M(CP2): Minnesota Cybersecurity Pathway Curriculum Partnership for K-18

Metropolitan State University, Saint Paul MN

Investigators

Abstract

The Metropolitan State University (Metro State) and Advance IT Minnesota have established a Cybersecurity Center with the mission of conducting research and educational activities intended to contribute to advances in formal and informal cybersecurity education. The NSF funded project, M(CP2): Minnesota Cybersecurity Pathway Curriculum Partnership for K-18, will be completed by the members and partners of the Cybersecurity Center. The outcome of the M(CP2) is an integrated curriculum pathway including course modules for K-12, A.S., B.S., M.S., and certificate programs. The modules and pathway will align with the forthcoming Association for Computing Machinery's Cybersecurity Curricula 2017: Curriculum Guidelines for Post-Secondary Degree Programs in Cybersecurity, and with Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation on cybersecurity. M(CP2) will employ an innovative public-private partnership approach to prototype the first industry-aligned integrated pathway curriculum for K-12 through M.S. By leveraging collaborative partners across industry, education, and the public sector, the proposed work will operationalize best practices in public-private cooperation for cybersecurity education developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology - National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) to expand comprehensive resources to develop and expand the pipeline of cybersecurity professionals. This work will provide educators and employers with a standardized pathway model, which will reduce inefficiencies among programs at various educational levels and enable schools and industry to better evaluate the training needs of current and future cybersecurity professionals. Furthermore, M(CP2) will serve as an example for existing programs to use as they align with the new guidelines; provide research-supported program plans and resources that new programs can replicate or customize; and, support integration of cybersecurity concepts into Computer Science for All projects by aligning project resources to the K-12 computer science pathways. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.