Meeting 21st-Century Cybersecurity Needs Through Advanced Technological Education

Clark State Community College, Springfield OH

Investigators

Abstract

This project is developing an associate degree in cybersecurity based on materials, courses, and curricula previously developed by ATE centers for cybersecurity education, especially the Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance (CSSIA). Project activities include: * creating a fully articulated career pathway connecting classes in the 11th and 12th grades of high school with an associate degree program in cybersecurity at Clark State Community College, and connecting the associate degree program at Clark State with a four-year degree at two neighboring public universities, Central State University and Wright State University; * connecting the career pathway in cybersecurity to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's new "Career Path Model"; * providing professional development for the college faculty and high school teachers who will teach the new curriculum, as well as appropriate training for guidance counselors; * documenting the linkages between corporate cybersecurity requirements and the college's curriculum; * integrating classroom learning and work-based experiences by placing students in internships and other project-based business learning experiences in cybersecurity; and * recruiting a diverse population of students for the program through connections with GEAR UP and Project Lead the Way at the high school level. Clark State Community College has a partnership with Avetec, a nonprofit research organization, for facilitating business involvement in cybersecurity and high-performance computing. The project is leveraging this partnership to develop and implement the new curriculum. In particular, Clark State is working with Avetec and other local employers (including QBase, Lexis Nexis, SAIC, Computer Sciences Corporation, Standard Register, Teradata, NCR, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) to create high-quality cybersecurity internship opportunities for students. Expected outcomes of the project include a clearly defined career pathway that can be adopted by other high schools and colleges, significant improvement in student learning in the discipline of cybersecurity, new models for high school and college faculty to work and learn together, new models for work-based learning for students, and integration of high-performance computing and other advanced technologies into the cybersecurity curriculum to meet current and future workforce needs for skilled technicians.