Cybersecurity Enhancement and Expansion Program for Information Technology Programs at the College of Central Florida

The growing need for cybersecurity professionals is well documented. The Florida state legislature created “The Florida Center for Cybersecurity,” also known as “Cyber Florida,” in 2014 with the “vision of making Florida the most cyber-secure state in the nation.” To support this initiative and to increase the number of cybersecurity professionals in the region, the College of Central Florida (CF) will develop a new College Credit Certificate (CCC) focused on cybersecurity with a pathway into the workforce via industry partnerships and co-ops/internships. The project will implement outreach activities that target high school and community college students, adult students, and the larger community. The goal of the project is to address the increasing demand for a qualified cybersecurity workforce in the region by expanding CF’s capacity to attract, retain and successfully certify an increased number of students. The lessons learned from this project will contribute valuable empirical data on associate-level cybersecurity education and workforce training and will be disseminated to the education community. The proposed project will accomplish the following objectives: (1) Develop a new CCC with a focus on cybersecurity; (2) Increase the number and diversity of students enrolled in cybersecurity and IT programs and certificates; and (3) Increase the number of students who complete Cybersecurity /IT programs, and pass industry certifications. Local employers and the National Cybersecurity Training & Education Center (NCyTE) will guide the development of the new cybersecurity CCC. The project will examine whether offering a financial aid-eligible 30-credit hour CCC focused specifically on cybersecurity makes a difference in the number and gender of students it attracts. The new course curricula and materials as well as insights generated by the project implementation will be shared with other institutions across the country via CF website, Cyber Florida, and the NCyTE Center. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced technology fields that drive the nation's economy. 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.