WHAT IS ACCCE?

Accelerating Community College Cybersecurity Excellence (ACCCE) is a collaborative project between Microsoft and the National Cybersecurity Training and Education Center (NCyTE) hosted at Whatcom Community College (WCC) in Bellingham, WA. The ACCCE project is funded by a grant from Microsoft to WCC.This project will support efforts to expand and diversify the U.S.'s cybersecurity workforce through providing resources, mentorship, and professional development opportunities to current and potential community college faculty interested in becoming cybersecurity instructors or enhancing their skills and experience if already in the cybersecurity field. Learn more about Microsoft's involvement, here.  

CHALLENGES ACCCE WILL ADDRESS

Over the past twenty years, cyberattacks have become a significant threat to our privacy, national security, and pocketbooks— and the needs of our cybersecurity workforce have increased accordingly. Today, the U.S. faces a troubling shortage of cybersecurity workers with the required education and skills to protect our nation. 

Recent data from CyberSeek shows that the demand for cybersecurity workers has risen 94% since 2013 – three times faster than for IT positions overall. But the supply of qualified professionals is far too low. To address the talent gap, the U.S. must significantly expand the quantity and quality of its cybersecurity education programs, as well as corresponding enrollments and graduates. Community colleges play a critical role in this process. The ACCCE project will support the development of equitable pathways to cybersecurity jobs, creating an inclusive pipeline to feed the rapidly evolving cyber workforce. 

RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED BY ACCCE

Cybersecurity Education Program Development Workshops will help institutions start a cybersecurity education program, and will include information on how to achieve Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) designation as a potential goal.

Faculty Development Academies will help community college faculty members in related fields (e.g. Business or IT) learn how to teach cybersecurity. The Academy will focus on developing knowledge of resources, emerging technologies, credentials, products, workforce statistics, and how to engage with regional industry.

Faculty Diversity Fellowship Boot Camps will provide support and opportunities for cybersecurity students of color (bachelor or master's degree level) interested in teaching in the cybersecurity field. Boot camps will:

~ Provide experience leading a cybersecurity classroom to help prospective instructors make informed decisions about pursuing a full-time faculty position.

~ Help participants gain experience in the creation of lesson plans, syllabi, use of tools to assess effectiveness of curriculum, cybersecurity program development application materials (CV, lesson plans, syllabus, etc.)

~ Build a faculty pool that better reflects the diversity of the community college student population by expanding the pool of teaching candidates.

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