Award Abstract # 1104106
Program Development in Cybersecurity with Focus on Business and Healthcare Concepts

NSF Org: DUE
Division Of Undergraduate Education
Recipient: RIVER VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Initial Amendment Date: September 15, 2011
Latest Amendment Date: August 5, 2015
Award Number: 1104106
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: R. Corby Hovis
chovis@nsf.gov
 (703)292-4625
DUE
 Division Of Undergraduate Education
EDU
 Directorate for STEM Education
Start Date: September 15, 2011
End Date: August 31, 2016 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $400,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $451,294.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2011 = $400,000.00
FY 2015 = $51,294.00
History of Investigator:
  • Robert Morris (Principal Investigator)
    rmorris@ccsnh.edu
  • Henry Collier (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Martha Austin (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Henry Collier (Former Principal Investigator)
  • Steven Budd (Former Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Robert Morris (Former Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: River Valley Community College
1 COLLEGE DR
CLAREMONT
NH  US  03743-9707
(603)230-3523
Sponsor Congressional District: 02
Primary Place of Performance: River Valley Community College
1 COLLEGE DR
CLAREMONT
NH  US  03743-9707
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): XV5CD5PAB8L4
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): Advanced Tech Education Prog
Primary Program Source: 04001112DB NSF Education & Human Resource
04001516DB NSF Education & Human Resource
Program Reference Code(s): 1032, 9150, 9178, SMET
Program Element Code(s): 7412
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.076

ABSTRACT

This project is a collaboration between River Valley Community College and the Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection (I3P), a consortium managed by Dartmouth College. The goals of the project are:

* to transfer the expertise of the I3P consortium by integrating content in information assurance (IA) and business skills into existing community college information technology (IT) curricula;

* to increase the capacity of New Hampshire's community colleges to provide education in IA through faculty professional development; and

* to develop a certificate in IA and an Associate of Science degree in IA, both of which give students the knowledge and skills needed to ensure the security of the IT systems used by local healthcare providers.

As the foundation for the IA curriculum, the investigators are adapting courses from the Cyber Security Education Consortium (CSEC), an Advanced Technological Education (ATE) center of excellence in cybersecurity education, as well as from other ATE centers. With the advice of experts from Dartmouth and other I3P member institutions, health care providers, and businesses, the investigators are embedding into the curriculum essential business concepts, so that students can effectively communicate with business leaders and protect business processes, and case studies based upon real-world scenarios and problems derived from the experience of healthcare providers with issues of cybersecurity. The certificate and the AS degree in IA (with healthcare concentration) are initially being piloted at River Valley Community College and White Mountains Community College, with an eye toward adoption by other colleges in the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH).

Concurrent with the curriculum development, the project team is providing training to CCSNH faculty in foundational IA courses, so that system colleges can collaboratively offer training in IA to IT professionals in business and industry through each college's business and industry outreach programs.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

The Program Development in Cybersecurity with Focus on Business and Healthcare Concepts grant at River Valley Community College (RVCC) enabled the development of both a certificate and an associate’s degree program in Cybersecurity and Healthcare IT. As advances were being made nationally in the capacity to educate security professionals, the unique security needs of specific industries became apparent. A program that specifically targeted the information assurance needs of healthcare, such as the protection of electronic medical records and confidential patient information, was not available when our proposal was developed.

RVCC was well positioned to develop a cybersecurity program with a focus on issues specific to the healthcare industry due to the close proximity of several healthcare organizations and the assistance of healthcare security experts at Dartmouth College. Dartmouth received a subaward on the grant to provide assistance in curriculum development and general project oversight, and they were also instrumental in assembling the curriculum advisory committee.

The inclusion of local companies and hospitals on the curriculum advisory committee was effective for developing real-world curricula that meets the needs of local industry and also for building long-term relationships and program awareness. These relationships have strengthen over the period of the grant and have led to internship and employment opportunities for program graduates.

Building from the prior success of the ATE program, much of the curricula for the Cybersecurity and Healthcare IT program was modeled after the cybersecurity certificate and degree programs created and shared by the NSF ATE Center, Cyber Security Education Consortium. Once the core foundational courses in cybersecurity were developed, Dartmouth professor Dr. Denise Anthony, an expert in the usability of information security in healthcare contexts, worked in conjunction with RVCC faculty to develop two healthcare security courses.

The Cybersecurity and Healthcare IT program is available for replication at community colleges throughout the country. Program dissemination is ongoing and provides for the ability to educate many more technicians with specific healthcare security training. Curricula and some marketing materials are freely available on the ATE Central website.

An early goal of the project was the training of RVCC faculty to ensure the necessary expertise for delivering the new program. The Computer Technology faculty at RVCC received training in information assurance and cybersecurity through attendance at security courses offered by some of the ATE security centers. Faculty also attended security-themed conferences and workshops, participated in many webinars, and achieved related certifications. In addition, faculty joined Infragard and benefited from the relevant and current information that was provided by security experts and law enforcement through the regular meetings of this organization.

New Hampshire’s community college students have benefited from the relationship developed through the grant between RVCC and Dartmouth by participating in events that were originally only offered competitively to four-year students from prestigious universities. The knowledge and skill development of community college faculty and students have been enhanced through the resources available through RVCC’s partnership with Dartmouth College.

In recognition of the benefits of this unique relationship between a leading research institution and a community college, in year four a supplement was awarded to the original grant that funded a cybersecurity bootcamp at Dartmouth College for community college students. This two-week intensive security training program provided community college students with mentoring from security experts and extensive hands-on experience with sophisticated technical tools for detecting and containing security threats. RVCC students also have an ongoing opportunity to attend regular talks from internationally known security experts at Dartmouth.

The development of the Cybersecurity and Healthcare IT program at RVCC created a path for students toward high paying jobs with a low cost education. The creation of articulation agreements to four-year programs in cybersecurity has enabled graduates to continue their education. The development of online course offerings has extended the reach of the program beyond our rural location and enables our continued expansion.

The Cybersecurity and Healthcare IT program at RVCC is well positioned to continue to grow and contribute to the availability of trained security professionals throughout northern New England. RVCC’s administration is committed to sustaining the course offerings and relationships established through this grant as well as continuing to update, improve, and broaden the reach of this vital program.


Last Modified: 11/21/2016
Modified by: Robert Morris

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