Partnership in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance

This project is comprehensively integrating cybersecurity concepts into the curriculum of the Computer Information Systems (CIS) Department at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC). In addition, the project is offering an eight-week summer instructional program (a "bridge" program) for high school students; arranging internships for students in conjunction with industry partners; developing a cybersecurity laboratory; and providing professional development for college and high school faculty through in-person and online workshops and training sessions. The project team is creating four courses and redesigning seventeen other courses in order to integrate computer security concepts into each major (Computer Operations, Computer Programming, and Computer Science) in the college's CIS curriculum. The computer security concepts included in these courses are derived from objectives specified by CompTIA's Security+ certification and the Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) specified by the International Information Systems Security Certifications Consortium [(ISC)2] for the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and System Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) certifications. The concepts covered in the courses are also tied to job competencies defined in the computer security skill standards that have been developed by the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies (NWCET). In addition to redesigning the curricula for CIS majors, the project team is redesigning a non-major CIS course to raise the cybersecurity awareness of students in non-technical majors.