Improving the Success of Low-Income Students in a Cybersecurity Program

Old Dominion University Research Foundation, Norfolk VA

Investigators

Abstract

With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, the "Improving the Success of Low-Income Students in a Cybersecurity Program" project will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. The program targets students in the Cybersecurity program at Old Dominion University. This five-year S-STEM Track 2 project will fund up to 18 scholarships and will provide students with academic support through mentoring and other program activities. This S-STEM program at Old Dominion University consists of the scholarship program, the support systems, and a strong evaluation and research plan. It aims to accomplish the following outcomes: (1) generate knowledge about the effectiveness of curricular and extracurricular activities that increase retention and graduation of low-income students from three specific groups: military-affiliated, first-generation, and underrepresented minority students; (2) develop a student-support approach that solves the challenges in this cybersecurity STEM program, which is inherently interdisciplinary; and (3) implement a program that engages students in hands-on labs, cyber competitions, research, and internships, so that they develop the hands-on skills desired by the cybersecurity industry. 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.