“We aim to educate and train community college students and prepare them as a workforce to protect our national security against new cybersecurity attacks targeting our military, businesses, critical infrastructure and intelligent system applications,” Fathi Amsaad, assistant professor of computer science at Wright State, who is the principal investigator on the grant, said.
A 2021 research paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research found significant value-added for students who would not have otherwise gone to college.
According to the American Association of Community Colleges, 30% of community college students are the first in their family to attend college, and about 45% of students are white.
The four-year institutions involved are Wright State, the University of Cincinnati, Kansas University, Sacred Heart University, Florida International University, the University of Texas El Paso and California State University, Sacramento. The five community colleges in the program are Clark State Community College, Columbus State Community College, the Community College of Rhode Island, Miami Dade College and El Paso Community College.
These universities and community colleges will offer workshops, seminars, competitions, new credential-bearing certificates and pathway courses for students. Classes would be offered online, so anyone can take the classes around the country.
The universities that have existing programs plan to bolster them. The plans would also make it easier for community college students to transfer their credits to undergraduate degrees.
“Throughout the program, we will develop a relevant curriculum to increase cybersecurity awareness and engagement among minority community college students about core academic and technical skills, recognized post-secondary credentials, and academic degrees that provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to gain employment in high-skill, high-wage and in-demand fields,” Amsaad said.
Amsaad also hopes to expand the program to help other institutions join the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity and participate in the National Pathway to Success program.
The institutions are designated National Centers of Academic Excellence (NCAE) in Cybersecurity, a collaborative cybersecurity educational program with community colleges, colleges and universities managed by the National Security Agency’s National Cryptologic School. NCAE-designated institutions provide programs suitable for training students for careers addressing cybersecurity challenges in government and business.
The National Pathway to Success program is focused on supporting community college students, female students, first-generation college students, Native Americans, and students from historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions.
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