CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service to Create Community Cyber Security Champions (CCSC) and a Collaborative Learning Environment

St. Cloud State University, Saint Cloud MN

Investigators

Abstract

This project seeks to establish a new CyberCorps®: Scholarship for Service (SFS) program at St. Cloud State University (SCSU) to prepare highly-qualified Cybersecurity professionals for entry into the federal, state, local, and tribal government workforce. St. Cloud State University (SCSU) has an undergraduate program in Information Technology Security (ITS) and a Master's of Science in Information Assurance (MSIA), both of which are undergoing strong growth. The proposed CyberCorps®: SFS program will create Community Cyber Security Champions (CCSC) and a Collaborative Learning Environment. St. Cloud State University has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education since 2009. ITS and MSIA students have solid theoretical foundation, along with experiential learning opportunities throughout the curriculum. They have participated in the Collegiate Cyber Defense competition since 2007, won the state competition twice, and the Midwest Regional competition once. In addition, they also won the national Open Web Application Security project - Application Security competition in 2011. The proposed project has a strong management plan, including student selection, mentoring, and assessment. CyberCorps students will form a team of cybersecurity champions leading an effort to educate the broader public. The main goal of the project is to attract, retain and graduate high quality students with knowledge and skills necessary to join government cybersecurity workforce. Another goal of the project is to attract female students by exposing them to cybersecurity aspects that have direct social impact. It will be accomplished by implementing community service component, where scholarship recipients will educate the broader community. This social part of the project may attract more female students and will benefit the community as a whole. The student clubs will regularly organize community events to educate the public on cyber threats and how to mitigate them. The project involves two Minnesota Community Colleges: Century College in St. Paul and Lake Superior College in Duluth. The project will also recruit from Lincoln University in Missouri, an HBCU, and other minority serving institutions. Scholarship recipients will form collaborative study groups involving students from SCSU and the two Community Colleges to share knowledge and experience with cyber defense practice.