An Analysis Framework of Portable and Measurable Higher Education for Future Cybersecurity Workforce

This paper introduces an analytical framework for portable and measurable academic programs for future workforce development. The ultimate purpose of their research is to develop a cybersecurity workforce by increasing the number of cybersecurity professionals with a four-year degree. In this project, the authors describe an approach to establish a seamless pathway for students transferring from two-year programs such as Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana's (Ivy Tech) Cybersecurity AAS program to a four-year program such as Purdue University Northwest's (PNW) Computer Information Technology (CIT) program.

According to Forbes, cybersecurity workforce development is the key to assuring that the nation has adequate capacity to protect information and information systems. However, more than 30 percent of companies were short of security expertise in 2017. Some research estimates that there will be a 3.5 million shortage in the cybersecurity workforce. The increasing demand for cybersecurity professionals from government and private sectors makes it critical for the education system to develop the next generation of cybersecurity workforce and citizenry to advance national economic prosperity and security.

The authors posit the following questions as the foundation to developing a cybersecurity education program.

1. What cybersecurity knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), as well as work roles, can be developed for learners that complete the target education program?
2. Compared to a certificate training program, an associate degree program, or another peer bachelor's degree program, what knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) will learners attain to complete the target education program?

The authors present the following conclusions and recommendations.

A revolution is needed in classroom pedagogy, taking educators beyond the traditional model of one teacher at the front of the classroom with 20 similar students listening. The authors suggest the need to develop pedagogical approaches that move beyond on-the-same-page, standardized content paradigms, replacing them with systems that continuously diagnose differentiated learning needs and promote the design of customized learning programs. Educators need to move away from traditional one-size-fits-all instruction, developing and testing strategies for customization of learning to meet individual learner needs more effectively. Institutions need to support teachers to design curricula that suit learner needs instead of just focusing on standardized testing. The curriculum needs to result from collaborations with learners, communities, and education experts. Ongoing professional learning opportunities and investment in leadership training are also necessary to support pedagogical improvements and effective use of resources.

The authors go on to propose that the seamless two- to four-year cybersecurity program pathway development for community college students will achieve the following objectives: (1) ensure transfer students are sufficiently prepared to be successful in pursuing their higher education in the National Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) four-year program and will be able to graduate on time, (2) ensure all CAE knowledge units and their associated major topics are covered for transfer students when they graduate from the CAE four-year cybersecurity program, and (3) determine knowledge/skill/ability gains that could motivate students’ transfer to a CAE four-year program.

The authors summarize that the way to achieve the seamless two to four-year cybersecurity program pathway development for community college students is by incorporating competency levels into the curricular design, along with the knowledge unit (KU) and the certificate learning objective (LO). This plan is the analytical framework proposed for portable and measurable academic programs for future workforce development: competency level as a significant part of the quantitative measure and KU as the center for the qualitative solution, working together with certificate LO as the evaluation and preparation for the future workforce.

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2020
• Author(s): Liu, F.; Tu, M.
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Wesley Peterson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies