Building a Culturally Responsive Degree Program in Information Security

社区大学生是高等教育中文化和种族差异最大的群体。然而，对这些差异对他们大学经历的影响的关注有限。该项目建立在大量研究的基础上，这些研究证实，教室和校园氛围对招收和留住STEM中代表性不足的学生具有重大影响。例如，妇女和其他代表性不足的群体更有可能选择并留住STEM专业，因为那里有高度的社会资本、强大的体验式学习、有文化能力的学术支持，以及使用结合了多元文化教学方法的批判性教学法。该项目旨在开发一个响应文化的信息安全副学士学位课程，以响应学生的生活经验和行业所需的技能。该项目可以为北安普顿社区学院和其他社区学院提供一个基础，在此基础上推进战略，扩大对STEM职业的参与，特别是在熟练的技术劳动力方面。该项目包括一项为期三年的综合计划，以实现：1)增强的信息安全副学士学位计划课程，与卓越学术中心两年制职称要求和地区劳动力需求保持一致；2)招聘计划，吸引未被充分代表的学生进入网络安全领域；3)保留计划，支持完成、调任、职业安置和/或晋升；以及4)通过纳入培养合格和具有文化能力的计算机科学教师的战略，满足未来招生需求的教职员工招聘计划。该项目有可能说明STEM教员与多样性和包容性办公室之间的合作产生的积极影响。具体地说，该项目可能表明，培养一支具有全球竞争力的熟练技术劳动力既需要行业驱动的课程，也需要改善代表性不足学生的教育成果。此外，它还有可能证明，一个具有文化能力的学习环境和学生支持系统可以提高学生在网络安全等高科技领域的成功。因此，项目成果将提供信息，供正在努力招收、吸引、留住和毕业STEM领域不同学生群体的教育机构使用。该项目由NSF高级技术教育计划资助，该计划专注于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Community college students are the most culturally and racially diverse population in higher education. However, limited attention is given to the impact these differences have on their college experience. This project is built upon the substantial body of research confirming that classroom and campus climate have a major influence on the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in STEM. For example, women and other underrepresented groups are more likely to choose and be retained in a STEM major when there is a high degree of social capital, robust experiential learning, culturally-competent academic support, and the use of critical pedagogy that incorporates a multicultural approach to teaching. This project aims to develop a culturally-responsive Information Security associate degree program that is responsive to students' life experiences and the skills needed by industry. This project can provide a foundation on which Northampton Community College and other community colleges can advance strategies that broaden participation in STEM careers, particularly in the skilled technical workforce. The project includes a three-year comprehensive plan to achieve: 1) an enhanced Information Security associate degree program curriculum that is aligned with Center of Academic Excellence 2-Year designation requirements and regional workforce needs; 2) a recruitment plan that attracts underrepresented students into the cyber security field; 3) a retention plan that supports completion, transfer, career placement and/or advancement; and 4) a faculty/staff recruitment plan that meets future enrollment needs by incorporating strategies to develop qualified and culturally-competent computer science faculty. The project has the potential to illustrate the positive impacts of collaborations between STEM faculty and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Specifically, the project may demonstrate that educating a globally competitive skilled technical workforce requires both an industry-driven curriculum and improvements to the educational outcomes of underrepresented students. In addition, it has the potential to demonstrate that a culturally competent learning environment and student support system can improve student success in highly technical fields such as cyber security. Thus, project outcomes will provide information that can be used by educational institutions that are struggling to enroll, engage, retain, and graduate diverse student populations in STEM fields. This project is funded by the NSF Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.