offered by the Networking Services Technology program at the college to include an 18 credit hour cybersecurity certificate and an introductory cyber awareness and cyber safety module which is being taught in all entry-level information technology courses both at the college level and at the secondary level. 2. Increasing the diversity of the Networking Services Technology (NST) student population by significantly escalating the recruitment and retention of female students into these programs. 3. Developing and strengthening career pathways from local secondary and rural vocational schools to the cybersecurity curriculum at the college. 4. Providing professional development opportunities for college faculty and collaborating secondary school teachers for building capacity and continued growth in cybersecurity education.
Intellectual Merit: Available curriculum and models from other colleges, many of which were funded by previous NSF grants, are being utilized in development of this project. In particular, a collaborative effort with the Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance (CSSIA) is informing the project with best practices. These models are being applied to the college programs, with modifications to meet the needs of students and the community. Program design is incorporating multiple entry and exit points to facilitate life-long educational and career pathways for technicians already employed in the workforce. New models are being created that can be successfully replicated. Throughout the process, success is being evaluated by tracking the number of cybersecurity graduates, the number of female graduates, and the number of students who articulate from secondary schools into college credit programs.
Broader Impacts: The project is building capacity and strengthening career pathways in cybersecurity between secondary schools and college credit programs. The design is incorporating elements that impact secondary students, teachers, and schools in the two rural counties in the college service district as well as surrounding counties in the region; students and faculty at the college; members of the current workforce in the community who need to retrain or upgrade their skills; and regional employers who need staff with current credentials, training and expertise in cybersecurity, cyber awareness and cyber safety. Best practices for female retention and recruitment, including the development of a female mentoring program and a female post-secondary cybersecurity competition team, are increasing participation by women in computer and information technology programs. Professional development opportunities are preparing secondary teachers and college-level faculty to deliver effective cybersecurity curriculum, and continued professional development opportunities are sustaining their currency for teaching effectively. To ensure the widest exposure and benefit, introductory cyber awareness and cyber safety modules are targeting general computer users and are being integrated into a large number of information technology classes, secondary schools, and online to the general public, employers and other organizations.
