SAC Cyber Service Scholarship Program

The Cyber Service Scholarship (CSS) project is funded under the National Science Foundation's Community College Cyber Pilot Program (C3P). Its objective is to enable 20 academically talented Computer and Information Science majors at San Antonio College (SAC), who are veterans of the Armed Forces and/or bachelor's degree holders, to complete the AAS in Information Assurance (IA) and Cyber Security and enter a federal, state, local, or tribal government position related to cybersecurity. The project is in alignment with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018. San Antonio is an optimal location for this pilot effort as it is a major hub for veterans and for government-funded cybersecurity operations that are actively looking for qualified employees. Developing and testing a model for improving cybersecurity education at SAC provides a unique opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the proposed interventions on veterans and Hispanic students. SAC is designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense 2-Year Education (CAE-2Y).

This CSS project will integrate research on best practices in persistence and retention strategies for veteran and underrepresented STEM majors and will advance the discovery and understanding about these issues among cybersecurity educators while promoting teaching, training and learning through faculty-student advising and mentorship. The project aims to generate knowledge associated with improving cybersecurity education and student outcomes at SAC, a Hispanic-Serving Institution that educates the largest student veteran population in San Antonio, along increasing the number of highly skilled, academically talented students who enter government service immediately after graduation. The project outcomes can provide potential solutions for other CAE and CAEY2-designated programs that are preparing a significant portion of the nation's cybersecurity workforce. SAC is also in a unique position to disseminate this knowledge via its role as a regional support center for prospective CAE and CAEY2 programs throughout the southwest.

Co-funding for this project is provided from the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) and NSF Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) programs, reflecting alignment of the project with major emphases of the ATE program on involvement of community colleges and the S-STEM program on financial and co-curricular support for high-achieving students with demonstrated financial need.