Project Summary:
C3IASE: Community College Consortium
for
Information Assurance and Security Education

Purpose

The purpose of this consortium is to develop a critical mass of Information Technology (IT) professionals at the community college level with knowledge and competence in the area of information assurance and security and the ability to instruct future information assurance and security professionals. To accomplish this we will:

• Review, adapt and implement instructional materials and techniques as indicated by the research at the National Security Agency Center of Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEI/IAE) at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.



• Provide onsite instructional workshops utilizing these materials for a community college computer science faculty at national conferences of The League for Innovation in Community Colleges.



• Provide simultaneous online and onsite instruction at regional workshops at a variety of demographically and geographically diverse League member community colleges.
  
  
• Host online seminars led by NSA CAE/IAE university representatives for community college faculties.
  
  
• Maintain a website for dissemination of information, discussion of issues and ideas, and presentation by faculty of their developing curricula.



• Electronically publish a bimonthly newsletter of events, conferences, and other relevant information and maintain a discussion for workshop participants.



• Adapt and implement standards for certification of various levels of competence in Information Assurance and Security.

The project will address the NSF's Broader Impact Criteria as follows:

Advance Discovery and Understanding While Promoting Teaching, Training and Learning

The focus of this project is the training of community college IT faculty and staff in Information Assurance and Security while encouraging and assisting faculty to develop and implement courses or programs in this area at their home institutions. We will incorporate the research, experience and expertise of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and other NSA CAE/IAE universities as well as the two community colleges, Valencia and Seminole, that have implemented a Security Specialization in their AS degree programs. Faculty at NPS and Valencia will serve as consultants and evaluators of the project.

Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC), a participant college in the Consortium, has very large population of Hispanic and Black faculty and students. 35% of all minority college students in Florida attend Miami-Dade Community College. In fact, MDCC enrolls the most Hispanic students and the second-most Black students of any college or university in the United States. Sixty-one per cent (61%) of MDCC students are female. The proposal includes $10,000 per year for advanced training of MDCC faculty in certification and/or degree courses in Information Assurance and Security. Hillsborough Community College's student population is 17% Black and 16% Hispanic.

Enhance Infrastructure for Research and Education

The Consortium partners consist of community colleges, a professional training organization and an NSA CAE/IAE institution. These partners will be working together to enhance understanding of information security issues, disseminate research results, test protective measures, provide model instructional.