Bridging the Disciplinary Gaps in Cybersecurity Curricula through General Education, High Impact Practices, and Training for Incoming Freshmen

专家们一致认为，网络安全是一个多方面的问题，应该通过跨学科框架来解决；然而，大多数网络安全课程都是在特定学科内开设的。开发跨学科项目可能具有挑战性，面临的问题包括：学生孤立，教师与学科项目脱节，在课程交付方面缺乏协调，在提供学生支持方面存在差距，以及教师和学生之间缺乏基本的跨学科基础。为了应对这些挑战，“通过普通教育、高影响力做法和新生培训弥合网络安全课程中的学科空白”项目将把以学生为中心的高影响力做法全面纳入老多米尼恩大学的跨学科网络安全主修课程。此外，将为新生开发和提供跨学科网络安全培训模块，并将通过开放教育资源(OER)提供另一门跨学科通识教育网络安全课程。开发一门跨学科的通识教育网络安全课程将为学生提供通过多方面的透镜学习该主题所需的基础。将高影响力的实践融入跨学科课程是一种新的方法，将提高网络安全学术课程的质量。这些将包括学习社区、服务学习、实习、本科生研究项目和电子公文包。学习社区将包括一年级学习社区、二年级学习社区和生活学习社区。每个学习社区都将分配一名同伴导师。将开发一个流程，以便网络安全专业的学生可以在第一年的网络安全通识课程中开发电子文件夹，为他们的学习过程提供一个使用框架。开放教育资源(OER)通识学习网络安全课程的开发将提供一个框架，其他高等教育机构可以用来开发类似的课程。将高影响力的做法纳入课程将提供一个可在其他机构复制的框架。这些课程的毕业生将能够填补那些需要多个领域的跨学科背景以及强大的沟通和批判性思维能力的职业网络安全职位。此外，与区域机构/雇主的关系将正规化，以发展服务学习、本科生研究和实习机会。

Experts agree that cybersecurity is a multifaceted problem that should be addressed through an interdisciplinary framework; however, most of cybersecurity curricula are offered within specific disciplines. Developing interdisciplinary programs can be challenging with issues such as: student isolation, a disconnect between faculty from the disciplinary programs, a lack of coordination in course delivery, gaps in providing student support, and a lack of a basic interdisciplinary foundation among faculty and students alike. To address these challenges, the "Bridging the Disciplinary Gaps in Cybersecurity Curricula through General Education, High Impact Practices, and Training for Incoming Freshman" project will fully integrate student-focused high impact practices into an interdisciplinary cybersecurity major and minor at Old Dominion University. In addition, an interdisciplinary cybersecurity training module for incoming freshmen will be developed and delivered, and another interdisciplinary general education cybersecurity course will be made available through open education resources (OER). Developing an interdisciplinary general education cybersecurity course will provide students the foundation they need to learn about the topic through a multi-faceted lens.Integrating high impact practices into interdisciplinary curricula is a novel approach that will bolster the quality of cybersecurity academic programs. These will include learning communities, service learning, internships, undergraduate research projects, and e-Portfolios. The learning communities will include freshmen learning communities, sophomore learning communities, and living learning communities. Each learning community will have a peer mentor assigned. A process will be developed so cybersecurity majors can develop an electronic portfolio in their first-year general studies cybersecurity course, providing a framework for usage over the course of their studies. The development of an open education resource (OER) general studies cybersecurity course will provide a framework that other higher education institutions can use to develop similar courses. Integrating high impact practices into the curricula will provide a framework that can be replicated in other institutions. Graduates of these curricula will be able to fill those occupational cybersecurity positions that require an interdisciplinary background in multiple fields, as well as strong communications and critical thinking skills. In addition, relationships with regional agencies/employers will be formalized to develop service learning, undergraduate research, and internship opportunities.