By Elaine Bonilla/se news editor
SE information security program students have scholarship opportunities though the CyberWatch Consortium.
CyberWatch, founded in 2005 with only 10 participants in the Washington, D.C., area, now consists of 54 community colleges and 50 universities from around the country.
SE was accepted as a member in 2012, and one of the long-term goals is to become a center of academic excellence for community colleges, said information security program coordinator Charles DeSassure.
The center is currently building a national student association and an online community for students to network with each other, view professional presentations and discuss the latest developments and topics in the field, CyberWatch director of outreach and communications Teri Kepner said.
“We hope that TCC will be able to take full advantage of all that membership in the National CyberWatch Center offers,” Kepner said.
The organization aims to advance cybersecurity education and strengthen the national cybersecurity in the workforce, including higher education institutions, businesses and government agencies around the country. As part of the consortium, TCC can receive a grant from the National Science Foundation.
“These training workshops are useful in that it supports our security certificates that are offered at SE such as Network+, Security+, Cisco CCNA and A+,” SE business and technology divisional dean Martha Machen said.
“CyberWatch also had direct communication to the Department of National Homeland Security office,” DeSassure said. “So faculty members are always informed of activities as it relates to information security from Washington, D.C.”
CyberWatch provides assistance in courses in accordance with security standards of the U.S. National Security Agency, and, by using the services, students are competitive candidates for government and private sector jobs, Machen said.
“Another benefit of belonging to this organization is that our students are eligible to participate in internships, job placement and competitions,” she said.
“We are always on the cutting edge of new technology,” DeSassure said about being a member. “This is an exciting time to be in the field of information security.”
Kepner said institutions can adopt the curriculum to help start or strengthen their programs.
By being a member of this program, students can apply for scholarships through CyberWatch and have access to free resources such as using the CyberWatch logo and information on their résumé and getting discounted vouchers for various certification exams through CompTIA.
SE president William Coppola said the partnership assures SE’s programs are relevant and up to date and students will be prepared to enter the marketplace.
